During eight-and-a-half years in office, scandal-ridden Attorney General Ken Paxton evaded legal and political accountability for a laundry list of alleged misconduct including bribery, election interference, improper use of office and more. Indicted on state securities fraud charges in 2015, the state’s top cop is also the subject of an ongoing federal investigation into allegations that he misused his office to benefit a donor.
Many of these and other alleged misdeeds have been widely known for years and extensively reported. But until last week, Paxton’s fellow lawmakers rarely spoke up. Paxton’s long-overdue moment of reckoning arrived Saturday, however, as the Texas House of Representatives laid out 20 articles of impeachment against him, painting a damning portrait of a public official whose behavior has long demonstrated a willful disregard for government ethics, the law and the public trust. The House voted overwhelmingly to send impeachment charges to the Senate, where a trial will provide Paxton with the opportunity to defend himself. If two-thirds of the Senate votes to uphold the House’s 121-23 vote to remove him from office, Paxton would become only the third public official to be impeached in the state’s 178-year history.
As allegations against the attorney general piled up over the years, his fellow lawmakers typically stayed silent. Paxton filled the void with a defiant hubris, insisting without proof that he was the victim of a political witch hunt. He was true to form on Friday when he called a news conference to lash out at his accusers before Saturday’s impeachment vote.
Among the many scandals that dogged Paxton were allegations that surfaced in 2020 that he fired staff members who said he abused his power to help a campaign donor, Austin real estate investor Nate Paul, avoid legal consequences from an FBI investigation into his business dealings. Paxton’s office later asked state lawmakers to pay a $3.3 million settlement with taxpayer money. Lawmakers, including Paxton’s Republican colleagues, found that brazen request too much to take.
“We cannot overemphasize the fact that, but for Paxton’s own request for a taxpayer-funded settlement over his wrongful conduct, Paxton would not be facing impeachment,” the House committee in charge of the impeachment investigation said in a statement Friday.
Paxton’s scandal-plagued tenure has been a stain on the attorney general’s office and the state for far too long. A principled politician might have resigned under the weight of so many allegations years ago. But aided by Republican voters and GOP lawmakers who gave him a pass, Paxton had until now escaped political consequence. The scandals that followed him didn’t seem to bother voters either. They reelected Paxton twice, including last year after he tried to overturn the 2020 presidential election in four states.
Paxton deserves his day at trial. But we must ask: What took so long to get to this point? Given the evidence presented Saturday, why didn’t Republican state lawmakers seek to remove Paxton from office earlier? And why were they silent again during Paxton’s two bids for reelection? In the 2022 Republican primary, Paxton faced a rarity for an incumbent, primary challenges from two prominent members of his party—Land Commissioner George P. Bush and former Texas Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman. Most Republican lawmakers refused to take a side, or endorsed Paxton when they could have followed the lead of U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, who said before the election that the legal and ethical cloud hanging over Paxton embarrassed him. Or the example of U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, a former federal prosecutor, who called on Paxton to resign in 2020.
The Editorial Board called for Paxton’s resignation in 2015 when he was indicted for securities fraud after persuading investors to buy technology stock without disclosing he was being paid a commission for the sales. Paxton has insisted he is innocent and blamed politically motivated prosecutors.
With last week’s impeachment vote coming, Paxton complained that the legislature was trying to overturn the results of his “free and fair election.” The irony of that statement seemed lost on the attorney general, who was sued by the State Bar of Texas for trying to nullify the results of the 2020 presidential election in four states.
It is unclear if Paxton’s wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, will recuse herself from the impeachment debate and vote in the Senate. She should abstain to preserve the integrity of the process.
The Editorial Board strongly supports a full and transparent accounting of the impeachment charges against Paxton, including bribery, obstruction of justice, dereliction of duty, making false statements in official records and many more. These are grave charges and if Paxton is found to have committed wrongdoing and violated the public trust the state’s top law enforcement officer is expected to uphold, he should be removed from office. But first, the Senate must act with integrity. Paxton has a lot to answer for, but he deserves due process.
Austin American-Statesman
