(The Center Square) – Within 48 hours of announcing the findings of a House General Investigating Committee investigation that had gone on for several months in secret, members of the Texas House were asked to vote to impeach Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
On Saturday – after roughly four hours of discussion – 121 members, including 61 Democrats and 60 Republicans, voted to impeach the attorney general of Texas for the first time in state history. Only 23 Republicans voted against the measure. Two members, one Democrat and one Republican, voted present. Three were absent.
Those who opposed said the only “evidence” presented was a transcript and video of a three-hour hearing at which hired counsel, who didn’t testify under oath, presented the findings of their investigation, which they referred to as “hearsay.”
Rep. Tony Tinderholt, R–Arlington, pointed out that some of the counsel hired by the committee had been fired from their previous jobs or were registered Democrats. He said that all the hired investigators previously worked with the committee’s vice chair, Rep. Ann Johnson, D–Houston.
Rep. Matt Schaeffer, R-Tyler, expressed “grave concerns with the process,” noting that no member was given the opportunity to direct questions to a single witness – including members of the GIC.
“To be clear, the full Texas House has not heard any testimony from witnesses, nor have we been provided transcripts of such testimony,” he said in a statement.
The committee also didn’t provide any direct evidence when it announced articles of impeachment on Thursday, he said. According to Texas Government Code Sec. 665.005, the full House may compel testimony. Instead, they were only given a transcript of counsel presenting their findings.
Shaeffer also said members didn’t have “a good understanding of the adequacy, legality, or fairness of the impeachment process,” the “process was being rushed” and was politically motivated.
Schaeffer, who publicly opposed Paxton’s re-election in the Republican primary, said he voted no because “the simple truth is that the evidentiary basis to impeach Attorney General Paxton has not been properly established.”
Those expressing opposition also echoed the same concerns: no due process, no documentation, no witness testimony, only hearsay of paid Democratic investigators.
Over the course of four hours of discussion, many of the members weren’t present. Some were leaning back in their chairs with their knees on their desk, The Center Square observed. Others were talking to each other or texting. The Speaker was also absent for good portions of time or texting and appeared nonchalant.
When it came time to vote, members nearly in unison quickly hit their buttons and the vote took roughly 10 seconds.
After the vote, AG Paxton issued a statement, saying, “The ugly spectacle in the Texas House today confirmed the outrageous impeachment plot against me was never meant to be fair or just. It was a politically motivated sham from the beginning. My office made every effort to present evidence, testimony, and irrefutable facts that would have disproven the countless false statements and outright lies advanced by Speaker Dade Phelan and the Murr-Johnson panel he appointed. Unfortunately, they refused to consider anything that would interfere with their desired result. They disregarded the law, ignored the facts, and demonstrated contempt for Texas voters.
“Texas voters now know that Speaker Phelan and the corrupt politicians he controls are more focused on political retribution against conservatives than the welfare of the people. … Phelan’s coalition of Democrats and liberal Republicans is now lockstep with the Biden Administration, the abortion industry, anti-gun zealots, and woke corporations to sabotage my work as Attorney General, including our ongoing litigation to stop illegal immigration, uphold the rule of law, and protect the constitutional rights of every Texan.
“But the people of Texas know that I have always had their back, and in return, they have always had mine. What we witnessed today is not just about me. It is about the corrupt establishment’s eagerness to overpower the millions of Texas voters who already made their voices heard when they overwhelmingly re-elected me.”
He also said he was “beyond grateful to have the support of millions of Texans who recognize that what we just witnessed is illegal, unethical, and profoundly unjust.” He also reiterated his belief that the process would be fair and just in the Texas Senate.
The Texas Senate has yet to announce when a trial will be held. In the meantime, Paxton is suspended from his position, and the governor will appoint an interim attorney general.
This article First appeared in the center square