Voting boards are lit with a majority of green lights as the house votes to impeach state Attorney General Ken Paxton, in the House Chamber at the Texas Capitol in Austin, Texas, Saturday, May 27, 2023. Texas lawmakers have issued 20 articles of impeachment against Paxton, ranging from bribery to abuse of public trust as state Republicans surged toward a swift and sudden vote that could remove him from office. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
See the moment Texas GOP-controlled House impeaches one of its own
01:06 - Source: CNN

Editor’s Note: James Moore is a political analyst, author and business communications consultant who has been writing and reporting on Texas politics since 1975. He publishes regularly at Texas to the World. The views expressed in this commentary are his own. Read more opinion on CNN.

CNN  — 

The impeachment of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton over allegations of corruption, bribery and obstruction of justice has political experts contemplating whether things are coming undone for the state’s Republican Party and its control of government.

The answer is no — at least not yet. The Texas GOP has decided to dump an officeholder who appears to have gone a bit too far and embarrassed the party to the point of becoming a political liability.

The challenge for Republicans will be how to remove him from office without harming the party or its members. And that won’t be easy.

James Moore

Paxton is a favorite of the Texas MAGA political base of former President Donald Trump, who accused legislators of overturning election results by voting for impeachment on Saturday. There’s no small irony in that claim given that Paxton filed multiple lawsuits in various states trying to reverse the 2020 presidential election results.

In the meantime, pending a trial in the state Senate later this summer, Paxton has been suspended from office. Calling the impeachment “a politically motivated sham,” the ousted attorney general tweeted, “I look forward to a quick resolution in the Texas Senate, where I have full confidence the process will be fair and just.”

Ken Paxton’s legal troubles certainly did not begin with last week’s impeachment proceedings in the Texas House. CNN reported earlier that he was facing an FBI investigation over abuse of office and that Justice Department prosecutors in Washington, DC, took over the corruption investigation. He is also under indictment in an unrelated securities fraud case. Paxton has denied all charges and allegations.

For years, any half-awake Texas legislator nodding off in the chamber had heard allegations that Paxton abused his powers. But voters kept reelecting him, and lawmakers ignored the controversies.

That ended when Paxton asked for state funds to settle a whistleblower lawsuit. In 2020, four senior aides were fired by Paxton’s office after publicly accusing him of abuse of office, bribery and other criminal offenses. As part of a tentative settlement, Paxton agreed to issue an apology and pay $3.3 million.

But he had no intention of using his own money. Paxton expected the Texas legislature to foot the bill, rankling many lawmakers who didn’t feel that government funds should be used to pay for his sins. His attorneys have argued that he is not personally liable in the case and that the government should pocket the cost of the settlement.

All of this got the attention of the House General Investigating Committee and House Speaker Dade Phelan, a Republican, who launched the broader investigation into Paxton’s tenure.

The timing and agreement of the multi-million-dollar settlement meant likely damning information would not be presented at trial and publicly disclosed. The articles of impeachment say the agreementhalted the wrongful termination suit and delayed the discovery of facts and testimony at trial, to Paxton’s advantage,” which then “allegedly prevented voters from making an informed decision about his reelection in 2022.”

However, there was apparently no moral quandary for Texas Republicans before Paxton revealed he planned to write checks on the state’s accounts. Hours before the House investigation into Paxton was made public, the attorney general circulated a video of Phelan, claiming without evidence that the speaker was drunk on the House floor and ought to resign. Paxton’s maneuver, which Phelan’s spokesperson called “a last ditch effort to save face,” may have caused Phelan to push the House to impeach quickly thereafter.

Notably, Saturday’s vote to impeach wasn’t even close — 121-23 with 60 Republicans and 61 Democrats voting in favor and two voting “present.” There are even allegations that Paxton attempted to interfere with that outcome, too. Republican state Rep. Charlie Geren told fellow members that Paxton was calling to threaten members with political reprisals if they supported his ouster.

As a result, one House member, Rep. Eddie Morales Jr., a Democrat, has asked for an additional article of impeachment to include “jury tampering” and “intimidation.” Paxton has neither acknowledged nor denied making such calls.

That said, Paxton’s impeachment is almost certainly not a sign of change in the conservative political winds still blowing across Texas. Brent Webster, Paxton’s second in command, is serving as his temporary replacement. He was Paxton’s right-hand man as the attorney general brought lawsuits in several swing states, attempting to overthrow the 2020 presidential election. And Webster has vowed, as a “constitutional conservative,” to continue Paxton’s work while serving in his new role.

Furthermore, the Texas legislature has shown no weakening signs of extreme conservatism. This term alone it has passed a host of bills that impose new bans on medical care for trans children, end diversity, equity and inclusion policies at public universities and give control of certain local regulations to the state.

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Paxton’s conviction in the Senate trial would also be quite complicated. Two-thirds of the state Senate members present would have to vote to convict. Given the composition of the Senate – 19 Republicans and 12 Democrats – there will need to be at least some GOP crossover.

Complicating matters, Paxton’s wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, will be among those deciding his political fate unless she recuses herself. And the leader of the chamber, Lt. Governor Dan Patrick, is helping run the campaign of Trump, one of Paxton’s biggest supporters, in Texas. However, neither Patrick nor Gov. Greg Abbott wants to exacerbate a problem for the Texas GOP, so they may remain largely silent on the matter until it has been fully litigated.

If Paxton manages to survive his Senate trial, he might seriously wound Texas Republicans’ political strength – and that could have national repercussions into 2024. If enough Texans shun the Republican Party, the state – long an essential part of the GOP electoral strategy – could potentially flip in the other direction, dooming the party’s presidential prospects.