Former President Donald Trump and conservative heavy-hitters took to social media to defend Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton even as the GOP-led Texas House voted to impeach him.
Republican Speaker Dade Phelan and fellow Republicans joined with Democrats to temporarily remove Paxton, a staunch GOP conservative, from office on accusations of bribery, obstruction of justice, and abuse of public trust.
Texas lawmakers voted 123 to 23 to adopt the 20 articles of impeachment.
Shortly before the House convened, Trump made a statement on Truth Social attacking Phelan, who has also come under criticism from state GOP leaders for working with Democrats on advancing their policies.
“The RINO Speaker of the House of Texas, Dade Phelan, who is barely a Republican at all and failed the test on voter integrity, wants to impeach one of the most hard-working and effective Attorney Generals in the United States, Ken Paxton, who just won reelection with a large number of American Patriots strongly voting for him,” Trump stated.
Trump, who endured impeachment twice during his presidency on questionable allegations, said the move against Paxton was an “unfair process that should not be allowed to happen or proceed.”
The former president vowed to “fight you if it does.”
“Free Ken Paxton, let them wait for the next elections,” Trump wrote.
Other influential GOP leaders such as Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), and Trump advisor Kimberly Guilfoyle condemned the effort.
“What is happening to @KenPaxtonTX is a travesty,” Cruz tweeted before the proceedings, blaming the Austin “swamp” for wanting to sideline one of President Joe Biden’s most effective opponents.
“No attorney general has battled the abuses of the Biden admin more ferociously—and more effectively—than has Paxton,” Cruz said in a Twitter post.
“This Texas House-led impeachment is a witch hunt,” Greene said on Twitter.
The vote means Paxton will be removed from office immediately to await trial in the Senate, where House members will present their cases as impeachment managers.
Two-thirds of the Senate must agree in order to remove Paxton from office permanently.
Paxton said following the House vote that the impeachment is unfair and politically motivated, adding that he looks forward to resolving the allegations in the Senate.
The impeachment move came 48 hours after articles were presented to the House. The House General Investigating Committee revealed that it was investigating Paxton for wrongdoing earlier this week.
Paxton at the time labeled the House’s impeachment efforts an “illegal impeachment scheme” that would disenfranchise Texas voters.
The investigation was triggered after Paxton requested earlier in the session for the state to pay a $3.3 million settlement reached with whistleblowers within the AG’s office. The whistleblowers filed suit in 2020 alleging wrongdoing on Paxton’s part that was also reported to the FBI.
Several conservative House lawmakers spoke against the whirlwind impeachment, questioning the swiftness of the vote on a Saturday at the end of the legislative session.
House Republican Brian Harrison called the impeachment a “sham” and “railroading of a political enemy.”
Another House Republican, Mike Schofield, complained the months-long investigation was done under the radar and House members were kept in the dark until this week.
“I began this week with no idea the House was considering impeaching the Attorney General. Now here, at the end of the week, we are preparing to remove him from office before the day is out,” Schofield said.
Schofield called the proceedings “unprecedented” and said there was no reason “to sneak up on the public” by fast-tracking the removal of an elected official.
Others said AG Paxton was denied a chance to defend the charges against him.
Paxton, endorsed by Trump, was reelected to a third term in November as the state’s top law enforcement officer.
The battle between GOP factions in Texas became apparent when Paxton accused Phelan of being drunk while presiding on the House floor on May 19 and called for Phelan’s resignation.
But Phelan’s office dismissed the accusation as an attempt for Paxton to “save face.”
Impeachment is rare in Texas, happening only twice in the state’s nearly 200-year history.
Epoch Times reporter Allen Zhong and NTD reporter Lorenz Duchamps contributed to this report.
