(Texas Scorecard) – Marking the latest milestone in the ongoing fallout from the House’s impeachment of Attorney General Ken Paxton last year, it has now been 400 days since Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick requested a full audit of the impeachment’s expenses.
House Speaker Dade Phelan has yet to provide taxpayers with the requested information.
In a letter addressed to State Auditor Lisa Collier, Patrick asked for a detailed accounting of all expenditures incurred by both the Texas House of Representatives and the Texas Senate between March 1, 2023, and October 15, 2023.
While the Senate promptly disclosed their costs, showing $435,000 spent during the two months of preparation and the trial, Phelan and the House have remained silent.
Open records requests have uncovered that the impeachment process cost taxpayers at least $4.3 million, including payments made to a public relations firm both before and after the trial. The House also hired high-profile Houston attorneys Dick DeGuerin and Rusty Hardin to lead the prosecution at a rate of $500 per hour, along with a team of lawyers providing additional legal support.
These legal fees alone exceed the $3.3 million settlement the attorney general’s office reached with a group of former employees who alleged they were unfairly dismissed. This settlement, according to Phelan, was the impetus for the impeachment.
Patrick, meanwhile, is continuing to call out Phelan’s lack of transparency. In a social media post today, Patrick highlighted the 400th day since his audit request.
“What is Dade Phelan afraid to show the public? Millions upon millions of your money, spent on high-priced private lawyers who lost the case, in addition to the costly state expenses. We’re all waiting, Dade…” Patrick wrote.
Phelan is currently facing two challengers for the Speakership—Republican David Cook and Democrat Ana-Maria Ramos. When asked by Texas Scorecard if they would release the information if elected Speaker, neither candidate responded.
Notably, Cook, who supported Paxton’s impeachment, has since stated that he would “vote differently” today.
Phelan did not respond to a request for comment.
