The Republican Party in several North Texas counties has been the vanguard in condemning the impeachment of Attorney General Ken Paxton by the Texas House.
Following the sudden impeachment of Attorney General Ken Paxton, several of the influential county-level GOP organizations have overwhelmingly slammed the way the House decided to remove Paxton from his position.
Collin County GOP, which covers Paxton in McKinney, passed a resolution on June 12 censuring the impeachment and calling for the House to redo the process.
Denouncing the lack of sworn testimony, the brevity of proceedings, and the fact that Paxton was neither informed of the investigation nor permitted to offer rebuttal evidence, the party suggested that the impeachment bore the hallmarks of a “banana republic.”
“The Collin County Republican Party condemns the process by which the Texas House of Representatives impeached General Paxton as unprecedented and an offense to Due Process and the Rule of Law,” and requested the Texas Senate to return the articles and “conduct no further proceedings.”
The next day, Parker County, just west of Tarrant, also voted overwhelmingly to denounce the impeachment by 23-3.
The rural county’s GOP criticized the House for removing “one of the most conservative and effective Attorney Generals in the country” by asking members “to cast their vote with less than 48 hours” and “without allowing the Attorney General to present evidence in his defense.”
Furthermore, the resolution asserted that “the accusations against AG Paxton were alleged to occur well before the 2022 General Election and were known and used by his opponents” and, since he won his election, the impeachment “violates Texas Government code 665.081(a).”
That section stipulates, “An officer in this state may not be removed from office for an act the officer may have committed before the officer’s election to office.”
Therefore, the “Parker County Republican Party Executive Committee believes that the May 27 impeachment of Attorney General Paxton appears to have no valid basis under Texas Law and most importantly disenfranchises the 4.3 million Texans who voted for him.”
Parker County GOP requested that the Senate “dismiss the allegations and repudiate the Articles of Impeachment submitted by the Texas House of Representatives.”
Then on June 15, Tarrant County also passed a resolution condemning “those members of the Texas House who voted to impeach when there was no due process/diligence as part of the investigation,” highlighting Speaker Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont), Reps. David Cook (R-Mansfield), Charlie Geren (R-Fort Worth), Craig Goldman (R-Fort Worth), Stephanie Klick (R-Fort Worth), and Giovanni Capriglione (R-Southlake).
The swelling of grassroots opposition to the impeachment of Paxton led the state GOP to vote to pass a similar resolution strongly critiquing the House on June 17.
Citing a similar list of problems as the other resolutions, the State Republican Executive Committee voted 53-11 to condemn “the politically motivated impeachment of Attorney General Paxton,” urging “that the articles of impeachment be dismissed with prejudice.”
Dallas County GOP has not voted on a resolution pertaining to the impeachment.
Defenders of the impeachment proceedings have claimed that the issues raised with the process are unfounded and insufficient to dismiss the matter.
Rep. Andrew Murr (R-Junction) criticized the North Texas anti-impeachment resolutions, specifically Collin County GOP’s, saying they “focus entirely on the process used for impeachment in the House.”
“Curiously, they do not suggest that the House got any of the facts wrong,” he continued, adding that the “House’s actions on this matter in recent months have been squarely within the bounds of the Texas Constitution, state law and the House’s own rules or procedure.”
Regarding the claim that Texas law forbids an official from being elected for actions done during a previous term in office, Murr said, “the last two officials to face impeachment (in 1917 and 1975) were convicted for misconduct that occurred during prior terms.”
“While we knew that some of our fellow Republicans would chafe at the attorney general’s impeachment, I cannot wrap my mind around those, such as the leaders of the party in Collin County, who suggest that the Senate should hold no trial at all,” he continued.
“For many of us who represent solidly conservative areas, the safest political choice might have been turning our gaze away from Paxton’s corruption,” Murr concluded. “Fortunately, I serve in the Texas House with men and women who put principle above politics.”
For his part, Paxton has vigorously denied any wrongdoing.
A Senate committee will present proposed rules to the chamber on June 20 and the trial will be set to start on or before August 28, as reported by The Dallas Express.