The Texas State Auditor’s Office reported on Friday that Attorney General Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial cost taxpayers $5.1 million.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick previously announced that new House Speaker Dustin Burrows (R-Lubbock) finally provided documents relating to the impeachment trial costs to the Texas State Auditor’s Office, resulting in an audit of the impeachment trials that took place just under two years ago, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
This audit revealed that the total cost of the impeachment trials was $5,110,038, split among the multiple groups involved in the spending.
Paxton’s impeachment revolved around claims that the attorney general accepted bribes and abused his power, but the Texas Senate eventually acquitted Paxton after less than two-thirds of the senators voted to convict, as reported by DX.
The Texas State Auditor’s Office wrote in the audit report that the “majority of those costs (86 percent) were for contracted professional services,” which are categorized as attorneys, investigators, and other related services.
However, the vast majority of the spending was conducted in the Texas House of Representatives.
This audit revealed that the Texas House spent $4,436,498 during the trial, the Senate spent only $435,087, and the Office of the Attorney General spent just $229,871.
Records from the impeachment trial indicate that the Texas House spent $3.5 million for the services of Rusty Hardin and Dick DeGuerin, who were the two Houston-based attorneys working against Paxton in the case, according to The Texas Tribune.
The Texas Legislative Reference Library and the Texas Legislative Council also spent $8,582 combined on salaries and supplies during the trials, though this spending is minimal in comparison to the costs racked up by the Texas House.
Patrick released a statement and praised the work of the Texas Senate to keep these costs low, writing that he “said from the very beginning” that taxpayers have a right to know what funds are being used for.
“Former Speaker Phelan left the speakership withholding the House’s impeachment records, despite repeated widespread calls for him to release the records in the name of transparency,” he wrote.