The Texas House of Representatives formally introduced articles of impeachment against state Attorney General Ken Paxton.
A clerk read out the 20 articles of impeachment to a hushed chamber on Saturday, with disregard of official duty, misapplication of public resources, constitutional bribery, obstruction of justice and unfitness for office among the charges leveled against Paxton by lawmakers.
After opening remarks from members of the Texas House Investigative Committee — which unanimously recommended the impeachment earlier this week — the chamber is expected to conduct four hours of debate and closing remarks before the final vote.
State Rep. Charlie Geren, a Republican, said Paxton had been threatening members of the House to warn them against voting for impeachment.
“I would like to point out that several members of this House, while on the floor of this House doing the state business, received telephone calls from General Paxton personally, threatening them with political consequences in their next election,” Geren said.
The vote for impeachment comes amid an FBI criminal probe into allegations that Paxton used his office to improperly assist Nate Paul, a wealthy real estate investor who is one of his big-time donors.
Texas has not impeached a major statewide official since former Gov. James E. Ferguson in 1917.
Paxton supporters and other curious onlookers lined up more than an hour before the proceedings to witness the event.
“I’m here to watch history in the making and stand for our Attorney General Ken Paxton,” Marcia Watson, 60, told the Texas Tribune.
Adding more intrigue to the mix one of the charges concerns alleged bribery after Paul was accused of giving a job to a woman Paxton was having an affair with in exchange for legal services. Paxton came clean about the affair to senior members of his political staff in 2018.
Paxton’s wife — Texas State Sen. Angela Paxton — is currently slated to be one of his 31 jurors, though she is facing calls from good government groups to recuse herself.
AG Paxton has condemned the impeachment as a witch hunt and called for peaceful protests at the Texas Capitol in Austin on Saturday — though so far none have materialized.
Powerful national GOP allies in the state have also lined up behind the embattled AG.
“What is happening to @KenPaxtonTX is a travesty. For the last nine years, Ken has been the strongest conservative AG in the country. Bar none. No attorney general has battled the abuses of the Biden admin more ferociously—and more effectively—than has Paxton,” said Texas GOP Sen. Ted Cruz. in a tweet.