Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan issued a stern warning to state senators who voted against the removal of Attorney General Ken Paxton.
In a landmark decision, Texas Senators acquitted Attorney General Ken Paxton on all 16 articles of impeachment brought against him. The acquittal comes after a contentious period of political infighting within the Republican Party, involving a “sham impeachment” orchestrated by a faction of Texas RINOs, including allies of the Bush and Rove families.
Following the sham impeachment, Attorney General Ken Paxton thanked his supporters and legal team, saying, “Today, the truth prevailed. The truth could not be buried by mudslinging politicians or their powerful benefactors. I’ve said many times: Seek the truth! And that is what was accomplished.”
Paxton also thanked his wife Angela, describing her as “a brave woman of deep faith, unquestionable integrity, and the light of our entire family.”
He criticized the impeachment process, stating, “The sham impeachment coordinated by the Biden Administration with liberal House Speaker Dade Phelan and his kangaroo court has cost taxpayers millions of dollars, disrupted the work of the Office of Attorney General and left a dark and permanent stain on the Texas House.”
Texas State Representative Brian Harrison echoed Ken Paxton’s sentiments and has called for House Speaker Dade Phelan to “step down immediately.”
In a scathing statement, Rep. Harrison wrote, “Speaker Phelan must step down now for empowering this Democrat effort while killing Republican priorities.” He continued, “I applaud the Texas Senate for conducting a fair and transparent trial and for reaching a verdict that was obviously correct given the shocking lack of evidence.”
Harrison accused the Texas House leadership of misleading and pressuring Republicans to join a Democrat-led effort to impeach Paxton, thereby tarnishing the reputation of the entire Texas House. He also called for an investigation by the State Auditor’s office to determine how much taxpayer money was wasted on the impeachment proceedings.
Harrison continued, “Yet instead of securing the border, passing school choice, banning COVID mandates, fixing our grid and energy market, reining in emergency executive powers, cutting spending, ending property taxes, deregulating our economy, or stopping communist governments from buying Texas land, the Speaker of the House prioritized the impeachment of a recently re-elected Attorney General who has proven he is up to the most important task of our time: fighting the out of control federal government, which seeks to destroy our rights, our freedoms, our liberties, our state sovereignty, and the Constitution.”
On Saturday, “liberal” Dade Phelan criticized the Senate and Lt. Governor Patrick for their handling of the impeachment trial, accusing them of orchestrating the outcome and “cheating the people of Texas of justice.”
Phelan also threatened that this is not the end for Ken Paxton as he is the “subject of multiple other lawsuits, indictments and investigations.”
Read his full statement below:
“Over the last two weeks, the Texas House Board of Managers provided the Texas Senate and the people of Texas extensive evidence of Ken Paxton’s corruption, deception and self-dealing. It is extremely unfortunate that after hearing and evaluating this evidence, the Texas Senate chose not to remove him from office. Moreover, I find it deeply concerning that after weeks of claiming he would preside over this trial in an impartial and honest manner, Lt. Governor Patrick would conclude by confessing his bias and placing his contempt for the people’s House on full display. To be clear, Patrick attacked the House for standing up against corruption. His tirade disrespects the Constitutional impeachment process afforded to us by the founders of this great state. The inescapable conclusion is that today’s outcome appears to have been orchestrated from the start, cheating the people of Texas of justice.
“This impeachment was set in motion because Ken Paxton requested millions of taxpaver dollars to settle a lawsuit brought by conservative, senior employees who Paxton himself recruited to his office. These brave individuals were willing to sacrifice their reputations and careers to fight against the misconduct they witnessed, which included abuse of power, corruption, allegations of bribery, and allowing Nate Paul to act as the de facto Attorney General of Texas.
“The House General Investigating Committee’s subsequent investigation into the merits of the settlement produced more than enough damning evidence to warrant impeachment.
The impeachment process exists not to punish the offender, but to determine whether they have abused their power so egregiously that they are unfit for office and their removal is in the best interest of the state. It is unfortunate that the outcome of this process will ultimately relinquish control of the state’s top law enforcement agency to an individual who, I believe, clearly abused his power, compromised his agency and its employees, and moved mountains to protect and benefit himself.
“The Senate’s refusal to remove Ken Paxton from office is, however, not the end of this matter. Ken Paxton is the subject of multiple other lawsuits, indictments and investigations.
If new facts continue to come out, those who allowed him to keep his office will have much to answer for.
“I extend my utmost thanks to the House Board of Managers and their legal team for their diligent work on this matter, and to each of the 121 House Members who bravely acted in the best interest of this state by voting to advance the articles of impeachment. It was a difficult vote to take, but not a difficult decision. And unlike others, they chose principles over politics. I stand with them in full support of their decision and recognize the sacrifices they made in the name of doing what is right. Because of them, Texans had the ability to hear the evidence in a public trial, as the founders of this great state intended.”
