Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is facing 20 counts of impeachment. The effort to oust him was a bipartisan one, with the Texas House of Representatives voting 121-23 in favor of impeachment. But now Paxton’s legal team is seeking to have 19 of those counts thrown out, arguing they violate the will of the people who knew about the allegations when he was elected to his third term in office. Paxton’s legal team further argues Texas’s “prior-term doctrine,” which says officials cannot be removed from office for acts prior to election, bars those articles of impeachment.
As reported in the Texas Tribune:
In their motion to dismiss, Paxton’s lawyers argued that almost all of the allegations outlined by House investigators were known to voters at the time of his most recent election, and that his impeachment would thus negate the will of Texas voters.
They also argued that Paxton’s impeachment would run afoul of the “prior-term doctrine,” which they said bars statewide officials from being impeached for conduct that predates their most recent election.
“With only a single exception, the articles (of impeachment) allege nothing that Texas voters have not heard from the Attorney General’s political opponents for years,” Paxton’s team wrote. “The alleged acts underlying 19 of the Articles took place before the Attorney General’s most recent election and were highly publicized.”
The alleged misconduct surrounds Paxton’s relations with Austin developer, Nate Paul. Paxton is accused of using his office to help Paul by giving him access to nonpublic information and interfering in litigation on Paul’s behalf. In exchange, Paxton allegedly received assistance with renovations on his home and a woman he had an affair with got a job with Paul. In June, Paul was arrested for lying to financial institutions to secure loans.
The lone charge Paxton’s lawyers do not seek to dismiss is Article 8 of the impeachment. That alleges Paxton misused his official powers by “concealing his wrongful acts in connection with the whistleblower complaints.” That is in reference to a $3.3 million whistleblower lawsuit settlement earlier this year that Paxton reached with former employees who raised corruption concerns.
The impeachment trial is set to begin September 5th in front of the Texas Senate. Texas senators will vote on this and all pretrial motions on the first day of the trial before opening statements.
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Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @[email protected].