On May 27, a Texas Republican-led initiative in the state’s House of Representatives introduced 20 articles of impeachment against Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Paxton, who has held the office since 2014, has been accused of disregarding official duty, abuse of the open records process, misuse of official information, termination of whistleblowers, misapplication of public records, bribery, employment of his mistress, obstruction of justice, abuse of judicial process, false statements in official records, conspiracy, attempted conspiracy, misappropriation of public records, dereliction of public duty, unfitness for office and abuse of public trust.
These accusations and charges come after alleged threats to public officials when talks of impeachment began.
Paxton, who was previously charged in violation of The Securities Act, withheld criminal charges of fraud from voters. He gained re-election in 2022.
Paxton’s continuous abuse of office to secure himself and his constituents has harmed Texas.
As journalists who often rely on Texas’ Public Information Act, having an attorney general who willingly abused the act withholding information to benefit his case, and cases involving clients found to have accepted bribery, is dangerous.
Government information is presumed to be public for a reason, citizens and journalists alike must do their best to keep the government accountable.
Paxton becomes the fourth government official to be impeached in the state of Texas.
With the charges he is facing we hope Texas’ legislature will take the correct steps from trial to Senate conviction.
As someone who was elected to be a leader of the law in Texas, someone who the majority put their trust into, Paxton has let down our state, proving again, his unfitness for office.
Paxton has spent too much time focusing governmental powers on himself and for his benefit, and it’s time Texas finally takes action against him.