Thread by @taygoldenstein

The Texas House will soon take a vote on whether to impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton. The gallery is full. The debate is capped at four hours, evenly divided by opponents and proponents. #txlege

House General Investigating Committee Chair and state Rep. Andrew Murr, R-Junction, is introducing the resolution containing the articles of impeachment now.

The 20 articles are being read aloud to members.

State Rep. John Smithee, R-Amarillo, asking if the House will be asked to vote on the articles separately or as a whole.

Speaker says all of them together, as they're part of one resolution.

Smithee: If members were convinced there was sufficient evidence to indict under one count, would a vote for resolution be construed as a vote to indict on other counts as well?

Speaker says he cannot speculate on members' personal perception on a vote for the resolution.

State Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg, asks if a member can place a statement in the journal clarifying which articles they agree or disagree with. Speaker says they can.

State Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth, says he dropped a copy of "Honor and Humility" by former state Rep. David Simpson on each member's desk.
news-journal.com/news/simpson-h…

Here’s him holding up a copy earlier today for reporters:

Geren: "One of the key responsibilities of General Investigating Committee is to look beyond partisan affiliation in order to take the necessary steps to protect the institution that is our state government. We did just that today with this resolution."

Geren says "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."

State Rep. Oscar Longoria, D-Mission, asks members to consider overall context of the findings and think about who benefited from Paxton's actions.

State Rep. David Spiller, R-Jacksboro, going over the accusations against Paxton and the findings of attorneys brought in by the committee.

If you're not familiar, here's an explainer on what's in the 20 articles of impeachment: houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas…

As members listen intently to Rep. Spiller, AG Paxton has not said anything himself but has been consistently retweeting his supporters who are describing House members as a "kangaroo court" and generally bashing the impeachment process.

Spiller says articles of impeachment are a '"compelling substantiation of the fact that AG Paxton abused his office and his powers for personal gain" and "continuously and blatantly violated laws, rules, policies and procedures."

Spiller says he has "great appreciation and respect" for Paxton. Says Paxton "deserves praise" for fighting against unconstitutional federal mandates.

But says he needs to be held responsible for his choice to "put interests of himself above the laws of state of TX."

Spiller on Paxton's alleged misconduct: "We should not be complicit in allowing that behavior. We should not ignore it and pretend it didn't happen. Texas is better than that."

The AG's office in 2021 published a report clearing Paxton of wrongdoing. It's since disappeared from the website, says state Rep. @VoteAnnJohnson, D-Houston.

She's holding a copy in a binder. Says he can't claim he wasn't allowed to defend himself when this was out there.

@VoteAnnJohnson Looks like the report IS still online, but perhaps Rep. Johnson was referring to a link to it on the website that Paxton removed. texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/…

@VoteAnnJohnson First questions come from state Rep. Matt Schaefer, R-Tyler, asks if witnesses were questioned or cross-examined.

"We hired long-skilled attorneys and investigators to conduct that for us."

Paxton responds regarding the internal report Johnson said had been taken down from his site:

https://twitter.com/txag/status/1662540517882707969

Schaefer asks:
-members been given opportunity to question investigators? (Murr says committee did that.)
-receive any witness transcripts? (No.)
-hear directly from a witness? (Murr says there's no restriction for any member to reach out to any participant.)

Schaefer asks if the committee compelled any testimony from Nate Paul. Murr says they did not. 👀

State Rep. Tony Tinderholt, R-Arlington, asks if Murr sees how this wld seem politically motivated, alludes to many investigators being from Harris Cty.

He says no, some worked for U.S. Atty's ofc for an R appointee from R prez. More on their bckgrds: texastribune.org/2023/05/24/ken…

Speaker Dade Phelan notes that proponents' time going over their one hour will count against them during the debate. Opponents are going to be allowed to speak now in this next hour.

Smithee first opponent to speak. Says the House's vote today will have an immediate consequence: Paxton will be temporarily removed til Senate vote.

"It's what I call the 'hang 'em now and judge em later' policy."

Smithee says he and other members will have to defend this vote to constituents.

"This process is indefensible," he says.

Smithee complains House had less than 24 hours notice and vote is happening over holiday weekend.

"We should be doing this with full notice and with full opportunity for the public to participate," he said.

Smithee says it concerns him and thinks it should concern members that not one witness put under oath.

"You have all these things that amount to accusations ... not evidence," he says. "Today it could be Ken Paxton; tomorrow it could be you."

Smithee urges the House to "come back and do this in the right way."

They can end session and be called back for a one-day hearing, he says. Says they're being asked to impeach "without evidence" and "all rumor, all innuendo, all speculation."

The gallery claps for Smithee, and Speaker reminds them outbursts are not allowed. There are a lot fewer state troopers here than before (5-10 vs. 15-20).

Unlike SB 14 debate, the gallery is not cleared on first instance of an outburst.

Tinderholt: "It's a sad day for our chamber."

Criticizes the House for affording "more time to the tampon tax" debate "than deciding whether to impeach the highest law enforcement officer in our state."

Tinderholt: "When you vote today, don't listen to bullies inside or outside this building that try to intimidate you into submission. You're better than that. This is wrong, you know it. Your voters know it...Don't tarnish this institution. Don't cheapen the act of impeachment."

State Rep. Brian Harrison, R-Midlothian, says he's opposed to impeachment not bc he's convinced of the AG's innocence, but bc of his concerns with the process and what he called a "sham railroading of a political enemy."

Smithee says he didn't bring up concerns sooner bc he didn't know this was going on until Tue night.

State Rep. Nate Schatzline, R-Fort Worth, asks why members haven't had direct access to witness testimony. Smithee says it's an issue. 2ndhand/3rdhand info "much less reliable."

Schatzline asks if they can postpone the impeachment vote. Smithee says no bc the process is underway.

But he says members can vote no today, and he doesn't believe that would prejudice a future attempt at impeachment (with a reformed process).

State Rep. Harold Dutton, D-Houston, asks about standard of evidence Smithee is looking for. Probable cause?

Smithee: Probable cause must be based on evidence, not any innuendo or accusation. My concern is we have no evidence.