Thread by @RealCarlBlair

For those bemoaning the "unfair" @KenPaxtonTX #impeachment process, here's all the TX Constitution says about the House's role in impeaching statewide officials:

ART XV SEC 1: "The power of impeachment shall be vested in the House of Representatives."

That's it.

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TX Constitution on the #impeachment trial in the Senate:

ART XV SEC: 3. "When the senate is sitting as a Court of Impeachment, the senators shall be on oath, or affirmation, impartially to try the party impeached . . . (cont'd)

and no person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of the senators present."

There need to be 20 or 21 votes for conviction in the Senate to remove @KenPaxtonTX from office. # changes depending on whether his wife &State Sen. @AngelaPaxtonTX recuses herself.

The TX Constitution goes on in ART XV SEC 4 to state that a person can only be removed from office and banned from holding office as a result of an impeachment trial itself, but they can still face criminal punishment in a court of law for the conduct that got them removed.

ART XV SEC 5 says once articles of #impeachment are passed by the House, the impeached official is automatically suspended from office and the Governor can appoint a temporary replacement until the Senate trial is concluded.

@GregAbbott_TX's doing that:
dallasexpress.com/state/breaking…

So what does state law say about the process? We need to look to the Texas Government Code Chapter 665 for that info.

statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/GV/htm/GV…

Much, if not most, of TX Govt Code Chapter 665 is filled with requirements for the timing of the trial depending on whether or not the #txlege is in session when the #impeachment vote was taken by the House.

So for our purposes, I think we can skip those sections for now.

Here's the Code provision on what powers the House has during #impeachment proceedings:

Sec. 665.005. POWERS OF HOUSE DURING IMPEACHMENT PROCEEDING. "When conducting an impeachment proceeding, the house or a house committee may: (1) send for persons or papers . . .

(2) compel the giving of testimony; and (3) punish for contempt to the same extent as a district court of this state."

Note either the entire House OR a House Committee can conduct the investigation.

The later happened in @KenPaxtonTX's case.

house.texas.gov/_media/pdf/com…

The House General Investigating Committee found cause after a five month investigation to send 20 articles of #impeachment for the entire @TexasHouse to vote on.

And then the full House voted 121-23 in favor of impeaching @KenPaxtonTX.

texastribune.org/2023/05/25/ken…

So back to the Govt Code & onto the Senate.

Sec. 665.024. ADOPTION OF RULES. "The senate shall adopt rules of procedure when it resolves into a court of impeachment."

The Senate gets to set the rules for the #impeachment trial, and then once they do that, the trial starts.

Now what powers does the Senate have during the #impeachment trial?

Sec. 665.027. POWERS OF SENATE MEETING AS A COURT OF IMPEACHMENT. "(a) The senate may: (1) send for persons, papers, books, and other documents; (2) compel the giving of testimony . . .

(3) punish for contempt to the same extent as a district court; (4) meet in closed session for purposes of deliberation; and (5) exercise any other power necessary to carry out its duties under Article XV of the Texas Constitution . . .

(b) The senate may employ assistance to enforce and execute the lawful orders, mandates, writs, process, and precepts of the senate meeting as a court of impeachment."

That's a REALLY broad set of powers when coupled w/the Senate's ability to set their own rules for the trial.

And now for the most unique wrinkle of @KenPaxtonTX's #impeachment trial.

So we know that the State Senate will vote on whether or not to remove Paxton from office. That's their job when it comes to an impeachment trial.

But Paxton's wife, @AngelaPaxtonTX, is a State Senator.

So here's what the Govt Code says about the attendance of Senators at an #impeachment trial:

Sec. 665.026. ATTENDANCE OF SENATORS. "Each member of the senate shall be in attendance when the senate is meeting as a court of impeachment."

That's all it says.

So should @AngelaPaxtonTX have to #recuse herself? To anyone but the most staunch of partisans, I feel that it's undeniable that she has a conflict of interest from a moral and ethical standpoint.

But what does the Govt Code say about a legal requirement? Nothing at all.

However, ART 3 SEC. 22 of the TX Constitution states:

DISCLOSURE OF PERSONAL OR PRIVATE INTEREST IN MEASURE OR BILL; NOT TO VOTE. "A member who has a personal or private interest in any measure or bill, proposed, or pending before the Legislature . . .

shall disclose the fact to the House, of which he is a member, and shall not vote thereon."

We all know that @AngelaPaxtonTX is @KenPaxtonTX's wife, so the question becomes do #impeachment proceedings qualify as a "measure or bill, proposed, or pending before the Legislature"?

I think you can certainly make a very strong argument that the #impeachment trial does qualify, but, in practice, this provision of the Constitution is routinely ignored.

Non-Paxton Exhibit A: Rep. Tom Craddick & his daughter @ChristiCraddick.

texasmonthly.com/news-politics/…

So we're left with ART 3 SEC 22 of the TX Constitution which could reasonably be argued to require @AngelaPaxtonTX recuse herself.

But both ART XV of the TX Constitution & Chapter 665 of the TX Govt Code that deal specifically w/impeachments are completely silent on recusals.

So there are certainly outstanding questions remaining w/regards to @KenPaxtonTX's upcoming #impeachment trial.

IMHO, the two biggest are:
1) Will @AngelaPaxton recuse herself?
AND of course
2) Will at least 9 @TexasSenateGOP members vote to remove @KenPaxtonTX from office?

To be honest, I don't know the answer to those questions. Neither answer to either of those questions would surprise me.

But, at the very least, for any of you kind enough to have read through this (long) thread, now you have an idea of how impeachments actually work in Texas.

Addendum: I forgot to mention that the House Cmte on General Investigating also followed the procedures laid out in Rule 3 Sec 13(c) and Rule 4 Sec. 12 of the #txlege House Rules Manual.

Notice the process argument folks aren't providing specifics.

So thanks again for reading!

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