Ken Paxton has been one of the most right wing and belligerent of Trump’s supporters, advancing all manner of propositions of the MAGA agenda including legal challenges to the results of the 2020 election which was, of course, thrown out. He also seems to be very arrogant and corrupt, with 10 years of investigations and charges pending, so much so that we had that rare event, where Republicans filed 20 articles of impeachment against a fellow Republican and then the body voted in favor, requiring him to be suspended from office, pending a trial by the Texas senate.
Many articles such as this one were irritatingly short of details. They said that the vote in favor of impeachment 121-23 and that the senate needs a two thirds majority to convict him and that his wife is a member of that body but gave no further breakdowns, requiring me to search for them.
The Texas House of Representatives has 150 members, consisting of 85 Republicans, 64 Democrats, and one vacancy. 61 Democrats voted to impeach and were joined by 60 Republicans. All 23 ‘no’ votes were Republicans.
The Texas senate has 31 members so a two-third majority requires 21 votes to convict. There are 19 Republicans and 12 Democrats. All senators are required to be present for the vote. Assuming all Democrats vote in favor of conviction, that requires nine Republicans to vote against their party colleague. It is not clear if Paxton’s wife will recuse herself but I would not be surprised if she votes to acquit. The trial schedule has not been set as yet.
Under the Texas Constitution, Paxton is suspended from office pending the outcome of the Senate trial. The Senate had recessed before the House voted to impeach, and [Lt. governor Dan] Patrick, who presides over the Senate, did not immediately respond to a request for comment about a timeline for an impeachment trial.
Because Paxton was impeached while the Legislature was in session, the Texas Constitution requires the Senate to remain in Austin after the regular session ends Monday or set a trial date for the future, with no deadline for a trial spelled out in the law.
Interestingly, serial sex abuser Donald Trump, his toady senator Ted Cruz, and nutcase Marjorie Taylor Greene came out strongly in support of Paxton but it seemed to have little effect.
I also wouldn’t be surprised if she votes guilty. One of the articles relates to him funneling money to a mistress.
I read about this and then saw it mentioned on one of the national networks last night (I think it was CBS). The last thing they mentioned was Trump’s comment on the situation. I turned to my wife and said, “The media have learned nothing”. Once again, Trump gets free publicity, keeping his name in circulation. They didn’t mention Biden’s commentary or anyone else’s who is not directly involved. I honestly could not care less about what TFG thinks about this. It’s about as relevant as telling me what some random person in Iowa thinks is the best flavor of jelly doughnut. I do not effing care. It’s not news. Stop it already. You’re just feeding the BS machine and creating a positive feedback loop.
Well, jimf.
There’s being in the news and there’s being in the news.
As for this post, I think Mano suggests that this result indicates how Trump’s influence has waned, at least with the Texas legislature.
I was referring to the national news, not Mano’s post.
Thanks, jimf.
(That was the first para; the second was just in case)