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You are here: Home / Economics / C.R.E.A.M. / Repub Venality Open Thread: The Ken Paxton Impeachment Trial

Repub Venality Open Thread: The Ken Paxton Impeachment Trial

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Per the Associated Press:

… The historic proceedings set to start in the state Senate Tuesday are the most serious threat yet to one of Texas’ most powerful figures after nine years engulfed by criminal charges, scandal and accusations of corruption. If convicted, Paxton — just the third official in Texas’ nearly 200-year history to be impeached — could be removed from office.

Witnesses called to testify could include Paxton and a woman with whom he has acknowledged having an extramarital affair. Members of the public hoping to watch from the gallery will have to line up for passes. And conservative activists have already bought up TV airtime and billboards, pressuring senators to acquit one of former President Donald Trump’s biggest defenders.

“It’s a very serious event but it’s a big-time show,” said Bill Miller, a longtime Austin lobbyist and a friend of Paxton. “Any way you cut it, it’s going to have the attention of anyone and everyone.”

The build-up to the trial has widened divisions among Texas Republicans that reflect the wider fissures roiling the party nationally heading into the 2024 election…

As long as Paxton was ‘only’ swindling investors and robbing Texas taxpayers, his fellow Republicans couldn’t see any problems. But if he’s been committing unsanctioned sexual activity… (and, just incidentally, allowing another grifter access to the public cookie jar so that Paxton could keep enjoying his paramour’s cookies)…

In September 2018, Attorney General Ken Paxton gathered his staff to make a fateful confession.

With two months to go before Election Day — and holding hands with his wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton — the attorney general reportedly told them about an extramarital affair. He said it was over and swore to recommit to his marriage.

But Ken Paxton didn’t — the first in a series of consequential choices that Texas House impeachment managers say set off a chain of alleged crimes and coverups that, five years later, has culminated in one of the most dramatic moments in Texas political history. The once-in-a-century impeachment trial that starts Tuesday is expected to center on Paxton’s infidelity, and could air out the sordid details of the staunch, Christian conservative’s life as he sits just yards away from his wife, and her 30 Senate colleagues who will serve as jurors to decide her husband’s fate.

House impeachment managers argue that Paxton, driven in large part by his desire to continue and conceal the tryst, went to great, impeachable — and potentially criminal — lengths to hide the betrayal from his wife, and from the deeply religious voters who have sustained his political life for two decades.

Citing nearly 4,000 pages of documents that were released last month, impeachment managers allege that Paxton repeatedly abused his office to help real estate investor Nate Paul’s faltering businesses amid an FBI raid, looming bankruptcies and a litany of related lawsuits. In exchange, Paul allegedly hired Paxton’s girlfriend so that she could move to Austin and helped Paxton clandestinely meet with her through a secret Uber account that the two men shared.

House impeachment managers argue that Paxton had every reason to keep the affair quiet. They point to his apparent burner phones and secret email addresses as evidence that he worried infidelity could destroy his political career…

It’s a long piece, but if you’re a connoisseur of corruption, you’ll want to savor the whole thing.

Fast facts here:


(I knew Paxton was one of TFG’s cadre of official election deniers, but I did not know or had forgotten that Paxton was at the ‘Stop the Steal’ rally in DC on January 6th.)

… What are the stakes? They’re sky high, not just for Paxton but also for other powerful Texans. A conviction would probably spell the end of Paxton’s once promising career in Republican politics. It would also reflect poorly on the influence of staunch Paxton supporters, led by billionaire megadonor Tim Dunn, whose acolytes have been working mightily—and apparently legally—to tamper with the jury. They have publicly and privately threatened to lavishly fund primary challengers against any Republican senators who might vote against Paxton. A conviction would also put Dan Patrick, who rules the Senate with an iron fist and will preside over the trial of Paxton, in hot water with Dunn. The oilman’s political action committee gave Patrick $1 million in campaign cash and $2 million in loans—repayment of which the PAC can later forgive if it is pleased—shortly after Paxton was impeached. Dunn has been a generous supporter in the past, but that’s thirty times more than his PAC gave Patrick last year, when the lieutenant governor was actually up for election.

Even if Paxton is acquitted, he is considered likely to face federal criminal charges for some of the alleged misdeeds that led to his impeachment. And he would still face a state criminal trial that will take place after the impeachment proceedings, a full eight years after his indictment on felony securities-fraud charges.

An acquittal by the Senate, especially if followed by a conviction in federal court, would seem to set Patrick and his Republican majority up for major pain and embarrassment. Whether that outcome would hurt GOP senators at the polls remains to be seen. Regardless, it’s indisputable that an acquittal—given the piles of damning evidence against Paxton—would set a rotten example for the schoolchildren of Texas, other public officials, other lawyers, and so on. That prospect seemed very much on the minds of both Republicans and Democrats in the Texas House, led by Speaker Dade Phelan, when they voted overwhelmingly to indict Paxton. But in Patrick’s Senate, such considerations have taken a back seat to political calculations, mostly involving the wishes of big GOP campaign donors and primary voters.

Paxton is arguably the most powerful state AG in the country, a Donald Trump loyalist who, among many other actions on behalf of the far right, unsuccessfully sued four swing states in an attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. That loss bought him the love of the 3 percent of Texans who decide Republican primary elections, who see Paxton as eager to stand up and fight not only against Democrats but also against Republicans insufficiently loyal to the MAGA cause. Paxton has Trump’s enduring loyalty: the former president has called the impeachment “election interference.” …

Reader Interactions

76Comments

  1. 1.

    Kent

    As a former Texan, it’s hard for me to believe that the Texas GOP will really go through with this.  No matter how vile Paxton is.

    But I guess we shall see.

  3. 3.

    rikyrah

    Maybe one day, the Republicans will tell the truth about what he’s done.

    Because, they just didn’t wake up one day and discover that he was a crook, That he was corrupt.

    They been knew.

    But, something was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

     

    Maybe, one day they’ll tell us.

  5. 5.

    rikyrah

     

    I truly believe this. I will NEVER forget those weeks leading up to the South Carolina Primary. I remember those who were writing articles about how Joe Biden should drop out. Remember ‘ bend the knee’. They were salivating for a Bernie win, so that Dolt45 could be re-elected. Their stunned silence in South Carolina, followed up by Super Tuesday 2020, left them destroyed. You could tell it on their faces. I always enjoy watching the videos from the South Carolina Primary especially. THEY.WERE.SHOOK.

    Bad Faith  (@Jeffdc5) posted at 10:58 AM on Tue, Sep 05, 2023:
    Reporters were doing long term family planning based on Trump winning a second term. They will never forgive Biden and his 81 million voters.

     

    Bad Faith  (@Jeffdc5) posted at 11:18 AM on Tue, Sep 05, 2023:
    You can’t even comprehend how much money reporters were looking at if Bernie ended up winning the Democratic Party primary and then went on to get destroyed by Trump like Reagan in the 80s. The bag they lost between the primary and the general election is countless.
    (https://twitter.com/Jeffdc5/status/1699094756326879606?t=pv8krpP7zEWSOMHI8M_y4Q&s=03)

  6. 6.

    Yarrow

    Apparently the morning votes (or something like that) were bad for Paxton. Commentators were surprised it all went the prosecution’s way. Or maybe all but one.

  8. 8.

    SFAW

    Fortunately, his state-senator wife has refused to recuse herself, so she can vote to convict.

    Yeah, sure.

  12. 12.

    rikyrah

    Christopher Webb (@cwebbonline) posted at 8:39 AM on Tue, Sep 05, 2023:
    Ohio Republicans are already trying to confuse voters when it comes to abortion rights in the ballot.
    #YesOnOhio1

     The Republican controlled Ohio Ballot Board rejected using the full text of the constitutional amendment on the ballot – instead,  they used anti abortion… https://t.co/bP9e0oiPwW
    (https://twitter.com/cwebbonline/status/1699054601549570385?t=oujcM5MqeanC8pwrprADCQ&s=03)

  13. 13.

    smith

    @rikyrah: Yes, it’s weird. So much of what Paxton is accused doing of is ho-hum SOP for the contemporary GQP, why is this corruption so much more objectionable than everyday GQP corruption? For that matter, why does it merit impeachment so much more than attempting to overthrow democracy does?

  15. 15.

    Old Man Shadow

    But in Patrick’s Senate, such considerations have taken a back seat to political calculations, mostly involving the wishes of big GOP campaign donors and primary voters.

    So basically their long, dark night of the soul… their agonizing Sophie’s Choice… is whether they do their jobs and hold a fellow Republican accountable for his misdeeds or they opt to wallow openly in the same corruption and do the bidding of their owners.

    Kind of loses the pathos when you phrase it honestly.

  16. 16.

    Josie

    @SFAW: ​
     No. She can sit in the Senate for the trial, but she cannot vote. If I were her, I would want to kick him in a vulnerable spot. She must stand to lose something, either money or position, if he is convicted.

  17. 17.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @rikyrah: My bet is it’s the same thing that happened with Grietens here in Misery: He got too big for his britches and thought he could do anything he wanted to anyone he wanted.

    Turns out he’s not god after all.

  19. 19.

    CaseyL

    @OzarkHillbilly: I got 17.  So that makes me… not-really-old?

    A lot of the items I didn’t tick off were around and available, I just didn’t do them.

    One thing they could have asked, which would really out the olds among us, is “Did you have a phone number with an alphabetical exchange?”

    Because I did – rather, my Mom and Dad did.  I still remember it, too:  JE3-0655.

  20. 20.

    MattF

    According to reports, Paxton had a very bad morning. Yeah, he’s a stone-cold corrupt liar, but it’s still a surprise to see a group of elected Texas Republican politicians appear to recognize that, and, y’know, do something about it. But we shall see. It’s too soon for hopefulness, IMO.

  21. 21.

    smith

    @CaseyL: Not only did we have one when I was a kid (DI6-5015), we also had a party line. There were words to use as mnemonics for the alphabetical prefix — for ours, the DI stood for “Dickens.”

  22. 22.

    CaseyL

    @MattF: In his pleas to each charge before the trial started, Paxton’s attorney either said “He’s innocent!” or “The charges are false!” I noted the difference.

    I suspect the difference was deliberate, and the charges on which Paxton claims “innocence” are going to be painted as standard practice in Texas governance; i.e., not really crimes.

  23. 23.

    Cameron

    Ken Paxton is about as likely to get impeached in Texas as I am to be elected Emperor of the Universe.

  27. 27.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @smith: Same here.

    @CaseyL: TA1-2853. My folks never got rid of their landline, had that number till Ma die in ’06. I still have it on my cell phone, probably will until I die.

  28. 28.

    RedDirtGirl

    @Josie: One thing I read in a WaPo article which is interesting is that even though his wife can’t vote, her presence is counted in the total, so is basically a “no” vote any way, which seems crazy to me. How does that count as a recusal?

  32. 32.

    Roger Moore

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    I scored 20 out of 24.

    I’m also at 20 of 24.  I never used AOL or MySpace, never bought from Columbia House, and never made a mix tape.  I’m old enough to have done all those things, but somehow I never was serious enough about music to make mix tapes or shop at Columbia House, and I was on the internet too early to go with AOL or get excited about MySpace when there was USENET.

  36. 36.

    CaseyL

    @prostratedragon: ​

    We moved to a different state between 6th and 7th grade for me. Our number in Miami Beach was all numbers. I’m not sure how much I noticed at the time, or just assumed it was different because we were in a different state.

  40. 40.

    Tenar Arha

    @OzarkHillbilly: We had an Atari, but my cousins & brother monopolized it and I never really got to play on it, so 22 of 24. (I also never had a MySpace account)

    Re: AOL, I figure having AOL Chat counts as an account.

  41. 41.

    Jackie

    @smith: Same here. The good ol’ days of eavesdropping. And, if impatiently waiting to make a call, picking up the receiver and hanging up louder and louder until the other party took the hint. Fortunately Dad’s business as a realtor made him switch to a private line fairly quickly.

    Our call letters were WH for White Hall.

  42. 42.

    Roger Moore

    @smith: ​
     

    never owned a Walkman or played with an Atari — that was my kids!

    Walkmen and Ataris weren’t exclusively for kids. I remember my aunt had a Walkman, one of the very fanciest models that slid together after you took the tape out so it was barely bigger than the cassette itself. I’m pretty sure those were aimed at well-off adults like her rather than kids.

  44. 44.

    Roger Moore

    Just for everyone who doesn’t want to click through to Xitter, the quiz is:

    You Might Be Old If

    1 Point For Everything You’ve Done

    • Used a Rotary Phone
    • Used a Floppy Disk
    • Used a Typewriter
    • Taken Pics With a Film Camera
    • Listened To Music On a CD
    • Made a Mixed [sic] Tape
    • Owned a Walkman
    • Listened To Music On a Boombox
    • Watched a Movie On VHS
    • Rented a Movie From Blockbuster
    • Learned Cursive
    • Played an Atari
    • Sent or Received a Fax
    • Had a MySpace Account
    • Ordered From Columbia House
    • Had an AOL Address
    • Access The Internet Via Dial Up
    • Used an Encyclopedia
    • Used a Phone Book
    • Sent a Postcard
    • Used a Paper Map
    • Owned a Dictionary
    • Written a Cheque
    • Uncurled a Telephone Cord
  49. 49.

    RedDirtGirl

    @Jackie: As I said at #28, there is something strange about the “recusal”. This is from today’s WaPo article.

    A two-thirds vote is required for Paxton to be convicted, meaning 21 of 31 senators. The Senate includes 19 Republicans and 12 Democrats, and while Angela Paxton technically isn’t allowed to vote, she counts toward the total and so is effectively a “no” vote.

  50. 50.

    Splitting Image

    22 out of 24 for me. I still have a working Atari 2600. Part of a small collection of old-school videogame systems I have.

  52. 52.

    RAM

    Billionaires, burner phones, alleged bribes, extramarital affairs. Pretty typical Republican behavior, actually. Actually amazing he’s having to spend time accounting for it all. It used to take finding a dead woman or a live boy in bed with one of these creeps to result in any real consequences.

  53. 53.

    wjca

    @Cameron: Ken Paxton is about as likely to get impeached in Texas as I am to be elected Emperor of the Universe.

    Congratulations, Your Imperial Majesty!

    (Since, as noted, he’s already been impeached. )

  55. 55.

    JBear

    @SFAW: Angela Paxton can attend the trial. She cannot participate in the deliberations and she cannot vote on on any of the articles.

  56. 56.

    Subsole

     

     

    @rikyrah: Never, EVER forget: when the chips were down and over two centuries of our Democracy, our lives and futures and freedoms, when our home hung in the balance…they chose access and book deals and cocktail parties and chum-slumming with the GOP.

    Let them choke on their anger and drown in their tears. I remember how they ate up every last drop of abuse and disrespect and nastiness Dullard J. Trump served them and asked for more, with a smile.

    They can yell all they want. We’ve seen them.

    To borrow a phrase from the Black community, game has been peeped.

  58. 58.

    Scout211

    @Nelle: Plaza 2-1538. Des Moines County, Iowa. Originally a party line!  We were thrilled when the party was finally over.  LOL.

  60. 60.

    Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony

    23 out of 25.  I never had a MySpace account, though lots of friends did. I never ordered from Columbia House.

  62. 62.

    Uncle Cosmo

    17/24. After we moved down the block to the ancestral home when I was a little over 2, our phone exchange was ATwater 4 – par for the course in Dundalk, southeastern Baltimore County, once (& probably still at that time) the largest unincorporated metropolitan area in the USA. (1950 population ~82,000; had it seceded from the County and incorporated, it would’ve been the second largest city in MD)

    (FTR Allan Sherman got some minor smileage out of the changeover with his “‘Let’s All Call Up AT&T And Protest To The President’ March.”)

  63. 63.

    Hoppie

    I grew up with ROckwell 7-1769 which my parents drilled into me about age 4 or 5. Had a blast about thirty years ago when we bought our house in Lexington, Kentucky, and worked out that the phone number we got was originally in the CAlumet 5 exchange, since the house was on land which was originally part of the Calumet Farm apple orchard.  It was fun to hand that out as our new phone “number” with CA5.  (My cell area code is still 859, which was deliberately for UKY)

  65. 65.

    RaflW

    Nothing against the fine Texas Tribune, but the phrase “sordid details of the staunch, Christian conservative” is quite something.

    He’s not conservative! He’s a repressive, corrupt slimeball who wants everyone else to follow rules, yes. But that’s authoritarian assholery, not conservatism.

  67. 67.

    lowtechcyclist

    @rikyrah: ​
     

    [Biden’s] a boring politician, and it has the national media seething. They miss the chaos and drama of Trump so badly. But the rest of us do not.

    “Zaphod Beeblebrox for President!” – the mainstream media

    I wish I had a time machine so I could send the lot of them back to the court of Louis XIV, where they’d fit right in as obsequious courtiers.

  68. 68.

    lowtechcyclist

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Open thread so here’s a little bit of fun:

    I only scored 18 out of 24, but 5 of the 6 I hadn’t done were things that came along after I was an adult and just never bothered to do.

    I’d add stuff like:

    family TV was black & white

    bought 45 rpm singles of current hits

    had monaural 33 rpm records

    had an AM-only radio

    Phone number had an alphabetical exchange (courtesy of CaseyL @19)

    Was on a party line (various)

  69. 69.

    gene108

    @CaseyL:

    One thing they could have asked, which would really out the olds among us, is “Did you have a phone number with an alphabetical exchange?”

    Because I did – rather, my Mom and Dad did. I still remember it, too: JE3-0655.

    “Wrote a cheque” as a question makes me think the author is from a not-USA English speaking country.

    Who the hell knows what British or Canadian phone numbers were like?

  72. 72.

    WendyBinFL

    @Roger Moore: 20 of 24 here, plus all of the tells listed by lowtechcyclist in #68. Childhood phone was CHapel 9-1612, originally a party line, and even after it became private, my father kept a 3-minute egg timer to limit my sister’s conversations with friends. Not a problem for me, I had no social life… Most pathetic of all, apparently — I still use my AOL account!

  73. 73.

    Gvg

    Why is that other donor so determined to threaten GOP Texas senators to acquit? What has he got to cover up? Or deal is Paxton getting for him? He has to be crooked too, otherwise he could just write off one politician and buy the next one for cheaper money and less attention.

  74. 74.

    BruceFromOhio

    The Texas Senate is boring, conventional wisdom says. In this case, conventional wisdom is right. When the legislative session starts, journalists in their bureaus have to divvy up responsibilities. Nearly everyone wants the House. The House is exciting and chaotic and makes news regularly. The Senate is quiet and next to nothing ever happens on the floor that hasn’t been carefully choreographed behind closed doors hours, or days, beforehand. The carpet is an unpleasant shade of green and the room reeks of futility. To be in this room, where so much hangs in the balance and the outcome feels genuinely uncertain, is a rather shocking inversion of some of the fundamental rules of Texas politics.

    Emphasis mine. From Christopher Hooks, via Texas Monthly

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