Trump Voices Support for Ken Paxton Amid Impeachment

President Donald Trump waves upon arrival, alongside Attorney General of Texas Ken Paxton (L) in Dallas, Texas, on June 11, 2020. Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images

Former President Donald Trump took to Truth Social to voice his support for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is in the midst of impeachment proceedings.

“Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was easily re-elected last November, but now establishment RINOS [Republicans in name only] are trying to undo that Election with a shameful impeachment of him,” he wrote.

“Who would replace Paxton, one of the TOUGHEST & BEST Attorney Generals in the Country? Could it be a Democrat, or even worse, a RINO? The voters have decided who they want! Democrats are feeling very good right now as they watch, as usual, the Republicans fight & eat away at each other. It’s a SAD day in the Great State of Texas!”

This is not the first time the former president has supported Mr. Paxton, who backed the president in 2020 and called on the Supreme Court to hear challenges of the electoral vote.

In May, the Republican-led Texas House of Representatives voted to impeach Mr. Paxton, who had just been reelected to his post six months prior.

Impeachment

The impeachment involved 20 articles of corruption, including obstruction of justice, bribery, and abuse of public trust. Mr. Paxton allegedly granted a real estate developer favors and used public funds to punish whistleblower and pay someone he had an extramarital affair with. He pleaded not guilty to 16 articles, while a remaining four were held in abeyance.

Mr. Paxton was removed from official duties and put out a statement that the process did not provide him an opportunity to tell his side of the story.

He called those who voted for the impeachment RINOs and liberals, echoing President Trump’s posts on social media in the wake of the impeachment proceedings.

“I love Texas, won it twice in landslides, and watched as many other friends, including Ken Paxton, came along with me,” Trump also wrote. “Hopefully Republicans in the Texas House will agree that this is a very unfair process that should not be allowed to happen or proceed—I will fight you if it does.”

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) had also voiced support for the embattled attorney general, echoing Mr. Paxton’s statements that he had pushed back on Biden administration policies that didn’t serve his state.

“No attorney general has battled the abuses of the Biden admin more ferociously—and more effectively—than has Paxton,” Mr. Cruz wrote. “That’s why the swamp in Austin wants him out. The special interests don’t want a steadfast conservative AG. I understand that people are concerned about Ken’s legal challenges. But the courts should sort them out.”

Supporters of Mr. Paxton have cast the proceedings as a political attack, highlighting the lack of evidence presented to begin the process in the first place.

Prosecutors abruptly announced they would rest their case on Wednesday, after defense attorney Tony Buzbee made a motion to dismiss the charges. An acquittal would have required a majority vote from the Senate, but after meeting to deliberate and vote, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who presides over the Senate, said both sides had withdrawn their motions and the trial would continue.