Paxton politics hits close to home

Though the state Senate cleared embattled Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on 16 articles of impeachment with a vote along party party lines, two local Republicans voiced disappointment with the acquittal.

Their opposition to Paxton, who also is a Republican, is not earning them any praise from the local GOP.

Senators Kelly Richland and Robert Nichols voted for impeachment in most of the articles brought before the Senate on Saturday.

Nichols, representing Liberty County in Senate District 5, voted for impeachment 11 out of 16 times.

“I voted to impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton because of the credible testimony I heard and the many thousands of pages of evidence presented during trial,” said Nichols.

State Rep. Ernest Bailes, who also represents Liberty County, was one of 60 House Republicans who joined all 61 Democrats in Austin to impeach Paxton in May.

The state House sets the stage by investigating and approving articles of impeachment, much like a grand jury, but it’s up to the Senate to adjudicate those charges.

Nichols cites the testimony of several witnesses, including staff from the AG’s office, in his decision to vote to impeach Paxton in a statement released by his office.

“ Their testimony, combined with the totality of all the other evidence presented by the House Board of Managers, proved to me beyond a reasonable doubt that the attorney general’s actions violated Texas law and his oath of office,” Nichols said.

His views aren’t finding favor with a lot of local Republicans, party officials indicated.

Leaders of the Liberty County Republican Party celebrated the clearing of Paxton on the impeachment charges, lauding overwhelming support for the attorney general in the most recent election, where Paxton received 80% of the vote locally.

“While both Liberty County legislators cast their votes in favor of impeaching Attorney General Ken Paxton, he has been completely exonerated from all articles of impeachment. The vindication of General Paxton resoundingly reaffi rms the will of 80% of Liberty County voters,” said Party Chair Wes Thomas and Vice Chair Tommy Brents in a statement.

They are referring to Nichols and Bailes.

“ The charge that the House was given when that took place was to act as a grand jury and was there information there that needed to have a further look? And it was overwhelming,” Bailes said.

The state District 18 representative believes the House presented enough evidence to be looked into by the Senate, with a majority of Republicans and Democrats in favor.

Bailes told a crowd in June he had received more pushback over his vote to impeach Paxton than any other issue during the 88th legislative session, but believed it was necessary following Paxton’s handling of specific issues.

On Wednesday, the four-term representative met constituents in Cleveland for morning coffee and spoke on the Paxton impeachment.

“ There was an acquittal that was there, and it’s our job to go on as the state of Texas, and we simply have to make sure that if there is an issue, we do our due diligence, and once it’s looked at, a final decision is made, and we have a lot of business that needs to go forward,” Bailes said.

After the impeachment proceedings, Paxton fired back shots at the Biden administration and Texas Speaker of the House Dade Phelan, also a Republican.

The GOP holds a majority in both the state House and Senate.

“ The sham impeachment coordinated by the Biden Administration with liberal House Speaker Dade Phelan and his kangaroo court has cost taxpayers millions of dollars, disrupted the work of the Office of Attorney General and left a dark and permanent stain on the Texas House,” Paxton said in a statement.

Phelan, who serves most of Jefferson, Orange and Jasper counties in House District 21 and oversees the Texas House, was recently censured by the Liberty County Republican Party.

That resolution called out Phelan for not adhering to the principles set out by the Republican Party of Texas, echoing the sentiments of Paxton.

“ Texas is a red state. It is not too much to ask that Republican elected officials actually govern according to Republican principles and values,” Thomas said.

Gov. Greg Abbott commended Paxton for upholding those values in a statement following Paxton’s acquittal.

“ The jury has spoken. Attorney General Paxton received a fair trial as required by the Texas Constitution. Attorney General Paxton has done an outstanding job representing Texas, especially pushing back against the Biden Administration. I look forward to continuing to work with him to secure the border and protect Texas from federal overreach,” Abbott said.

On the flip side of the coin is Liberty County Democrat Party Chair Michael Mark, who believes senators voting not to impeach were motivated politically and were simply beholden to former President Donald Trump’s influence over the state Republican Party.

“After watching most of General Paxton’s impeachment trial, it is obvious to me that he should have been removed from office after an overwhelmingly Republican Texas House voted 20 articles of impeachment. In my judgment, the Republican Texas Senators who consistently voted to acquit were going to vote to acquit, regardless of the evidence,” Mark said.

Nichols believes his decision was not based on politics and was simply the right thing to do, based on the information presented in the trial.

“ The oath I swore, to render a true verdict based on the evidence presented, did not leave room for politics or second guessing. I have – and always will – vote for what I believe is right,” said Nichols.

He encouraged the public to examine the evidence and view the court proceedings by visiting www.senate.texas.gov.

Paxton still faces challenges in court. He is scheduled to stand trial in March on an indictment issued eight years ago accusing him of securities fraud. In addition, his relationship with Austin developer Nate Paul, which prompted some of the impeachment charges, is under scrutiny by federal investigators.