Republican AG Ken Paxton Flips the Script on Those Who Tried to Impeach Him
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton intends to file criminal complaints against state legislators who tried to remove him from office, alleging they broke the law when they shared his personal information in documents related to the case.
Paxton was targeted by members of his own party in an impeachment effort that accused him of corruption and saw him suspended for the duration of a trial.
The state Senate ultimately found him not guilty of any crimes and he was reinstated to his position on Sept. 17.
Paxton’s attorney Tony Buzbee referred to the trial as a “political witch hunt,” the Associated Press reported.
Weeks after going back on the job, Paxton is going after his impeachment managers, alleging they violated the law when his personal contact information was shared in impeachment documents.
“The impeachment managers clearly have a desire to threaten me with harm when they released this information last week,” the AG said in a statement obtained by The Texas Tribune.
He added, “I’m imploring their local prosecutors in each individual district to investigate the criminal offenses that have been committed.”
Seven of Paxton’s 12 impeachment managers are Republicans, the Tribune reported.
They are Reps. Andrew Murr of Junction; Charlie Geren of Fort Worth; David Spiller of Jacksboro; Briscoe Cain of Deer Park; Jeff Leach of Plano; Morgan Meyer of University Park; and Cody Vasut of Angleton.
A Texas state law that went into effect last month made it a criminal offense to disclose addresses and phone numbers in some cases.
The text of the law states:
“A person commits and offense if the person posts on a publicly accessible website the residence address or telephone number of an individual with the intent to cause harm or a threat to harm the individual or a member of the individual’s family or household.”
Texas state House attorney Rusty Hardin issued a statement in which he claimed there was no violation of the state’s new law.
He argued Paxton’s personal information has been public for many years and that the information in question was admitted into the record without objection from Paxton during the impeachment trial.
“[The information posted was] simply a repeat of public information to anyone that wants to look into it,” Hardin said.
Hardin also vowed his own criminal complaint against Paxton for filing a false police report if he indeed seeks charges against the impeachment managers.
Murr called the threat of facing a criminal charge “horse manure.”
“Growing up on a ranch, I was taught to keep the manure on the outside of my boots,” the Texas Republican said. “Mr. Paxton’s baseless threats about filing criminal complaints are horse manure, and they are filling his boots full.”
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