It’s been almost two months since the Texas House of Representatives and its leftist “impeachment managers” targeted the state’s Attorney General Ken Paxton, in a scheme that even makes President Donald Trump’s first foray into the same experience seem positively transparent by comparison.
Now, a full 53 days later, there are still no answers as to why and on what grounds the Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan has been dragging one of the most popular America First figures in the country through this process. Or perhaps Paxton’s “America First” credentials are, in fact, the answer here. Maybe you can find out by giving the Speaker’s office a call.
Because up to this point, even Paxton’s legal counsel is struggling to get answers. Answers which, by the way, are required under Texas law. People have a right to know what they’re being charged with, and any evidence related to those charges. But again, two months on, there hasn’t been so much as some vaguely drafted articles of impeachment which include catch-all phraseology such as “disregard of official duty,” and the ever-green “obstruction of justice.”
In this case, however, it appears to be the prosecutors obstructing justice and the pursuit of it. Paxton’s lawyer Tony Buzbee blasted them on the matter this very week, in a lengthy statement:
“At the direction of Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan, and with the guidance of lawyers from the Obama Administration Biden Justice Department, the House voted to impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton after what can only be described as a secretive and now discredited sham investigation. Now the House Managers appointed by Phelan, including Andrew Murr, Briscoe Cain, and Cody Vasut, continue to disregard individual rights and due process guaranteed by the United States and the Texas Constitution by withholding basic information they are legally required to disclose. We have demanded this information to which Attorney General Ken Paxton is entitled. In every court in the country this type of information would be freely exchanged by prosecutors, and we have demanded that it be produced. The House has ignored our demands and the Attorney General’s constitutional rights.
“Due to these refusals, the House Mangers have abandoned the rule of law and have demonstrated nothing but contempt and disrespect for the Texas Senate as they openly mock the process and rules adopted by the upper chamber.
“The Texas Senate has clearly stated that it intends this process to be fair. However, because of the intransigence of Phelan’s House Managers and their refusal to disclose documents as required by law, it is imperative that the Senate take immediate action to force the House Managers to follow the law. The House voted to impeach Attorney General Paxton without any evidence and now they are desperate to manufacture new charges; apparently they want to saddle the Senate with weeks of testimony over baseless allegations. While the House is trying to cover their tracks, I hope the Senate will embrace transparency and order Phelan’s disciples to follow the law and disclose required information to the defense.
“That’s why I have asked Lt. Governor Dan Patrick to enter a strict and comprehensive scheduling order to set pretrial deadlines that will govern this proceeding. Phelan’s Managers are openly mocking the intent of the Texas Senate to have a fair and open proceeding, and are clearly withholding information that would routinely be disclosed. It is critical the Senate enforce our constitutional guardrails to prevent further institutional damage inflicted by the Texas House.”
And Buzbee is right. How any voters let alone MAGA Republicans in Texas can stand by and watch such a sham of a process take place is beyond me. And how Phelan and his cadre can so readily flout the law by failing to provide any evidence for their claims should be a matter for investigation and impeachment itself.
There is one person who could set this process right: Senate President and Lt. Governor Dan Patrick, who can use Senate rules to force mandatory disclosure of the evidence that uniparty Republicans and their left-wing impeachment managers are resisting. Maybe you could let him know via his office, or his Facebook page, or his Instagram, or his Twitter. Maybe all of them?
Because what Dade Phelan and the gang will be hoping is that MAGA Republicans across Texas and around the country are pre-occupied with the Republican primaries, the looming election, and the Groundhog Day-style indictments of President Donald J. Trump. But I think the America First base is more than capable of walking and chewing gum. And it’s about time to show it.
