The influential Texas Attorney General, Ken Paxton, a great enemy of Joe Biden in the courts, risks impeachment for corruption which will be the subject of a first vote in Congress on Saturday.
A parliamentary commission of inquiry unanimously adopted on Thursday twenty counts against the ” attorney general for corruption, misuse of public funds, misrepresentation or obstruction of justice.
The indictment relates to the pressure exerted by Ken Paxton on his teams in order to protect a friend and donor from legal proceedings. In exchange, the latter gave a job to a mistress of the Republican and financed work in his house, details the document.
The text must be submitted on Saturday to the elected representatives of the House of Representatives of this vast southern American state, who should decide after four hours of debate.
If passed by a simple majority of elected officials, Ken Paxton will be sent for trial in the Texas Senate. It will then be necessary that two thirds of the elected officials (among whom is his wife) agree to dismiss him.
This 60-year-old ultraconservative, close to former President Donald Trump, is divided in his own camp and the outcome of these votes remains very uncertain.
Elected in 2014 to head the Texas judicial system, he has since been the subject of an indictment for financial fraud, which remains pending. This did not prevent him from being re-elected in 2018, then again in 2022.
In this position, he filed fifty complaints against the administration of Democratic President Joe Biden, contesting among other things his migration, tax or environmental policy, he recalled to the press on Friday.
On this occasion, he denounced an “illegal”, “shameful” and “unfair” procedure and called on his supporters to demonstrate on Saturday in front of the Texas Congress, in Austin, at the time of the vote.
“The House stands ready to do something that Joe Biden has been hoping for since taking office: sabotage my work,” he added.
In 2020, members of his team sounded the alarm about his abuse of power.
After being dismissed, these “whistleblowers” filed a complaint for unfair dismissal. Earlier this year, Ken Paxton reached an agreement to end their lawsuits in exchange for $3.3 million.
He asked Texas to foot the bill. This is what justified the opening of a parliamentary inquiry and which could now hasten its downfall.