Ken Paxton is the Republican Texas Attorney General. Flaunting his blizzard of litigation against the Biden administration. He’d also spearheaded the legally absurd lawsuit after the 2020 election, challenging other states’ voting procedures. All (which was the real aim) endearing Paxton to the Trump cult. Despite all his corruption.
The smelliest aspect is Paxton allegedly bending the system to make real estate developer Nate Paul’s serious legal troubles go away — in return for Paul’s hefty campaign contributions and other favors, including hiring Paxton’s mistress. He’s also been indicted for felony securities fraud. And so on.
Seven of Paxton’s top underlings (no Democrats, this is Texas) had blown the whistle, alerting the FBI to the bribery and corruption. They got fired or otherwise punished.
Yet Paxton coasted to re-election in 2022 — beating, in the primary, a Bush no less. (By two-to-one; Paxton previously beat Sam Houston.)
However, it actually seemed there might be moral limits, even, incredibly enough, for Texas Republicans. Paxton’s corruption miasma becoming unignorable, the GOP-controlled State House of Representatives summoned up the intestinal fortitude to impeach him, by an overwhelming (121 to 23) bipartisan vote.
And it looked like the State Senate would follow suit and convict him. It rejected (24 to 6) motions to dismiss the charges. Republican senators were seen to be pre-emptively shoring up their right-wing credentials, in anticipation of fending off blowback from Paxton-loving MAGA cultists.
Who in the end proved just too strong. Those senators lost their nerve, finally too scared to cross the Trumpist dupes dominating their own political base. All but two Republican senators caved and voted to acquit on all 16 corruption charges.
Meanwhile, over in Washington . . . House Republicans push their phony impeachment of President Biden for imaginary corruption, with absolutely zero evidence.
But don’t forget, this is the “law and order” party.
