Former president Donald Trump said he “saved” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton from getting impeached.
On Monday, Mr Trump took to Truth Social to claim credit for Mr Paxton’s acquittal last week: “Yes, it is true that my intervention through TRUTH SOCIAL saved Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton from going down at the hands of Democrats and some Republicans, headed by PAUL RINO (Ryan), Karl Rove, and others, almost all of whom came back to reason when confronted with the facts.”
He continued, “Ken has been a great A.G., and now he can go back to work for the wonderful people of Texas. It was my honor to have helped correct this injustice!”
It’s unclear how Donald Trump, former House Speaker Paul Ryan or former George W Bush White House adviser Karl Rove were involved in the impeachment process.
However, Mr Rove wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal last month predicting that the Texas attorney general would not come out of the impeachment hearings unscathed.
Mr Rove wrote, “When he won his third term as attorney general last fall, Mr. Paxton said, ‘The reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated.’ Maybe, but they might have been simply premature.”
The Texas Republican was impeached by the Texas House in May over claims that he abused his office to help a wealthy donor Nate Paul, a real estate investor. He was suspended from office that month.
However, the Texas Senate impeachment trial resulted in an acquittal on all 16 charges.
In the wake of the news, Mr Paxton issued a statement, thanking his attorneys for “exposing the absurdity” of the “false allegations” against him.
He added, “The weaponisation of the impeachment process to settle political differences is not only wrong, it is immoral and corrupt. Now that this shameful process is over, my work to defend our constitutional rights will resume.”
Despite being cleared of his impeachment charges, he is not done dealing with legal challenges. Mr Paxton faces trial on felony securities fraud charges, remains under a separate FBI investigation and is at risk of losing his ability to practice law in the state over his attempts to overturn the 2020 election.
Because he was acquitted, Mr Paxton is able to resume his role as Texas attorney general.
Mr Trump previously defended Mr Paxton during the trial, posting that he was “easily re-elected last November, but now establishment RINOS are trying to undo that Election with a shameful impeachment of him.” He called Mr Paxton one of the “TOUGHEST & BEST Attorney Generals in the Country.”
Celebrating the Texas Republican’s acquittal, the former president previously wrote on Truth Social: “Attorney General Paxton was fully acquitted on all 16 Impeachment Articles brought by the Texas Republican House. It is time that Speaker Dade Phelan resign after pushing this Disgraceful Sham!”
He added, “Congratulations to Attorney General Ken Paxton on a great and historic Texas sized VICTORY. I also want to congratulate his wonderful wife and family for having had to go through this ordeal, and WINNING!”
