Texas House panel advances articles of impeachment against AG Ken Paxton

The Texas House of Representatives’s Republican-led General Investigating Committee advanced articles of impeachment Thursday against state Attorney General Ken Paxton (R). 

The panel had spent months probing Paxton and recommended impeachment for a range of alleged misconduct and potential crimes.

The state House could vote on the impeachment recommendation as soon as Friday. In Texas, impeachment — which requires a two-thirds vote in the House — would mean he has to step down from his top attorney post until he faces trial in the state Senate. 

Four former state prosecutors, commissioned by the Texas House, revealed a number of allegations against Paxton earlier this week, including that he took bribes from a real estate developer and then fired deputies who reported it. 

Paxton was indicted by a state grand jury for securities fraud in 2016. 

The recommendation comes shortly after Paxton called for the resignation of the Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan (R), alleging the lawmaker had presided over the state chamber while intoxicated. 

The Associated Press contributed.