Suspended Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton refuted rumors over the weekend that he may resign before his impeachment trial begins next week.
“Wrong! I will never stop fighting for the people of Texas and defending our conservative values,” Paxton wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, in response to reports he may resign. The suspended Attorney General, along with all trial-participating parties, is barred from speaking publicly about the upcoming trial with a gag order.
Paxton’s counsel also denied the speculation.
In a statement to WFAA Monday, Paxton defense attorney Dan Cogdell said;
“He’s not resigning. That isn’t happening. And whomever is starting these false rumors needs to get a life.”
Scott Braddock of The Quorum Report was the first to report the hearsay.
“The chatter got louder among some of the top republicans at the Capitol, I’ll say it that way," Braddock said. "They’re taking it very seriously.”
This comes after Paxton topped the list of witnesses the House impeachment managers intend to call to testify during trial, The Dallas Morning News reported last week.
Paxton faces several felony indictments and federal investigations for charges tangential to his impeachment charges.
"Legal analysis aside, [there are] personal issues here, potentially so nasty, it may be that, at the end of the day, that what Paxton really would want to do if he was going to resign is to avoid some of the very embarrassing testimony that is probably going to unfold if there is a fair and open trial," Braddock said.
Regardless of whether Paxton steps down from his suspended position or not, House prosecutors say the trial will go on.
Dick DeGuerin, one of the attorneys presenting the impeachment case on behalf of the House team leading the effort to remove Paxton from office, said in a statement to WFAA Monday:
"The House Managers and their legal team are preparing for the Senate trial of Impeachment, which will begin on September 5, regardless of whether Mr. Paxton resigns."
Whether Paxton resigns or not, the Texas Constitution indicates a trial will happen. Article 15, section two states, in part, "impeachment of the…Attorney General…shall be tried by the senate.”
This has happened once before in 1917 with then-Governor James “Pa” Ferguson.
“He attempted to avoid everything by resigning the same as the rumor were about Ken Paxton," Braddock explained. "When Ferguson resigned, [the Senate] had the trial in the Senate anyway and ruled he could no longer seek office in Texas.”
Ferguson's resignation came one day before the Senate planned to remove him from office.
At the end of May, the House voted to impeach Paxton 121-23, leading to his immediate suspension from office. Senators’ vote will determine whether or not Paxton must be permanently removed from office.
Allegations against Paxton include bribery, abuse of office, and obstruction. He will be removed from office if two-thirds of the Texas Senate finds him guilty on any of the 20 articles of impeachment against him.
The impeachment trial begins on September 5.