National

Texas lawmakers filed 20 articles of impeachment against state Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) on Thursday night — including for alleged bribery, obstruction of justice and abuse of public trust.

The big picture: The filing came hours after a Republican-led House panel unanimously voted to impeach Paxton — whose lawyer called the investigation into allegations that he broke several laws and misused his power to help a political donor "illegal."

What's next: The Texas Legislature could hold a vote as soon as Friday. 

HR02377I

Read: Texas lawmakers file 20 articles of impeachment against Ken Paxton

The articles include alleged bribery, obstruction of justice and abuse of public trust.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Photo: Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images

Texas

<p>Texas lawmakers filed 20 articles of impeachment against state Attorney General <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Ken Paxton" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2023/02/11/ken-paxton-texas-employee-settlement-lawsuit" data-vars-content-id="7ec7d9ff-5436-4fb5-8b50-9d68f21703a5" data-vars-headline="Read: Texas lawmakers file 20 articles of impeachment against Ken Paxton" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2023/02/11/ken-paxton-texas-employee-settlement-lawsuit" target="_self">Ken Paxton</a> (R) on Thursday night — including for alleged bribery, obstruction of justice and abuse of public trust.</p><p><strong>The big picture: </strong>The filing came hours after a Republican-led House panel <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="unanimously voted to impeach Paxton" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2023/05/25/ken-paxton-impeachment-texas-attorney" data-vars-content-id="7ec7d9ff-5436-4fb5-8b50-9d68f21703a5" data-vars-headline="Read: Texas lawmakers file 20 articles of impeachment against Ken Paxton" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2023/05/25/ken-paxton-impeachment-texas-attorney" target="_self">unanimously voted to impeach Paxton</a> — whose lawyer called the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="investigation into allegations" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/dallas/2023/05/25/ken-paxton-abused-power-investigation-impeach" data-vars-content-id="7ec7d9ff-5436-4fb5-8b50-9d68f21703a5" data-vars-headline="Read: Texas lawmakers file 20 articles of impeachment against Ken Paxton" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/dallas/2023/05/25/ken-paxton-abused-power-investigation-impeach" target="_self">investigation into allegations</a> that he broke several laws and misused his power to help a political donor &quot;illegal.&quot;</p><p><strong>What&#x27;s next: </strong>The Texas Legislature could hold a vote as soon as Friday. </p><p><strong>Read the articles, <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="via DocumentCloud" data-vars-click-url="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23825282-hr02377i" data-vars-content-id="7ec7d9ff-5436-4fb5-8b50-9d68f21703a5" data-vars-headline="Read: Texas lawmakers file 20 articles of impeachment against Ken Paxton" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23825282-hr02377i" target="_blank">via DocumentCloud</a>:</strong></p><div><div class="iframe-responsive-wrapper"><iframe height="1152" sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-forms allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox" src="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23825282-hr02377i" title="HR02377I" width="700" class="gtmView" data-vars-category="embed" data-vars-sub-category="documentcloud" data-vars-content-id="7ec7d9ff-5436-4fb5-8b50-9d68f21703a5"></iframe></div><div style="display:none"></div></div><span data-ad-status="NO_AD_LENGTH" data-ad-type="midStoryAd"></span>

President Biden has made the COVID-19 crisis and a post-Trump return to national unity and traditional democratic ideals his top priorities. From vaccinations to stimulus to schools, Biden is seeking bipartisan compromise while showing a willingness to use executive authority and bare Democratic majorities in the U.S. House and Senate to implement his policies. Republican leaders are navigating deep party divisions over if and how to move beyond former President Trump.

Read: Texas lawmakers file 20 articles of impeachment against Ken Paxton

Go deeper