OPINION: The Texas Senate should vote to convict Ken Paxton

Very soon, Texas Senators will cast a historic vote in the Impeachment Trial of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Impeachment has only happened three times in Texas history, as impeachment proceedings were an option given to our elected officials to handle extraordinary situations, and this event should not be taken lightly.

And it also shouldn’t be a partisan vote. Elected officials, especially the Attorney General, as the highest law enforcement official in the state, should be held to the highest standard. Paxton is a Republican, and eighteen of the Senators are Republican, but having an R by your name does not obligate you to condone corruption or abuse of office. The Constitution, in fact, allows for the House and the Senate to sit in judgment of their peers and hold them to a higher standard of accountability as an officer of the State of Texas.  

There is no question that the testimony over the nine days of the trial has shown that Ken Paxton used his office to benefit a friend, donor, and real estate developer, Nate Paul. And for this reason, the Texas Senate should vote to convict Ken Paxton on impeachment charges which will remove him from office.