{"id":229,"date":"2023-09-05T14:40:41","date_gmt":"2023-09-05T14:40:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/texas\/press-releases\/paxton-impeachment-trial-highlights-need-for-reforms\/"},"modified":"2023-09-05T14:40:41","modified_gmt":"2023-09-05T14:40:41","slug":"paxton-impeachment-trial-highlights-need-for-reforms","status":"publish","type":"press","link":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/texas\/press\/paxton-impeachment-trial-highlights-need-for-reforms\/","title":{"rendered":"Paxton Impeachment Trial Highlights Need for Reforms"},"template":"","class_list":["post-229","press","type-press","status-publish","hentry","press_type-press-release"],"acf":{"details":{"summary":"Common Cause Texas has long called for adherence and expansion of state\u2019s ethics rules. \r\n","featured_image":"","press_type":153,"authors":[null],"related_issues":[113,408],"related_work":false,"location":52},"sidebar":{"helper_enable_sidebar":false,"helper_media_contact":{"heading":"Media Contact","manually_enter_person":false,"person":null,"name":"","role":"","phone":"","email":""},"helper_links_downloads":{"heading":"Links & Downloads","links":null}},"page_layout":[{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_wysiwyg":{"content":"<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">AUSTIN \u2014\u00a0 Common Cause Texas is calling for improvements to Texas\u2019 ethics rules and a commitment to rooting out public corruption as proceedings to remove Ken Paxton from his position of Texas\u2019 attorney general begins Tuesday.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n<b>\u201cThis impeachment trial would not have happened at all had Paxton not had the audacity to ask the legislature to pay his legal bills,\u201d<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> said Anthony Gutierrez, Executive Director of Common Cause Texas. <\/span><b>\u201cIf Texas had stronger ethics regulations, a stronger and more well-funded ethics commission, and harsher penalties for campaign finance violations, this corruption would likely have been caught far earlier.\u201d<\/b>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Common Cause Texas is calling for the following changes to stamp out the corruption and self-dealing.<\/span>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A stronger Texas Ethics Commission with more staff, more robust investigative powers, and the enforcement powers to hold officeholders accountable for unethical actions.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Limits on campaign contributions, harsher penalties for accepting contributions without reporting them, and prohibitions on contributions during or near any legislative session and special actions, like impeachment trials.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For all Texas courts, but especially in trials such as this one in the Senate, Texas should have clear and fair conflict of interest standards that would require anyone who is to act as a judge or\u00a0 juror to recuse themselves if they have a close relationship with the defendant or have taken or given money to them.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<b>\u201cOur elected officials should be working for the people of Texas and not for their own self-interest,\u201d<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Gutierrez of Common Cause Texas said. <\/span><b>\u201cThese disturbing allegations of bribery and obstructing justice should be a wake-up call to clean up Texas and end this pay-to-play culture.\u201d\u00a0<\/b>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Paxton is accused of bribery, abuse of office and obstruction and was suspended without pay after he was impeached by a vote of 121-23 from the Texas House of Representatives on <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/2023\/05\/27\/ken-paxton-impeached-texas-attorney-general\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">May 27, 2023<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Tuesday\u2019s trial in the state Senate will determine if Paxton is removed from office.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Paxton is accused of:<\/span>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Using his position as attorney general to benefit a campaign donor and friend of his, real estate developer Nate Paul.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Inappropriately firing several whistleblowers in his office and attempting to settle legal claims with public dollars.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Attempting to obstruct justice by seeking delays of a long-running securities fraud\u00a0 criminal case in which Paxton is accused of steering clients to invest in a technology company without disclosing Paxton was a shareholder. Paxton was indicted on charges in 2015 but has yet to go to trial.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Being unfit to serve in public office.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The trial itself can be watched <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kvue.com\/article\/news\/special-reports\/paxton-impeachment-trial\/ken-paxton-impeachment-trial-how-to-watch-texas\/269-c19f230d-936e-4f85-b8fb-4e9071882940\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">here.<\/span><\/a>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Note: Common Cause Texas\u2019s executive director Anthony Gutierrez is available to talk to the media about needed improvements to Texas\u2019\u00a0 ethics laws. Please email <\/span><a href=\"mailto:sovaska@commoncause.org\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">sovaska@commoncause.org<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to arrange an interview.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;"}}]},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.6 (Yoast SEO v27.1.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Paxton Impeachment Trial Highlights Need for Reforms - Common Cause Texas<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/texas\/press-releases\/paxton-impeachment-trial-highlights-need-for-reforms\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Paxton Impeachment Trial Highlights Need for Reforms\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/texas\/press\/paxton-impeachment-trial-highlights-need-for-reforms\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Common Cause Texas\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/texas\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/common-cause-share-image.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/texas\/press-releases\/paxton-impeachment-trial-highlights-need-for-reforms\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/texas\/press-releases\/paxton-impeachment-trial-highlights-need-for-reforms\/\",\"name\":\"Paxton Impeachment Trial Highlights Need for Reforms - 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