My statement on today’s impeachment vote
Today, by a vote of 121-23, the Texas House voted to send the articles of impeachment against Attorney General Ken Paxton to the Texas Senate where a trial will be held to determine his guilt or innocence and fitness to remain in office. Although my vote does not presume guilt or innocence, I voted in favor of the resolution in order to give Texans the transparency they deserve in their state government.
Based on the available evidence presented by the committee and the hours-long debate on the House Floor, a full trial in the Senate is the only remedy to either hold Mr. Paxton responsible for his actions or allow him to clear his name with a public defense of the accusations made against him.
I did not make this decision lightly. I have been contacted by constituents who are for and those who are against impeachment. Ultimately, my oath to protect the Constitution bolsters my vote. One cannot be the lead law enforcement officer in the state, and then question a trial before a jury of his peers, especially one who so boldly proclaims his innocence.
The Texas House has already taken steps to protect taxpayers from footing the bill for Mr. Paxton’s whistleblower settlement. Now, it will be up to the attorney general to defend himself in an open trial before the Texas Senate and the entirety of his constituency – the people of Texas.
Watch: The Floor Debate
& Committee Hearing
The archive of the House Floor debate on impeachment will be available on the House Video/Audio page. You may find that link here when the video becomes available.
The full video of the General Investigating Committee hearing is available on the House Video/Audio archive currently. You may view the entire three-hour hearing here.
The Full Report on Impeachment
As part of transparency, you may view the documents associated with the impeachment online. The following links are available for you to review:
Why did I make this vote?
The following response was sent by Dr. Stucky to a Constituent following the vote:
Thank you for reaching out. I have spoken to many constituents about this challenging vote. The mailer is a political tactic to deceive. The final vote was 121-23, meaning I joined 60 Republicans and 61 Democrats in voting to move forward with the impeachment trial in the Senate. I chose this vote because of several reasons. The 20 articles brought against the Attorney General are far more than securities fraud or whistleblower complaints. They lay out a pattern of abuse for personal gain.
When I first came to the legislature, I had been warned by other lawmakers about the AG's involvement in losing millions of dollars that lawmakers gave as part of an investment proposal by the AG. The allegations against him have only grown since then. The difference this time is the AG asked lawmakers for $3 million of your taxdollars to make his whistleblower lawsuit go away. After the impeachment vote was announced, the AG claimed each count was defensible. Then why not take it to court and prove that? Why waste $3 million taxpayer dollars when you know you are innocent?
The AG was given several opportunities to testify to appropriators like myself about why the taxpayer money was justified for this settlement, which happened 3 months after the latest general election. When the impeachment vote was approaching, the AG said he was never given that opportunity. Now that the impeachment trial is coming to the Senate, the AG has said he will not testify in the trial. That seems contrary to all his claims that the articles can be easily dismissed.
Ultimately, since the vote, it is clear that the AG is using political influence to attack lawmakers who rightly have the authority to seek more transparency. Lawmakers work in public to debate the use of taxpayer dollars. We don't get to sweep our decisions under the rug like the AG is attempting to do with his settlement.
I am grateful that the AG's office has challenged and defeated both the Obama and Biden Administration's attacks on Texas and the nation. I am confident that if convicted in the Senate, there are qualified Texans who can step into the AG role and continue to hold the federal government accountable. The AG's office is not alone in defending or building the strongest economy in America. They play their part, just as I do as your elected representative in the Texas House.
Thank you, again, for seeking more information from me directly.