Live Chat at 10:00 Wednesday on Senate Debate Over Impeachment Rules — With Updates
The Senate meets at 11:00 a.m. to debate and adopt rules for the Paxton Impeachment. Will they be a force for accountability, or a farce? Join a live chat to discuss!
UPDATE #8 – Senate Delays Until 1:00 p.m. – The Senate briefly met this morning to announce they were still working on the Rules, and then recessed until 1:00 p.m. Join me in the Substack Chat at that time. Instructions for participating are at the bottom.
UPDATE #7 – Senate Recesses Until 10:00 a.m. Tomorrow – Look for me then on the Live Chat! (instructions below)
UPDATE #6 – Senate Delays Until 9:00 p.m. – The Senate has postponed action, presumably to go back into Caucus, until 9:00. Please look for me and a Chat-stream at that time.
Just thought I’d share this from the UT/Texas Politics Project’s Jim Henson: Paxton’s job approval among self-identified Republicans and conservatives over the last two years. Thanks, Jim!
UPDATE #5 – Senate to Convene – The Senate is scheduled to gavel in at 6:00 p.m. to debate and adopt the rules for the Paxton impeachment. The senators, with the Lieutenant Governor, have been caucusing among themselves since 1:30.
I will open a Substack Chat at 6:00. If you wish to participate, see the instructions below.
UPDATE #4 – Recessed until 6:00 p.m. -- The Senate just passed a couple bills related to property tax relief. They then announced they'd have a press conference at 1:00 and recess until 6:00. My guess is the press conference is chest-thumping about property taxes and we will not hear about the rules until 6:00, if then. Therefore, I am standing down on this chat and will start a new chat at 6:00.
UPDATE #3 – Live Chat Has Begun – Go here if you want to participate in the live chat.
UPDATE #2 – Previous Impeachment Rules: There have been two impeachments in Texas history. Here are the rules adopted by the Senate for the impeachment of Governor James “Pa” Ferguson in 1917. And here, on pages 10-17, are the rules for the impeachment of Judge O.P. Carrillo in 1975.
No word yet on the draft rules for the Paxton Impeachment. (10:20 a.m.)
UPDATE #1 – Angela Paxton: She is Ken Paxton’s wife. There’s been lots of speculation over whether she would recuse herself (or be recused) in her husband’s trial. She certainly should, in my opinion.
News reports this morning are saying she’s announced she will not recuse, but that’s not what she said. She said she would ATTEND the trial (as the law requires her to do). She still is mum about whether she will VOTE to convict or acquit.
Why do I think she should be recused? One, she is the spouse of the defendant. No court would let at the spouse be on a jury. Two, she is a fact witness to some of the key elements of the case: her husband’s infidelity, the remodel to their home and who paid for it, etc.
There are other senators who are compromised, Bryan Hughes foremost among them. The House managers should put Angela, Hughes and Donna Campbell on the witness list, which makes a prima facie case for their recusal.
The Senate meets at 11:00 today to discuss, debate and adopt rules for the Paxton Impeachment. A special committee has been working on the rules. The draft rules are supposed to be released to the senators at 8:30 this morning. There is no commitment about releasing them to the public (in the era of Dan Patrick), but they will probably get out once the senators have them. I will share them as an update to this post when I get them.
At 11:00, I will open up a Substack Chat for anyone who wants to follow and comment on the Senate’s debate. This is a conversation space in the Substack app that I set up exclusively for my subscribers — like a group chat or live hangout. I did this with the House floor debate over the Paxton impeachment resolution, and about 20 of us joined and had a good time. (Which is a weird confession to make, I know … ) You can watch the Senate floor by going here and clicking on the appropriate link.
Follow these instructions to participate in the Chat:
To join our chat, you’ll need to download the Substack app, now available for both iOS and Android. Chats are sent via the app, not email, so turn on push notifications so you don’t miss conversation as it happens.
How to get started
Download the app by clicking this link or the button below.Substack Chat is now available on both iOS and Android.
Open the app and tap the Chat icon. It looks like two bubbles in the bottom bar, and you’ll see a row for my chat inside.
That’s it! Jump into my thread to say hi, and if you have any issues, check out Substack’s FAQ.
Sorry Deece I was livid with what Abbott just pulled.
I will be ready tomorrow. Thank you for the heads up!
I trust they will do the right thing.
I have called for the Impeachment of Abbott after his veto on absentee ballots for people with disabilities. This is obscene coming from from a Governor with a disability himself who is fortunate to arrive at his poling place in a protected motorcade, and then goes to the front of the line to vote, unless he wants a photo op beforehand!
I wish I had a power that would have this granted.