Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a bill making Texas the first state in the union to give law enforcement officers the authority to arrest migrants who illegally enter the state. The measure, SB 4, was signed into law on Monday during a ceremony at the base of the border wall in Brownsville, Texas.
The Texas Legislature passed two separate bills criminalizing the illegal entry of migrants into the state. The bill passed by the House also criminalizes the unlawful presence of a foreign national in Texas. Neither bill has passed both chambers.
El Paso Sector Border Patrol agents raided more than 280 human smuggling stash houses during the recently ended Fiscal Year 2023. The raids on the stash house operations in far West Texas and southern New Mexico led to the apprehension of more than 3,600 migrants who were in the process of being smuggled into the U.S. interior.
The Texas Senate voted that Texas Attorney General Kenneth Warren Paxton, Jr. should be acquitted. The majority vote on each article in his impeachment trial was for acquittal. The senators voted to dismiss the four remaining impeachment articles and adjourn for the session, Sine Die.
The Texas Senate “jurors” completed their deliberation and returned to the chambers to deliver their verdict on the 16 Articles of Impeachment against suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton. The verdicts will determine if the impeached attorney general will be removed from or return to his office and duties.
Lawyers for suspended Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton put on his defense and rested on Day 8 of his impeachment trial. One of Paxton’s lawyers accurately summed up the case as essentially a “rebuttal case at this point, not really a defense.” Paxton’s lawyers called only four witnesses for his defense – all current employees of Paxton.
Closing arguments in the Texas Senate impeachment trial of suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton begin on Friday morning in the Capitol. House Managers and the defense team will present their summation to the 30 voting senators serving as jurors in the impeachment trial.
Texas House “prosecutors” started Day 7 of the impeachment trial of suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton by calling his mistress as a witness. Whistleblowers testified that the AG met with his top brass and wife in September 2018 and admitted he had an affair with Laura Olson.
The defense of suspended Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton takes center stage in the impeachment trial on Thursday after the House rested Wednesday evening.
Defense counsel for Ken Paxton, flamboyant Houston attorney Tony Buzbee, motioned for a directed verdict after House impeachment attorney Rusty Hardin rested the “prosecutions” case. Senate jurors were out deliberating on the motions but returned to the Senate chamber. Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick announced that the “prosecution” and the defense had withdrawn their motions.
Texas House “prosecutors” started Day 7 of the impeachment trial of suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton by calling Laura Olson as a witness. Witnesses testified that Paxton called a meeting in September of 2018 and admitted to his top brass and his wife that he had an affair with Olson.
During Day 6 of the impeachment trial of suspended Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, House Impeachment managers called the special prosecutor hired to investigate state and federal investigators. These included officials who were investigating Nate Paul, and AG Paxton’s securities fraud cases. A “prosecution” witness from the bank said they had to stop the foreclosure of Paxton’s donor’s properties and that pulling the foreclosure due to the controversial AG opinion benefitted the donor.
During the sixth day of the impeachment trial of suspended Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, House Impeachment managers called the special prosecutor hired to investigate the AG’s and his donor’s investigators, including investigators who were also investigating Paxton and his securities fraud cases. The “prosecution” witness from the bank said they had to stop the foreclosure of Paxton’s donor properties and that pulling the foreclosure due to the AG opinion letter benefitted the donor.
House Managers in the Texas Senate impeachment trial of suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton are expected to wrap up their case during Day 6 of testimony.
The fifth day of the impeachment trial of suspended Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton included reports of adultery and misuse of State resources for private purposes. His former chief of staff testified that “50 percent” of executive-level staff time was spent on activities to benefit donor Natin “Nate” Paul, and it “was directed by Attorney General Ken Paxton.” Paxton wanted to have his office investigate the federal and DPS investigators who were investigating his donor and him, witnesses testified.
The former chief of staff to suspended Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton confronted her boss after his security detail, state-employed personal assistant, and other staff members complained about Paxton’s adulterous relationship with Laura Olson. She also testified about the impact of calendaring changes, extra hours, and weekends staff had to work due to his behavior. This “was not state business,” she testified.
The former deputy attorney general for law enforcement for suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton testified that Paxton wanted the office to investigate federal investigators who were investigating his donor and him.
A Texas Ranger “Icon” turned AG whistleblower took the stand on day four of the impeachment trial of suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton. David M. Maxwell, Jr., a distinguished Texas law enforcement officer with 25 years experience as a Texas Ranger, testified that he told the AG that both of them could get indicted if they interfered in the FBI’s investigation of Paxton’s donor, Nate Paul.
Day four of the Texas Senate impeachment trial of suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton kicked off in the Capitol at 9 a.m.
The impeachment trial of suspended Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton resumed on Wednesday with the testimony of former First Assistant Jeff Mateer. Before testimony of Mateer began, Paxton’s defense team withdrew its objection to privileged communications.
During the first day of the Texas Senate impeachment trial of suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton, the Senate “jurors” soundly rejected the defense motions to dismiss the 16 articles of impeachment brought by the House of Representatives. Following the vote
The first morning of the impeachment trial of Texas Attorney General Warren Ken Paxton, Jr., began with consideration of Paxton’s motions to dismiss the articles of impeachment. The Texas senators serving as jurors soundly rejected Paxton’s argument that the Prior-Term “Forgiveness” Doctrine should result in the dismissal of the impeachment proceedings.
The impeachment trial of suspended Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton begins at 9 a.m. CDT on Tuesday. The trial is expected to last at least two to three weeks as House impeachment managers present witness testimony and more than 4,000 pages of evidence. Paxton’s lawyers are expected to move for the articles of impeachment to be dismissed under the “prior term doctrine,” claiming the alleged offenses occurred before the last election.
The Texas Senate impeachment trial of suspended Attorney General Warren Kenneth Paxton, Jr. begins on Tuesday, September 5. Paxton, a former Texas state senator, faces sixteen articles of impeachment. Paxton must enter a guilty or not guilty plea to each article brought against him.
A businessman in Orange, Texas, will announce on Thursday that he is running for the Texas Legislature to unseat the current speaker of the house. The former Orange County Republican chairman and current member of the State Republican Executive Committee (SREC) says he will represent the conservative values abandoned by the current representative.
Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick announced the appointment of a committee to recommend the rules and procedures for the Court of Impeachment involving Attorney General Ken Paxton. The Associated Press reports the trial will begin no later than August 28.
The Texas House of Representatives will convene on Saturday at 1 p.m. to act on 20 articles of impeachment filed against Attorney General Ken Paxton. The House General Investigations Committee, composed of three Republicans and two Democrats referred the articles of impeachment to the House on Thursday evening.
The Texas House General Investigating Committee voted unanimously on Thursday in favor of 20 articles of impeachment against the state’s attorney general. A vote on the floor of the Texas House to impeach Ken Paxton could occur by the weekend and would result, if approved by a majority vote, in his suspension as attorney general pending a trial in the Texas Senate.
AUSTIN, Texas — Governor Greg Abbott asked the Legislature to increase penalties for those convicted of human smuggling incidents. The state has seen a spike in attempts as criminal organizations expand their use of social media to recruit smugglers, Abbott told Breitbart Texas.
Leaders of Texas’ executive and legislative branches met on Saturday to protect Texans from an expected spike in their energy bills. The meeting took place via a conference call attended by the governor, lieutenant governor, speaker of the house, and key legislative committee chairs.
As millions of Texans were left in the darkness and cold during a massive winter storm, Texas leaders began pointing fingers and calling for investigations. The Texas Legislature will now address reform of the state’s electrical grid as an “emergency item” and seek answers as to why electric producers and distribution systems failed miserably.
Texas leaders are scrambling to find out why the state’s power grid was ill-prepared to deal with electrical generation during this week’s massive winter storm. The grid’s energy production failures left millions without electricity, heat, and in some cases, water.
A Democrat State Representative filed a bill this week to modify the Texas Castle Doctrine law. The bill would require homeowners to be “unable to safely retreat” before using deadly force.
Voters in Texas sustained the Republican majority in the state’s House of Representatives despite millions of outside dollars poured into races.
Texas House of Representatives member Gene Wu (D-137) lamented on Twitter Friday evening that it would be “hard to serve a prison sentence” if President Donald Trump dies of Coronavirus. Not long after, the tweet was deleted and replaced with well wishes for a full recovery. The southwest Houston politician did not offer an apology for the original statement.
The Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives announced Tuesday that he will not seek re-election for the next session. The statement follows crumbling support among top Republican leaders and the release of a recording from a meeting that seems to confirm allegations of wrongdoing in June.
A political writer released the long-awaited recording of a meeting he held with the two top Texas Republican House leaders. The tape replays what has been alleged to be a quid pro quo offer from the Speaker of the Texas House in exchange for political action against certain legislators by the writer’s political action committee.
The Texas House General Investigating Committee voted to request an investigation into allegations made against the Speaker of the House and the Republican Caucus Chairman. The accusations stem from a June 12 meeting in the Capitol where the House Speaker and Republican Caucus chairman allegedly made a quid pro quo offer to an activist in exchange for political action against fellow House members.
A Texas Republican legislator reportedly listened to a recording of a meeting between a Texas political activist and two leaders of the House in which an alleged bribery attempt took place. The legislator said the recording confirms the allegations of wrongdoing by the speaker and the chairman of the House Republican Caucus on June 12.
Two key Republican leaders are largely remaining silent on allegations of serious legal and ethical improprieties leveled by a conservative political organization’s leader. The allegations involve promised use of official power from elected officials in exchange for political favors to include government-issued media credentials.