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Following Attorney General Ken Paxton’s acquittal of all impeachment charges in the Texas Senate, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has fulfilled his promise by formally requesting a comprehensive financial audit of the impeachment proceedings.
Patrick sent a letter to State Auditor Lisa Collier, urging her office to promptly initiate an investigation into the “aggregate sum of expenses, commitments, and forthcoming unpaid liabilities” incurred by the Texas House, Senate, Office of Attorney General, and any additional legislative bodies.
Patrick wrote that the objective is to ascertain the overall cost of the state’s preparation and execution of this trial, covering all expenses such as investigators, travel, food, and lodging, from start to finish.
A request for comment was made, but Collier did not respond promptly. The state auditor is an unbiased governmental entity responsible for investigating claims of fraud and impropriety.
Patrick’s request follows his blistering speech at the conclusion of Paxton’s trial, in which he said the House and Republican Speaker Dade Phelan “rammed through the first impeachment of a statewide official in Texas in over 100 years while paying no attention to the precedent that the House set in every other impeachment before.”
Phelan responded by accusing Patrick — who presided over the Senate trial — of “confessing his bias and placing his contempt for the people’s House on full display.”
On Monday, the speaker’s office refrained from providing any comment regarding Patrick’s official audit request.
Patrick’s Monday request is the latest development in a long-running war between the House and Senate — as well as the Texas GOP’s far-right and slightly-more-moderate wings — that has sharply escalated since Paxton’s impeachment by the House in May. The acrimony is expected to continue as lawmakers prepare for a potential special session, likely next month, over school voucher legislation that has for years been a source of conflict between the chambers.
The lead attorneys of the House impeachment team, Dick DeGuerin and Rusty Hardin, were compensated at a rate of $500 per hour for their services. This fee is considered remarkably reasonable considering their esteemed reputation within the legal community of Texas. However, it remains uncertain as to the source of payment for Paxton’s prominent defense team, comprising renowned attorneys Tony Buzbee and Dan Cogdell.
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