Former Governor Rick Perry says the Texas legislature needs to move forward with the impeachment of Attorney General Ken Paxton to provide a "conclusive resolution to the serious allegations" against him. Perry made the call in an opinion piece for the Wall Street Journal.
"Texans need a conclusive resolution to the serious allegations raised by this impeachment. We've come this far in the process, and it's critical that the Senate sees it through to the end. That means a fair trial that allows both sides to lay out all the facts and gives senators the opportunity to vote based on the evidence," Perry writes.
Perry was the longest serving governor in Texas history, taking the post after George W. Bush was elected president in 2000. He was then elected to three terms before leaving office in 2015.
Perry served in the Trump Administration as Energy Secretary from 2017 to 2019.
"Republicans once believed in the rule of law. My party had confidence in the U.S. and Texas constitutions and the processes and freedoms they recognize and protect," he writes. "That's why it's shocking to see some Republicans—through a coordinated effort of texts, emails and social-media posts—working to delegitimize the impeachment proceedings against Attorney General Ken Paxton. It points to an important question: Do we trust the processes outlined in our Texas Constitution or not?"
Perry says he was once "wrongly indicted," referring to his threat to veto funding for the Travis County District Attorney's office in 2013. The district attorney had pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated, and Perry threatened to veto funding for the office's public integrity unit unless she resigned.
Perry was indicted by a Travis County Grand Jury for abuse of official capacity and coercion of a public servant. Both indictments were dismissed by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in 2016.
In his Wall Street Journal piece, Perry wrote, "I know that processes can be abused. But that isn't what I see here."
In Paxton's case, Perry said the majority of House Republicans voted to impeach Paxton after seeing allegations of wrongdoing.
"They followed their oath to uphold the Constitution, and that alone warrants careful consideration by the Senate. We should be praising, not vilifying, them for taking their responsibilities seriously," Perry wrote.
Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick has ordered senators not to discuss the upcoming impeachment trial publicly. Patrick will preside over the trial, which is scheduled to begin September 5. To remove Paxton, two thirds of senators would need to vote in favor.
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