Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is striking back against those who attempted to oust him through impeachment. In an interesting twist, Paxton has announced his intention to file criminal complaints against the Board of Managers who were instrumental in his impeachment earlier this year.
The attorney general alleges that officials published his personal information, potentially placing him in danger.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton says he will file criminal complaints against the Board of Managers who spearheaded his impeachment after his home address was published in documents posted online last week.
In a press release sent Monday, Paxton cited a new state law that makes it illegal to post someone’s address or phone number online “with the intent to cause harm or a threat of harm.” It is meant to protect people from “doxing,” the practice of posting someone’s personal information online without their permission and with malicious intent.
The attorney general said he and his family have received “multiple threats of violence.” The complaints will be filed with district attorneys in the managers’ eight home counties, according to the press release.
Paxton was impeached in May on allegations of corruption. He was later cleared by the Texas Senate after a two-week trial. However, this latest move shows that his war with his political foes is far from over. “The impeachment managers clearly have a desire to threaten me with harm when they released this information last week,” Paxton said in a written statement. “I’m imploring their local prosecutors in each individual district to investigate the criminal offenses that have been committed.”
The documents that the managers posted were related to the impeachment trial.
However, Rusty Hardin, the State House lawyer who prosecuted Paxton, repudiated the allegations, noting that the documents contained information that had already been made public, meaning that they do not carry the alleged malicious intent. “This is the exact kind of bullying, uninformed vengeful act that we predicted if the attorney general was not impeached,” he retorted, also hinting at the possibility of filing his own criminal complaint against Paxton for making a false report to the police.
Hardin added: "He's trying to misuse the criminal justice system to cower and punish people who sought to impeach him under the law. It's just one more outrageous, vengeful act by a man who has no business being attorney general."
The new law appears to expand the scope of protection from doxing. However, proving guilt under the law is contingent on establishing the malicious intent standard Hardin referenced.
This comes weeks after the conclusion of the tumultuous and controversial impeachment trial that resulted in Paxton’s acquittal. After the trial was finished, Paxton lashed out at his enemies and even indicated he might challenge Sen. John Cornyn for his seat.
Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan, who spearheaded the attempt to remove Paxton from office, has come under fire from Republican state lawmakers and the Texas Republican Party, which demanded his resignation.
It’s unclear whether there will be criminal charges filed against the Board of Managers. But one thing is evident: This war won’t be over anytime soon.