Former President Donald Trump defended embattled Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton over the weekend, decrying Paxton’s recent impeachment as “ELECTION INTERFRENCE.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Paxton was suspended from office after the GOP-controlled Texas state House impeached him on Saturday on charges including bribery and abuse of public trust. His trial before the state Senate <\/a>will begin no later than Aug. 28.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Paxton quickly endorsed Trump <\/a>when the former president launched his run for the White House back in November, and he backed Trump<\/a> in 2016. Paxton also led the failed legal attempt<\/a> to overturn President Joe Biden\u2019s victory in four battleground states).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Trump returned the favor last year, backing Paxton in a hotly contested primary race<\/a> against Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush, the nephew and grandson of the two former presidents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Paxton went on to win the primary runoff<\/a> by 36 percentage points despite being under indictment for securities fraud charges<\/a> and facing an ongoing FBI investigation<\/a> over allegations that he abused his office. Paxton has denied any wrongdoing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But over the weekend, an overwhelming majority of state House Republicans \u2014 60 of the 85 GOP members, including state House Speaker Dade Phelan \u2014 voted to impeach Paxton<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Trump accused Phelan of being a “RINO,” or “Republican in Name Only,” and called on other Republicans to stop the impeachment proceedings before they voted on Saturday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Hopefully Republicans in the Texas House will agree that this is a very unfair process that should not be allowed to happen or proceed\u2014I will fight you if it does,” Trump wrote in a post <\/a>on his Truth Social platform on Saturday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “It is the Radical Left Democrats, RINOS, and Criminals that never stop,” Trump added. “ELECTION INTERFERENCE! Free Ken Paxton, let them wait for the next election!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n