Tag Archives: Senate

Gag order? What gag order?

Posted on August 3, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

It doesn’t count if I’m fundraising, right? Suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton is fundraising off his upcoming impeachment trial and characterizing the rare political event in a way that appears to be a direct violation of the gag order established … Continue reading →

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July 2023 campaign finance reports: City of Houston, part 5

Posted on August 2, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Previously: Congress SD15 City of Houston, part 1 Harris County City of Houston, part 2 City of Houston, part 3 City of Houston, part 4 January finance reports for city of Houston candidates are here. This is at long last … Continue reading →

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Is impeachment criminal or civil?

Posted on August 2, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

It makes a difference. As we move close to the historic impeachment trial of the state’s top prosecutor, a major question for those involved is whether the proceedings Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton faces are criminal or civil. A criminal … Continue reading →

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Paxton’s lawyers seek to dismiss most impeachment charges

Posted on August 1, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

They’re defense lawyers, it’s what they do. Lawyers for suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton requested Monday that all but one of 20 articles of impeachment be dismissed, arguing his removal would “override the will of the people” who elected him … Continue reading →

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The Trib on the “political dominoes” of the Mayor’s race

Posted on July 30, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

A lot of what’s in here is stuff we already know. I want to focus on this bit from later on: “I think both Whitmire and Jackson Lee are kind of institutions in town, so the fact that there could … Continue reading →

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The stunning arrogance of Team Paxton

Posted on July 30, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Even for a cynic like me, this is breathtaking. Rep. Jeff Leach was “pissed off.” He had just found out that Ken Paxton wanted $3.3 million to settle a lawsuit with a group of whistleblowers who’d accused him of corruption … Continue reading →

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San Antonio joins Houston’s “Death Star” lawsuit

Posted on July 26, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Welcome aboard, there’s plenty of room for more. After weeks of complaints from council members who say the law’s vagueness is preventing them from doing their jobs, San Antonio leaders said Monday that the city has joined a lawsuit filed by the … Continue reading →

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Steven Hotze enters the impeachment chat

Posted on July 24, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Wait, what? Houston conservative activist Steve Hotze filed a lawsuit Friday challenging the gag order issued by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick in Attorney General Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial, arguing the policy violates free speech protections under the Texas Constitution. In … Continue reading →

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The Brandon Cammack files

Posted on July 23, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

The impeachment trial of Ken Paxton may help answer some questions about one of the more brazen (alleged) attempts by Paxton to help his buddy Nate Paul. More than a year before Ken Paxton would be impeached by the Texas … Continue reading →

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Paxton attorneys seek to bar three Democratic Senators from the impeachment trial

Posted on July 22, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Why stop at three? Why not try to bar them all? Lawyers for suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton are pushing to disqualify three Democratic state senators as jurors in his upcoming impeachment trial. Paxton’s lawyers filed a motion Friday that … Continue reading →

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San Antonio likely to sue over “Death Star” law

Posted on July 20, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

We welcome your participation. San Antonio likely will sue the Texas over the so-called “Death Star bill,” recently passed state legislation limiting municipalities’ ability to exercise their right to home rule, City Attorney Andy Segovia told the Express-News. Segovia told the daily … Continue reading →

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July 2023 campaign finance reports – State races

Posted on July 19, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

At this point, the only state race I’m watching is SD15. This is partly because of the Mayor’s race connection, partly because there are two active challengers to the possibly outgoing/possibly staying incumbent, and partly because I don’t have enough … Continue reading →

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Patrick issues gag order in impeachment trial

Posted on July 19, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

My, my, my. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick on Monday issued a wide-ranging gag order ahead of the impeachment trial of suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton, saying “out-of-court statements” by both sides could jeopardize the trial in the Texas Senate. The … Continue reading →

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July 2023 campaign finance reports – Congress

Posted on July 18, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

What a difference three months has made. Back in April you could have counted the races and candidates of interest on your fingers. Now with the larger Senate race, the openings in CDs 18 and 32, and a few other … Continue reading →

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Another Paxton roundup

Posted on July 17, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll start with this big Chron story about yet another allegation of unethical legal conduct by Ken Paxton. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is suspended from duty as he awaits his impeachment trial, jeopardized his office’s prosecution of a GOP … Continue reading →

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Sen. Gutierrez officially announces for US Senate

Posted on July 11, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

We have ourselves a real contested primary. State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, D-San Antonio, announced Monday he is joining the Democratic primary to challenge U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. Gutierrez made his campaign official in a nearly four-minute video that starts … Continue reading →

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Republicans finally agree on a property tax cut

Posted on July 11, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Our moderate-length semi-statewide bit of unpleasantness is coming to an end. Probably. The $18 billion compromise between the Texas House and Senate — which includes more than $5 billion approved for relief in 2021 — would give increased tax relief … Continue reading →

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Another interim AG appointed

Posted on July 11, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

All hail the latest temporary overlord. Gov. Greg Abbott announced Monday that a longtime aide, Angela Colmenero, will serve as the second interim attorney general following Ken Paxton’s impeachment. After the House voted to impeach Paxton in May, he was … Continue reading →

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Were these courts really necessary?

Posted on July 10, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Should have added these two bills to the “will be sued over” list. Republican state leaders’ plan to create two new types of statewide courts is facing backlash from critics who say they are unconstitutional and will unfairly benefit large … Continue reading →

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Allred gets off to a fast fundraising start

Posted on July 6, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Good to see, but it’s just the first step. U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, D-Dallas, raised nearly $6.2 million in roughly the first two months of his campaign against U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. He also transferred an additional $2.4 million … Continue reading →

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Paxton won’t testify at his Senate trial

Posted on July 5, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

So his defense attorney says. The lead attorney for suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton said his client will not testify in his upcoming impeachment trial in the Texas Senate. Paxton’s defense lawyer, Tony Buzbee, made the announcement in a late … Continue reading →

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Houston sues over “Death Star”bill

Posted on July 4, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

First out of the gate. I’m sure they will have company. Houston city attorneys on Monday filed a lawsuit against a new state law that blocks an array of local regulations, marking the first legal challenge to the sweeping crackdown on cities and … Continue reading →

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There’s still more Paxton stuff to investigate

Posted on June 30, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

He’s the grift that keeps on giving. The Texas House investigation into impeached Attorney General Ken Paxton has reportedly widened to include a series of property purchases he made as he faced a federal probe over allegations that he abused … Continue reading →

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Talarico Time

Posted on June 29, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I have mixed feelings about this. The representative and aspiring preacher hadn’t planned to deliver a sermon when he went to work at the state capitol that morning. Sitting in a drab committee room last month, Texas Rep. James Talarico, … Continue reading →

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Another Paxton roundup

Posted on June 26, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

The hits keep on coming… So, just how transparent is this Senate trial going to be? Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has promised maximum transparency in the impeachment trial for suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton, but trial rules recently adopted by … Continue reading →

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UT/Texas Politics Project poll: Half of Texans think Paxton impeachment was “justified”

Posted on June 25, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

It’s one poll, yadda yadda yadda, but here you go. As the Texas Senate begins the historically unprecedented process of trying the suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton on 31 articles of impeachment, a majority of Texas’ registered voters think the … Continue reading →

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From the “Obvious reactions to dumb things” department

Posted on June 25, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Item 1: Former Congressman Will Hurd is running for President. Former U.S. Rep. Will Hurd, R-Helotes, announced Thursday he is running for president, becoming the first Texan with experience in elective office to enter the Republican primary. Hurd, who represented … Continue reading →

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Here are the Senate impeachment rules

Posted on June 23, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s go. Suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton will answer to 16 of 20 articles of impeachment at a trial to begin Sept. 5, the Texas Senate said Wednesday night after spending about 20 hours drafting the trial rules in private. … Continue reading →

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Sen. Angela Paxton will be one of her husband’s jurors

Posted on June 21, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Really, there was no other way this could have ended. After weeks of speculation, state Sen. Angela Paxton announced late Monday that she will attend the impeachment trial of her husband, suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton, the McKinney Republican said … Continue reading →

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Funding for child DNA ID kits quietly dropped

Posted on June 21, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

This is such a weird story. For months, Texas lawmakers were on track to spend millions of taxpayer dollars to continue distributing child identification kits to Texas schoolchildren, a program championed by state officials. In April, both the Texas House and Senate approved preliminary … Continue reading →

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Paxton-palooza

Posted on June 18, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Tuesday is going to be a huge day in the Ken Paxton impeachment saga, as the Senate committee in charge of setting the rules for the Senate trial get around to doing that. There’s been a lot of energy towards … Continue reading →

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There were actually a couple of pro-voting rights bills this session

Posted on June 17, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Believe it or not. “This was a nail-biter all the way to the end. But we’re excited about all the people that will benefit from this. We’re still hopeful that the governor will sign them,” said Chase Bearden, deputy executive … Continue reading →

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That’s a lot of impeachment-related subpoenas

Posted on June 16, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Some great stuff from the DMN. The day after the Texas House voted overwhelmingly to impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton, the ethics panel investigating his alleged misdeeds issued a dozen new subpoenas that indicate their inquiry is far from over. … Continue reading →

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Of course Dan Patrick has a Ken Paxton conflict of interest

Posted on June 14, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Why wouldn’t he? Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has cast Attorney General Ken Paxton’s upcoming impeachment trial in the Senate as like a real-world courtroom, with senators sitting as jurors and Patrick serving as judge. “Would you go to a judge … Continue reading →

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