A 174-page report released by the Office of the Attorney General in August 2021, made public before voters reelected Attorney General Ken Paxton to a third term in November 2022, disproved claims presented by Democratically-aligned counsel hired by the House General Investigating Committee.
Another report released Saturday by an outside law firm, Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP, also concluded, "significant evidence to show the actions of the OAG toward the Complainants were based on legitimate, non-retaliatory, business grounds."
The report came in the hours after the impeachment vote.
Instead, Paxton said the House GIC orchestrated a secretive investigation and presented inaccurate information, "falsehoods, and misstatements" without interviewing or requesting information from the OAG on Wednesday. Its findings were used to issue 20 articles of impeachment and the basis to impeach AG Paxton 48 hours later. The House voted 121-23 late Saturday to impeach an attorney general for the first time in Texas history.