The Republican-led Texas House of Representatives launched historic impeachment proceedings against Attorney General Ken Paxton on Saturday, as Donald Trump defended the scandal-plagued Republican official from a vote that could lead to his removal.

The House met in the afternoon to debate whether to indict and suspend Paxton on charges of bribery, breach of public trust and unfit for office, just some of the charges that have followed Texas’ top attorney for most of the part of his three terms.

The hearing sets up what could be a remarkably sudden downfall for one of the Republican Party’s most prominent legal combatants, who in 2020 petitioned the US Supreme Court to overturn President Joe Biden’s election defeat of Trump. Only two officials in Texas’ nearly 200-year history have been charged.

Paxton, 60, denounced what he called “political theatrics” based on “rumors and gossip, repeating long-disproved claims,” ​​saying it is an attempt to disenfranchise the voters who re-elected him in November. It is unclear where the attorney general was on Saturday, but during the House proceedings he shared statements from his supporters on Twitter.

“No person should be above the law, least of all the top law enforcement officer in the state of Texas,” Rep. David Spiller, a Republican member of the committee that investigated Paxton, said in opening remarks. Rep. Ann Johnson, a Democratic member, told lawmakers that the “top police officer in Texas is lurking.” Rep. Charlie Geren, a Republican member of the committee, said without elaborating that Paxton had called lawmakers and threatened them with political “consequences.” As the articles of impeachment were expounded, some of the legislators shook their heads. They are expected to debate impeachment for four hours before voting.

Paxton has been under investigation by the FBI for years over allegations that he used his office to help a donor and was separately indicted on securities fraud charges in 2015, though he has yet to stand trial. Until this week, his fellow Republicans had taken a silent stance on the allegations.

Lawmakers allied with Paxton sought to discredit the investigation by pointing out that contract investigators, not panel members, interviewed witnesses. They also said that several of the investigators had voted in the Democratic primary, contaminating the impeachment trial, and that they had very little time to review the evidence.

“I sense that it could be a political weapon,” said Rep. Tony Tinderholt, one of the most conservative members of the House. Republican Rep. John Smithee likened the proceedings to “a Saturday afternoon lynching mob.”

Impeachment requires only a simple majority in the House. That means only a small fraction of his 85 Republicans would need to join the 64 Democrats to vote against him.

If impeached, Paxton would be suspended pending a Senate trial, and it would be up to Republican Gov. Greg Abbott to name an interim replacement. Final removal would require a two-thirds vote in the Senate, of which Paxton’s wife Angela is a member.

Texas’ top elected Republicans had been remarkably quiet on Paxton this week. But on Saturday, both Trump and US Senator Ted Cruz came to his defense, with the senator calling the impeachment process “a travesty” and saying the attorney general’s legal problems should be left to the courts.

“Free Ken Paxton,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social social media platform, warning that if House Republicans continue the process, “I will fight you.”

Abbott, who praised Paxton as he was sworn in for a third term in January, remained silent. The governor spoke at a Memorial Day service in the House chamber about three hours before impeachment proceedings began. Republican House Speaker Dade Phelan was also in attendance, but the two appeared to exchange a few words and Abbott left without comment to reporters.

In a sense, Paxton’s political peril came with breakneck speed: The House committee investigation came to light Tuesday, and on Thursday lawmakers issued 20 articles of impeachment.

But for Paxton’s detractors, the rebuke was due years ago.

In 2014, he admitted to violating Texas securities law, and a year later he was indicted on securities fraud charges in his hometown near Dallas, accused of defrauding investors in a tech startup. He has pleaded not guilty to two felony charges that carry a potential sentence of five to 99 years.

He opened a legal defense fund and accepted $100,000 from an executive whose company was being investigated by Paxton’s office for Medicaid fraud. An Arizona retiree donated an additional $50,000 to whose son Paxton was later hired for a high-ranking position, but was soon fired after showing child pornography at a meeting. In 2020, Paxton intervened in a Colorado mountain community where a Texas donor and college classmate was facing eviction from his lakeside home under coronavirus orders.

But what ultimately sparked the impeachment push was Paxton’s relationship with Austin real estate developer Nate Paul.

In 2020, eight top advisers told the FBI they were concerned that Paxton was misusing his office to help Paul over the developer’s unsubstantiated claims that an elaborate conspiracy was afoot to steal $200 million of his properties. . The FBI searched Paul’s home in 2019, but he has not been charged and denies any wrongdoing. Paxton also told staff members that he had an affair with a woman who was later found to be working for Paul.

The impeachment trial accuses Paxton of attempting to interfere in foreclosure lawsuits and issuing legal opinions to benefit Paul. The bribery charges allege that Paul employed the woman with whom Paxton had an affair in exchange for legal help and that he paid for expensive renovations to the attorney general’s house.

A lead attorney for Paxton’s office, Chris Hilton, said Friday that the attorney general paid for all repairs and renovations.

Other charges, including lying to investigators, date back to Paxton’s still-pending securities fraud indictment.

Four of the aides who reported Paxton to the FBI later sued under Texas’ whistleblower law, and in February he agreed to settle the case for $3.3 million. The House committee said Paxton was seeking legislative approval for the payment that prompted the investigation of him.

“Were it not for Paxton’s request for a taxpayer-funded settlement of his wrongful conduct, Paxton would not be facing impeachment,” the panel said.