Former AG Candidate Gohmert Bashes Paxton

We don't think he was paid $50 for his op-ed.

In a shocking twist, beloved ex-Congressman and 2022 Texas Attorney General Candidate Louie Gohmert came out to attack Ken Paxton. Gohmert recently wrote an op-ed praising the Texas House and rooting for Paxton’s impeachment. While most in his wing of the GOP are at minimum “holding their noses” for Paxton, Gohmert made some unexpected arguments.

Per Daily Caller:

The alarm of corruption was sounded back in 2020, when the eight top people, division heads, in the Texas Attorney General’s office confronted their boss and complained of his improprieties. They knew he had a bully pulpit they did not have. They knew he could well come after them and destroy their professional and personal lives. But they loved Texas and they cared about honesty.

They hoped the Biblical values that Ken Paxton ran on in each of his campaigns would bring about the kind of remorse King David had when he was confronted with his wrongdoing. It turns out that the Attorney General had the sin, but not the remorse nor the correction of his ways of King David. Actually, it caused him to add to his improprieties by claiming the top employees he hired for their vast legal knowledge, their ethics, and integrity were rogue employees and were the corrupt ones. Those employees of course knew it was a crime to make false statements to law enforcement officers such as the FBI, but these dedicated Texas legal officials felt that they had to report the Texas Attorney General’s improprieties to the FBI in writing and the seven in the state at the time signed by the letter to the FBI.

From this point, Gohmert defends the Texas House’s impeachment decision. To Gohmert’s credit, he claims Phelan should be impeached if he was drunk during his duties. Unlike 90% of impeachment supporters, he does an astute job of acknowledging Phelan’s misdeeds, keeping them separate from Paxton’s alleged ones; you can disdain both men at once.

With impeachment efforts coming to a conclusion, Mr. Paxton went after the Texas Speaker of the House accusing him of presiding over the House while intoxicated. If that were the case, Speaker Phelan should resign as Speaker or be impeached himself. But that does not change the problem of Mr. Paxton’s alleged corruption which has significant evidence in support. Conveniently, knowing what was likely coming in mere days, Paxton posted a video of Speaker Phelan appearing to preside over the House while intoxicated, and demanded he be removed as Speaker. The impeachment vote came that same week on May 27, because it had to happen before the end of the session on May 31. I would prefer the Texas House had a more conservative Speaker, but a moderate Speaker is not a defense to the 20 impeachment articles against Paxton. Nonetheless, it caused some conservatives, who have not looked at the allegations and evidence, to defend Paxton. Hopefully, we will get a different Speaker next session.

While concluding, Gohmert gives us a hint of what his motives for composing this tangent are; considering the length of these latter sections, it’s possible his rationale involved bitterness about his losing the 2022 GOP Attorney General primary election to Paxton.

Editors note: many of the current pro-Paxton groups previously endorsed Gohmert over Ken Paxton in the last election.

People constantly ask me why I chose to leave Congress. I didn’t. I could only run for one office. Having looked into the allegations against Paxton, I saw impeachment and indictment would most likely come and that Paxton remaining in office could neutralize conservatives in Texas and cost Republicans the next election. Further, Paxton had not helped concerned locals fight voting corruption in the state’s biggest counties.

…

A private poll in January 2022 showed I rose to second place and would be in a runoff, but then got hit from Paxton that I was against a border wall, was against gun rights, was a pawn of the Bush family, and voted more in line with Beto O’Rourke. He had $9+ million. I had $1 million. Hey, it’s politics and some politicians are not honest.

In seeking contributions from some of Texas’ biggest donors, I was met with what sounded to me like the old Huey Long defense that he may be corrupt, but we’ve invested so much in him, we’ll just see how it plays out. Paxton’s adroit use of the corruption in DC to say in essence, “What they did to Trump, they are doing to me,” is dividing Texas conservatives.

…

Dividing and neutralizing Texas as a force for good in the United States could finish off what became the freest, longest lasting republic that provided more opportunities and assets for individuals than has ever existed. Now that would be quite a legacy for the Texas AG who does a remarkable job playing a self-proclaimed victim.

While nobody knows where this private poll is or its origin, Gohmert’s anger is understandable; I too would be pretty ticked off if I was told victory was near-guaranteed, only to score last in a four-way race.

Last we heard about Gohmert, he scored only 17% of the vote in a four-way race, practically peripheral outside eastern Texas. According to our intel, he ran a disturbingly whimsical campaign; in fact, one woman found it impossible to obtain a Louie Gohmert sign, and in the end, all she learned was that some naked guy occupied a nearby office, and his alleged campaign vehicle was the “car that duct tape built.”

Gohmert Supporter: “I just really wanted a sign.”

After days of brain cell death in the Texas Capitol, there’s no telling where this impeachment case goes, and many are already “burned out” from the clustertruck called Texas politics. Nevertheless, we encourage you to view the testimony and facts for yourself and form your own conclusions, not what the propaganda machines tell you.

By the way, the political celebrities you see posting about Paxton are likely being paid to do so:

Y’alls truly watching the current screech-fest in Austin.