#rep. Dade Phelan | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

dontmeantobepoliticalbut · 1 year

Text

A Texas Republican who has led the charge to ban all-ages drag shows because of his deep concern over “the sexualization of our children” is facing allegations of inviting an intern to his home late on a weekend night and serving her alcohol even though she isn’t old enough to legally drink.

Texas state Rep. Bryan Slaton has reportedly had a complaint filed against him with the Texas state legislature that claims he had an “inappropriate relationship” with an intern.

A complaint filed with the House General Investigating Committee by a legislative staffer and obtained by The Texas Tribune, as well as a Tribune source with direct knowledge of the incident, said that Stanton called the intern, who is under age 21, after 10 p.m. on Friday, March 31, and invited her to his apartment, where he served her alcohol.

According to allegations in the complaint obtained by the Tribune, Slaton later showed that intern fake emails that claimed to have information about the incident in an apparent loyalty test, and told her not to tell anyone about the incident.

Slaton’s attorney denied the claims.

“We are aware of outrageous claims circulating online by second-tier media that make false claims against Representative Slaton,” Slaton's attorney Patrick Short said in a statement to The Texas Tribune. “As a result, he has been advised to forward all inquiries in this matter—including any that may relate to a possible complaint—to his legal counsel.”

Slaton, who is 45 years old, has spent more than a year denouncing all-ages drag performances, and last month he introduced a bill to ban drag shows from having kids in attendance.

“In the wake of these erotic drag performances sweeping our state, I committed last year to filing legislation that would stop this disgusting practice in the presence of children,” he said in a statement announcing the bill.

“The State has a duty to protect kids from being sexually exploited, and HB 4129 is the most comprehensive bill to stop the sexualization of kids by these performances,” he continued.

Slaton has previously blasted an all-ages drag show as a “grooming event.”

“This is just going to the grooming, the sexualization of our children,” he said last summer. “This comes down to decency, morality and ethics, and children should not be the object of your sexualization, your desires.”

Just days ago, after the incident with the intern allegedly occurred, Slaton posted a Bible passage warning against those who would lead children astray:

Slaton was absent from the Texas legislature last Thursday, a major legislative day.

The lawmaker has pushed for some other extreme laws as well. He proposed giving property tax cuts to straight, married couples—but not to married LGBTQ couples or those who have previously been divorced. He also filed a bill to allow Texans to vote on secession from the United States.

Texas Republican House Speaker Dade Phelan said that his office would look into the accusations.

“The Texas House does not tolerate misconduct or other inappropriate behaviors and takes all allegations related to these issues seriously,” he said in a statement. “I expect this matter to be addressed in a swift and thorough manner under the rules governing our chamber for the 88th Legislature and all applicable standards of conduct.”

23 notes · View notes

ausetkmt · 11 months

Text

A Texas House committee on Wednesday heard explosive new testimony from lawyers investigating Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, including that he appeared to provide a friend with confidential FBI documents and committed other potentially impeachable crimes in an effort to help him retaliate against adversaries and federal officials.

Many of the details have been outlined in a whistleblower suit that accuses Paxton of firing four top aides as retaliation after they reported the alleged misconduct to federal authorities.

BACKGROUND: Donor in Ken Paxton bribery case loses appeal as he seeks to avoid jail time for contempt of court

But Wednesday’s testimony painted the fullest picture yet of the ways in which Paxton allegedly leveraged the resources of his office to help the friend and campaign donor, Nate Paul. It also created a new and immediate threat for Paxton, who has denied all wrongdoing, since the House General Investigating Committee could recommend that the chamber censure him or begin impeachment proceedings.

“Would it be fair to say the OAG’s office was effectively hijacked for an investigation by Nate Paul through the attorney general?” asked Houston state Rep. Ann Johnson, D-Houston.

“That would be my opinion,” said investigator Erin Epley, a former Harris County prosecutor.

The investigators listed a number of laws that Paxton may have violated, including abuse of official capacity and misuse of official information, both of which are felony offenses. The FBI is reportedly investigating the allegations, though no charges have been filed.

The revelations come as tensions are boiling over between Paxton and House Republican leaders in the final days of the legislative session. On Tuesday, the attorney general called for House Speaker Dade Phelan to resign after claiming he presided over the House while drunk, alluding to a video that appeared to show him slurring his speech. He also slammed Phelan for not passing enough conservative priorities.

A spokeswoman for Phelan said Tuesday that Paxton’s statement was “a last-ditch effort to save face” in anticipation of Wednesday’s hearing. Phelan has publicly opposed a request from Paxton that the Legislature use taxpayer dollars to settle the whistleblower suit.

Paxton has survived repeated scandals, including a federal securities fraud case that has stalled for nearly eight years. On Wednesday, he accused Phelan, a fellow Republican, of trying to "disenfranchise Texas voters and sabotage my work."

"The false testimony of highly partisan Democrat lawyers with the goal of manipulating and misleading the public is reprehensible," he said in a statement. "Every allegation is easily disproved, and I look forward to continuing my fight for conservative values."

LATEST: AG Ken Paxton calls for House Speaker Dade Phelan to resign over slurred speech

The House investigators, a group of attorneys with experience in public integrity law and white collar crime, said they reviewed hundreds of pages of documents, including emails, contracts and criminal complaints, and interviewed 15 people since March. All but one of those interviewed said they had “grave concerns” about Paxton retaliating against them for their participation.

The investigators said Paxton’s involvement with Paul set off a chain of departures at the agency that has since gutted it of experienced senior staff. Because of that, they said, Paxton has had to increasingly rely on outside counsel for casework – at a big expense to taxpayers.

“At this stage, the office of the attorney general spends approximately $40 million on outside counsel in an office that previously was well-funded and had a deep roster,” Epley said.

Paxton signed a tentative settlement with the whistleblowers in February for $3.3 million, but the deal is effectively dead because the Legislature has declined to fund it, which whistleblowers have said was a condition of the agreement. The session ends on Monday.

“The state must honor its solemn promise to compensate them for their lost wages and other demands,” attorneys for the four whistleblowers said in a statement, adding: “No public employees, especially those left at the AG’s office, are going to report this kind of public corruption in the future if the Legislature leaves our clients hung out to dry.”

The investigators also touched on the criminal securities fraud allegations against Paxton and suggested that he may illegally hold more than one homestead exemption — a type of tax break that applies to a person’s primary home. They did not provide additional details.

State Rep. Andrew Murr, R-Junction, the committee chair, said it was “alarming” and “very serious” that taxpayers are being asked to foot the bill for Paxton and others’ wrongdoings.

“That’s something we have to grapple with,” he said. “That’s challenging.”

ALSO READ: Corruption investigation into Texas AG Ken Paxton's shifting to Washington

Paxton allegedly ignored staff to step in for Paul

Over three hours of testimony, investigators described a pattern in which Paxton would bypass staff and ignore their recommendations, aggressively pushing for actions that benefited Paul.

Terese Buess, longtime former Harris County prosecutor who headed the public integrity division, said Paxton violated the state’s open records law to help Paul obtain information about the FBI’s activities involving his case, including a raid it had executed against his home and business office.

Paul, who is in the middle of multiple bankruptcies proceedings and financial litigation, had wanted the attorney general’s office to uncover details about the federal investigation into him and his businesses, the investigators said. Paul donated $25,000 to Paxton’s re-election campaign in 2018.

The attorney general’s office, which is charged with determining whether information needs to be released, had issued a “no-opinion” ruling on the matter – the first time it had done so in decades. The office receives about 30,000 requests per year.

Buess said Paul should have been denied the documents, since the open records law has a clear exception for law enforcement matters, yet Paxton pushed for its release.

Paxton told staff he did not want to use his office “to help the feds” or the state Department of Public Safety, Buess said.

According to Buess, Paxton obtained his own copy of the documents and then directed an aide to hand-deliver a manila envelope to Paul at his business. After that, she said, Paul's attorneys stopped asking for the FBI records. Investigators don’t know whether the documents were in the envelope.

Another former Harris County prosecutor, Mark Donnelly, told the committee that an attorney of Paul’s had recommended that Paxton’s office hire a young and inexperienced lawyer named Brandon Cammack as outside counsel to help Paxton investigate the federal officials looking into Paul. It was a conflict, since Paul had requested the investigation in the first place.

Donnelly did not name the attorney who referred Cammack, but Hearst Newspapers has reported on the relationship between Cammack and an attorney who represented Paul, Michael Wynne, both from Houston.

Paxton hired Cammack as a “special prosecutor” against the advice of his staff, according to the investigators. They suggested that Cammack was able to use the unredacted FBI report from Paxton to pinpoint the targets of 39 subpoenas, which went to Paul’s business interests and law enforcement officials.

Backing up another claim from the whistleblower suit, the investigators said Paxton pressured his office to issue a legal finding during the pandemic that foreclosure sales had to stop because of public health restrictions – a ruling that went against the advice of his staff.

Such opinions can take up to six months to publish, but Paxton pushed for it to be finalized in two days. Donnelly said the only logical explanation for that was he wanted it “complete before the foreclosure sale of certain properties related to Nate Paul entities” coming up the next week.

Paul’s attorneys went on to cite the attorney general opinion in about a dozen foreclosure sales involving his properties, Donnelly said.

Investigators also found that Paxton pressured his office to intervene in a lawsuit filed by the Roy F. & Joann Cole Mitte Foundation, an Austin-based nonprofit, against Paul alleging fraud. Again, Paxton’s staff had disagreed with his efforts.

The attorney general’s office withdrew from the suit in October 2020, immediately before the whistleblower letter went out reporting Paxton to federal law enforcement.

#texas #paxton #AG Ken Paxton likely committed impeachable crimes #Texas House investigators say #gop crimes #gop criminals #Ken Paxton #Harris County #Houston #Houston TX #white lies #fraud

2 notes · View notes

bllsbailey · 2 months

Text

Trump Supports Challengers to Texas Politicians Who Wanted Paxton Out

Former President Donald Trump has thrown his support behind a wave of challengers seeking to unseat Texas Republican lawmakers who voted to impeach state GOP Attorney General Ken Paxton, reported The Hill.

Trump, who staunchly defended Paxton during the impeachment proceedings, announced endorsements for four state House candidates on Tuesday. These candidates are vying to replace legislators who supported Paxton's impeachment last year.

The Texas House impeached Paxton in connection with allegations in May 2023, yet the state Senate acquitted him last September.

In a series of endorsements on Truth Social, Trump labeled the incumbent lawmakers as RINOs, or "Republicans in Name Only." He highlighted the backing of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, and Paxton himself for the endorsed candidates.

Among the endorsed candidates is Republican Liz Case, who is challenging incumbent GOP Rep. Stan Lambert in Texas House District 71. Trump outlined Case's platform, emphasizing her commitment to issues such as "school choice," election security, tax reduction, Second Amendment rights, border security, and combating cultural "wokeness."

Similarly, Republican Mike Olcott running against incumbent GOP Rep. Glenn Rogers in Texas House District 60 received Trump's endorsement for his support of school choice and Second Amendment rights.

Republican Helen Kerwin, challenging GOP Rep. DeWayne Burns in the 58th District, gained Trump's endorsement as an "America First Conservative" who aligns with Trump's priorities on issues like school choice, border security, and tax cuts. Kerwin, a former member of Trump's administration, expressed gratitude for the endorsement on social media, pledging to "stand with Texas and save America."

Republican Alan Schoolcraft, contesting incumbent GOP Rep. John Kuempel in the 44th District, was also endorsed by Trump. Trump criticized Kuempel as a RINO for his impeachment vote against Paxton and highlighted Schoolcraft's platform centered on school choice, election integrity, Texas values, border security, and Second Amendment rights.

Last month, Trump endorsed a primary challenger to GOP Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan's reelection bid, citing Phelan's involvement in what he termed a "fraudulent" impeachment trial against Paxton.

The Texas GOP primary, where these endorsements will be put to the test, is scheduled for Super Tuesday on March 5th.

Jim Thomas ✉

Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.

0 notes

fuckyeahtx · 3 years

Text

Today in "Abbott Is A Huge Douchebag And All TX House R's Are Assholes except [maybe] Lyle Larson"

Last week, Gov. Greg Abbott (R) announced a second special session for the Texas State Legislature. Texas Democrats have been in Washington, D.C. for the past month in order to deny Republicans of the quorum they need to pass a new voter suppression omnibus bill. The bill they were considering expired when the session ended, but Abbott called another one — and he can continue to call as many special sessions as he wants, according to Texas law.

Once again, voter suppression is on the agenda, and the Texas Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that Democrats who broke quorum could be arrested if they return to the state. Indeed, soon after on Tuesday night, Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan (R) signed civil arrest warrants for 52 of his Democratic colleagues. The warrants permit law enforcement to arrest Democrats who are in the state and bring them back to the House chamber, although they will not be charged with a crime or fined.

On Thursday, state district judges signed orders blocking the arrests of 40 of the Democratic members. Democrats have questioned whether Rep. Phelan has the authority to sign such warrants, and half of them remain in Washington. “We’re united in staying away from the House as long as possible,” said Rep. Eddie Rodriguez (D).

All but one Republican House member voted for the issuing of warrants to arrest their colleagues. Rep. Lyle Larson (R), who did not vote for the measure, tweeted on Tuesday, “Have we got to the point where we believe our own bull shizz so much that we arrest our own colleagues. Civil discourse took a nasty turn today.”

Note: Larson better stay on my good side because my baby brother lives in his district and I'd cut a bitch for him. If you live in District 122 in San Antonio, give Lyle a jingle and tell him good job and to stick his boot up the asses of his GQP colleagues.

#bull shizz #such a dad thing to say #h-e-double toothsticks

38 notes · View notes

foreverlogical · 3 years

Text

Texas Republicans asked their Democratic colleagues to please not call them racist on Thursday—then pushed forward a voting suppression bill aimed squarely at making it harder for Black and Hispanic urban voters to cast their ballots.

“The chair would appreciate members not using the word ‘racism’ this afternoon,” Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan said as the legislature kicked off debate on the contentious bill.

But in the eyes of Democrats and civil rights groups, that’s exactly what this legislation is.

“Intentional discrimination against people of a certain race—is that racism?” Texas House Rep. Gina Hinojosa asked during Thursday debate over the bill.

“We can talk about racial impacts of this legislation without accusing members of this body of being racist,” Phelan shot back.

The Texas House passed a procedural motion late Thursday night that put the bill one step away from becoming law, with final passage expected on Friday. The bill will bar counties from conducting drive-thru and 24-hour voting, two new voting methods pioneered in minority-majority Harris County, home of Houston, last election cycle.

It also adds new voter ID requirements for mail voting, caps the amount of hours each day that voting is allowed to take place, bans counties from sending voters absentee ballot request forms, gives partisan poll watchers more power and access to polling places, requires larger counties to install cameras to observe voting, and creates new criminal penalties for people who assist voters in casting their ballots.

Texas House Democrats walked out en masse in late May to block the legislature from passing the original version of the bill. After Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called a special session to try to force the bill’s passage over the summer, House Democrats fled the state to Washington, D.C. in order to try to prevent a quorum, block them from passing the new restrictions into law, and lobby Washington Democrats with unsuccessful pleas to pass national legislation barring voting suppression.

Republicans responded by authorizing the arrest of any lawmakers who refused to come to the Capitol. That threat only extended to state lines, and couldn’t reach Democrats in D.C., who stayed for more than a month. But in recent days a handful of Democrats caved, breaking with their colleagues and returning to Austin to end the standoff.

The waves of protest generated national attention. And while Texas Democrats didn’t achieve their ultimate goal of stopping the bill from becoming law, their public shaming did force Republicans to remove some of the bill’s most obviously racist measures, including a ban on Sunday voting that was clearly aimed at undercutting Black churches’ ‘Souls to the Polls’ voter turnout efforts.

Republicans insist that the new measures are necessary to prevent voter fraud, playing off Trump’s lies about the 2020 election for political gain, but they haven’t been able to offer any proof that widespread voting fraud is an actual problem. Texas is one of many GOP-controlled states that have pushed voting restrictions in recent months, including Arizona, Georgia, and Iowa. Those changes have a twofold effect: Pleasing the GOP base and potentially making it harder for Democrats to vote and therefore easier to win elections in future years.

“There's no reason for this bill and no reason why we had to come back and no reason why you had to be here,” Democratic Rep. Rafael Anchia said during the debate. “This is all about furtherance of the big lie.”

2 notes · View notes

conniejoworld · 2 years

Text

How one negative vote in the Texas House helped cost this rookie lawmaker his seat

Speaks volumes doesn't it.

0 notes

dontmeantobepoliticalbut · 3 years

Text

Sen. Joe Manchin, a key vote in the effort to pass federal voting rights legislation, on Thursday said he and a group of Texas House Democrats, who have fled their state in an effort to block restrictive voting bills, have come to a "total agreement" on what they want, which is "basically to protect voting rights."

Since arriving in Washington on Monday, Texas Democrats have sought meetings with members of Congress to urge them to pass federal voting rights legislation, including the For the People Act, the sweeping Democratic voting and election bill shot down by Senate Republicans last month.

Manchin, a moderate Democrat from West Virginia, has for weeks been at the center of the conversation on voting rights because of his opposition to eliminating the filibuster. Removing the legislative hurdle would allow Democrats to pass legislation with a simple majority.

After meeting with members of the Texas delegation, Manchin said the next step is to put together a pared-down bill that focuses solely on protecting the right to vote and the procedure of voting.

"We work with the Voting Rights Act that we had, started in 1965, and what we've evolved into, and basically make a piece of legislation, one piece of legislation that protects the rights of voting, the procedure of voting, democracy, the guardrails on democracy, that's all. And there shouldn't be a Republican or Democrat should oppose it," Manchin said.

Asked why he thinks Republicans would support a pared down bill, Manchin said: "You know why? Because they've had a bill that's 800 pages long, they've had everything thrown at them. Let's get back to the basic rights of voting, protecting voting rights."

Texas state Rep. Joe Moody -- one of the Democrats at the meeting in Washington -- said the Texas delegation was pleased by its conversation with Manchin.

"Senator Manchin was very generous with his time, and Texas Democrats were heartened by our talks with him. We have no doubt that he completely shares our goal of protecting voting rights for all Americans, and we all realize that this is a struggle that won't be over in just a few days—it's a journey, one we look forward to taking together," Moody said in a statement to CNN.

However, back in Texas, House Speaker Dade Phelan on Thursday issued an order stripping Moody of his position as speaker pro tempore.

The role of speaker pro tempore, largely a ceremonial role, is to carry out the Speaker's duties in their absence.

Following his removal, Moody said on Twitter Thursday, "The most important titles in my life will never change: Dad, Husband, El Pasoan. Nothing political has ever even cracked the top three, so nothing has changed about who I am or what my values are."

He added, in a separate statement to CNN, "I followed my conscience knowing that doing the right thing could cost me, but not fighting would've cost even more: the civil rights of Texans. The job I swore an oath to do is to defend our Constitution, so I'd make that trade any day. Titles come and go, but my commitment to the people of El Paso and this state will always remain."

Moody was appointed to the position by Phelan during this year's regular session. He also served as speaker pro tempore under a different Republican state House speaker in the 2019 session.

#politics #us politics #news #cnn #texas democrats #joe manchin #sen. joe manchin #wv #west virginia #texas #tx #Dade Phelan #Rep. Joe Moody #Joe Moody #for the people act #voting rights #voting rights act

24 notes · View notes