Trump Calls Paxton Impeachment Proceedings ‘Very Unfair’
Former President Donald J. Trump said on Saturday that the impeachment proceedings against Ken Paxton, the Texas attorney general, were unfair and vowed to fight against lawmakers who pursued impeachment.
Mr. Trump said in a statement on Truth Social, his social media platform, that moving to impeach Mr. Paxton was contrary to the will of voters who elected Mr. Paxton to a third term by a wide margin in November.
“Hopefully Republicans in the Texas House will agree that this is a very unfair process that should not be allowed to happen or proceed,” Mr. Trump wrote. “I will fight you if it does.”
A House panel led by Republicans has accused Mr. Paxton, also a Republican, of unethical behavior, including accepting favors from a real estate investor in exchange for access to and assistance from his office.
Mr. Trump was far from the only conservative figure to pledge support for Mr. Paxton in response to the allegations.
Stephen Miller, an adviser to former President Donald J. Trump, urged his followers to “Stand with Ken.”
Mr. Trump’s oldest son, Donald Trump Jr., called the impeachment efforts by the Texas House a “witch hunt” and a “disgrace.”
And Kyle Rittenhouse, the 20-year-old man who has become a conservative star since he was acquitted of all charges in the shooting of three men during protests in response to a police shooting in Kenosha, Wis., praised Mr. Paxton for being a “pro-gun” attorney general.
Mr. Paxton has also been posting on social media himself, promoting an interview he gave to Representative Matt Gaetz, Republican of Florida, and issuing a statement blasting the investigation into his conduct. He said lawmakers had solicited false testimony “with the goal of manipulating and misleading the public.”
In addition to conservative political figures, Mr. Paxton also was praised online by the musician Ted Nugent, who is an outspoken conservative and a supporter of Mr. Trump.
“The Nugent family and all constitutionalists in Texas support the great attorney general Ken Paxton,” Mr. Nugent wrote on Twitter.