Good morning, 

Here is the Texas Minute for Thursday, August 3, 2023.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Coming Soon: The Texas Heist

Paxton Team Wants ‘Illegal’ Testimony Excluded From Impeachment Trial

• In the latest motion filed ahead of the Sept. 5 impeachment trial in the Senate, Attorney General Ken Paxton is calling for what they describe as illegal and unsworn testimony to be thrown out. Brandon Waltens has the details.

       
• Paxton’s legal team argues that unsworn testimony gathered by investigators who presented their findings to the House’s investigating committee violates the U.S. and Texas constitutions.
      

• Tony Buzbee, a Houston lawyer representing Paxton, said yesterday that the House impeachment is based on “hearsay upon hearsay upon hearsay.”
      

• “Yet in violation of Texas law, the Committee recommended impeachment based on third-party statements (hearsay) that were not taken under oath (hearsay upon hearsay) and subsequently summarized by House investigators (hearsay upon hearsay upon hearsay) to House Members.” – Tony Buzbee
       

• Paxton was impeached by the Texas House at the end of May on 20 disputed charges of misapplication of public resources, bribery, obstruction of justice, abuse of public trust, and disregard of official duties. This most recent motion comes after Paxton moved to have 19 of the 20 charges dismissed earlier this week.

UNT Dissolves DEI Department... And 'Reorganizes' The Staffing

• In preparation for a new state law banning diversity, equity, and inclusion departments from public universities, the president of the University of North Texas has announced plans to dissolve the DEI department. As Soli Rice explains, UNT is going to “reorganize” the staff from the DEI office.
      
• The move comes ahead of Senate Bill 17 taking effect next month. The new law requires all public colleges and universities to dissolve any internal DEI programs.
      
• UNT's Neal Smatresk told faculty in an email that he plans to reassign staff from the DEI office to different offices within the university to ensure their work continues.
      

• Smatresk has taken “woke” stances within the university, including support for radical gender ideology, while also demonstrating a distaste for conservatives and their values.

Speaker Phelan Censured By Ellis County

• After being censured by the largest county in his East Texas district, a North Texas county has added their opposition to the speakership of Dade Phelan. Emily Medeiros reports Ellis County's Republican Executive Committee voted 24-1 to censure Phelan.
     

• The Ellis County resolution takes aim at Phelan's decision to appoint nine Democrats to chair committees in the House, going against the Texas GOP's stance on the matter.
       

• The censure accuses Phelan of violating eight out of the 12 core principles of the Republican Party of Texas through these appointments.
      

• While Ellis County is not in Phelan's district, their censure adds weight to an effort by some to have the speaker censured next month by the Republican Party of Texas. If it passes, the party would be able to oppose Phelan's re-election in the 2024 primary.

George Soros Funds Effort to ‘Turn Texas Blue’

• A new political action committee bankrolled by out-of-state billionaire George Soros is seeking to put Democrats in charge of the Lone Star State.
      
• The Texas Majority PAC has received $750,000 from Democracy PAC II, which was started by Soros to fund political organizations that help elect Democrats.  
       
• Last year, Soros donated $1 million to Democrat gubernatorial candidate Robert O’Rourke in his failed campaign against Gov. Greg Abbott. Additionally, he has funded the efforts to elect liberal district attorneys in the state’s most populous counties. 
      
• Tracy Marshall, the executive director of Transparency USA, said the Texas Majority PAC's initial funding could signal it’s a force that will be significant in upcoming elections. 
      
• This is not the first such effort to hit Texas, as groups like Battleground Texas were founded 10 years ago with the same goal of putting Texas in Democrat control. Meanwhile, Republicans have held every statewide office in Texas for nearly 30 years.

Allen ISD Pledges Armed Security Officers For Elementary Schools 

• Trustees in the Allen Independent School District have approved a plan to put armed guards on every school campus in accordance with a new law focused on student safety. 

     
• Since there are not enough police officers to staff the open positions, the district is contracting with an outside security firm, L&P Global Security.
       
• All Texas school districts have until September 1 to implement new security measures or claim a “good cause exception.”

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