March 23, 2025
NEWS DIGEST
by Brandon Waltens
Good morning,
More than 18 months after Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick first requested an audit of the taxpayer cost of Attorney General Ken Paxton’s failed impeachment, the State Auditor’s Office has released its report: $5,110,038—the fast majority of which was incurred by the House’s outside lawyers.
But questions remain—particularly regarding payments to some of the House’s law firms.
Shortly after the Senate acquitted Paxton on all impeachment charges in September 2023, Patrick requested a full audit. While the Senate and the Office of the Attorney General promptly turned over their records, then-Speaker Dade Phelan refused repeated requests to do the same.
That changed earlier this month when new House Speaker Dustin Burrows provided the long-withheld records to Patrick, who then turned them over to State Auditor Lisa Collier.
On Friday, Collier’s office released the long-awaited report, revealing that the House spent millions in taxpayer dollars on the impeachment effort.
Patrick applauded the release of the records, calling the expenses “exactly as expected” and “a complete waste of money.”
“Former Speaker Phelan left the speakership withholding the House’s impeachment records, despite repeated widespread calls for him to release the records in the name of transparency. When I asked new Speaker Burrows to release the House’s impeachment expenditures, he gave me two boxes of documents almost immediately, which I promptly handed over to the State Auditor on March 6, 2025,” said Patrick.
“Now that taxpayers have the facts about how former Speaker Dade Phelan frivolously wasted taxpayer funds for an ill-fated political gambit, we can put this shameful epoch of our state’s history behind us. I thank Speaker Burrows for releasing the House’s records and for his commitment to transparency.”
However, records reviewed by Texas Scorecard reveal over $1 million in payments made by the Texas Legislative Council (TLC) to law firms involved in the House’s investigation of Paxton—raising questions about whether all costs were fully accounted for in the audit.
The TLC, an agency that assists lawmakers with bill drafting, legal research, and technical support, is not typically at the center of high-profile investigations.
As of publication, the State Auditor’s Office has not clarified whether the payments made by TLC were included in the $5.1 million total. The audit’s summary only shows less than $4,000 in “supplies” attributed to TLC.
The audit report can be viewed here.
Featured
The University of Texas System has officially banned drag performances on its campuses, citing compliance with state and federal laws regarding the use of taxpayer-funded facilities.
“All activities at UT institutions are expected to comply with all applicable federal, state, and local laws and executive orders, including any restrictions on the use of public funds,” said Kevin Eltife, chairman of the UT System Board of Regents. “Our public university facilities, supported by taxpayers, will not serve as venues for drag shows. Our institutions will not sponsor them. If the Board of Regents needs to take further action to make this clear, we will do so.”
The decision follows a letter sent earlier this month by Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare, who urged the university to ban drag performances. O’Hare cited President Donald Trump’s recent executive order prohibiting the use of federal funds to promote gender ideology.
Real Texans
In this week's edition of REAL TEXANS, a discussion with U.S. Sen. John Cornyn. Among other things, the conversation covers the "once in a generation" opportunities presented by DOGE ... impeaching federal judges ... and his reasons for backing the "heroic" Volodymyr Zelenskyy with your money.
New interviews with REAL TEXANS every Sunday!
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