Texas House investigating panel meets under wraps after denying AG Ken Paxton probe

Under wraps, the Texas House Committee on General Investigating met Wednesday for an undisclosed purpose a week after state Attorney General Ken Paxton made an unfounded claim that the panel is again considering his ouster.

Having previously denied Paxton's concern, Rep. Andrew Murr, R-Junction, the committee's chairman, declined to comment Wednesday on the nature of the group's meeting, only indicating that no official actions or decisions were made during the private forum.

"The chair notes for the record that no decisions were made or voted upon in the executive session," Murr said, noting that the committee's reason for assembling had "been completed."

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Each member of the five-person panel, with Rep. Oscar Longoria, D-Mission, absent, declined to address any aspect of the committee's work Wednesday.

Last week, ahead of the committee's previously scheduled hearing, Paxton sounded an alarm that he is concerned the panel, which was ultimately responsible for his brief suspension from office last year, is again looking into impeaching him.

“Their bitter obsession with taking me down knows no bounds, and they will stop at nothing to remove me from office,” Paxton said in a statement last week.

Immediately afterward, Murr, who is not seeking reelection , said there was no truth to Paxton's "fantasy" claim.

"Our committee’s agenda was never related to the attorney general; the House General Investigating Committee will be convening on a completely unrelated matter," Murr said in a statement to The Texas Tribune at the time.

Frequently forgotten during the course of a legislative session, the Investigating Committee last year not only spearheaded Paxton's impeachment in the House, but it also removed a House member for the first time in nearly 100 years.

Bryan Slaton, a former state representative, was unanimously expelled from the chamber after a presentation on the House floor by the Investigating Committee detailing allegations that Slaton had sex with a 19-year-old legislative aid, provided alcohol to underage staffers and took steps to keep the situation from becoming public.

Slaton, who resigned a day before the House vote , was barred from the chamber by a 147-0 vote.

Fresh off Slaton's expulsion, the committee again rocked the Capitol with a surprise 20-count impeachment case against Paxton last May, accusing the attorney general of misconduct including bribery and abuse of office. In bipartisan fashion, the House overwhelmingly voted to impeach Paxton, before the Senate, after an impeachment trial, acquitted the attorney general .

On Wednesday, the committee did not announce when it will next meet.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas House investigating panel meets under wraps after denying AG Ken Paxton probe