Texas Scorecard by Brandon Waltens September 18, 2024
One year later, Speaker Dade Phelan has still refused to provide taxpayers with the information.On September 18, 2023, just two days after the Senate acquitted Attorney General Ken Paxton in his impeachment trial, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick called for a full audit of the impeachment’s expenses.
One year later, Speaker Dade Phelan has still refused to provide taxpayers with the information.
In a letter to State Auditor Lisa Collier, Patrick asked for all expenditures incurred by the Texas House of Representatives and the Texas Senate from March 1, 2023, through October 15, 2023.
The Senate quickly provided receipts showing they spent $435,000 during the two months of preparation and the trial. Phelan and the House, however, have not.
In a statement earlier this month marking the anniversary of the start of the trial, Patrick took aim at Phelan for his refusal to comply:
Dade Phelan has refused to comply with the audit for almost a year now, and apparently, he doesn’t believe he needs to tell taxpayers how much he spent on the impeachment. I’m not aware of any legislator refusing to tell taxpayers how they spent taxpayer money.
What is Dade Phelan afraid to show the public? Millions upon millions of your money, spent on high-priced private lawyers who lost the case, in addition to his costly state expenses.
More:
https://texasscorecard.com/state/365-days-of-secrecy-phelan-refuses-to-disclose-costs-of-paxton-impeachment/