Texas State Sen. Paxton Barred From Voting in Husband’s Impeachment Trial

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks at the "Save America" rally in Robstown, Texas, on Oct. 22, 2022. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

Texas state Sen. Angela Paxton, the wife of Attorney General Ken Paxton, will not be allowed to vote during his impeachment trial slated to begin on Sept. 5.

The Republican-controlled Senate approved 31 rules regarding the upcoming impeachment trial during a hearing on June 21, including that Sen. Paxton may not be allowed to participate in the trial in any way, including in closed session or deliberations, citing a conflict of interest.

She will, however, be allowed to be present for the trial.

“I’ve never seen 31 senators more united,” Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, the Senate’s presiding officer, following the vote. “You’re united to take an Oath so that justice prevails so that everyone will do their job to the utmost, fairness in this impeachment trial upcoming in September.”

“The citizens of Texas can count on the Senate of Texas to have a fair and just trial,” said Patrick.

A vote to convict Paxton in the Senate would require a two-thirds threshold in the 31-member chamber, which is made up of 19 Republicans and 12 Democrats.

If all Democrats vote to convict him of the charges, nine Republicans would have to join them in order to have him removed from office permanently.

Sen. Paxton had said in an earlier statement this week that she planned to carry out her obligations as a member of the Senate ahead of her husband’s trial but stopped short of stating exactly whether or not she would recuse from a vote to remove the attorney general from office.

“I have twice been elected to represent the nearly one million Texans who reside in Senate District 8, and it is a tremendous honor and privilege to be their voice in the Texas Legislature,” she said. “Each time I was elected, I took an oath to uphold the Constitution and the laws of this great state, and Texas law compels each member of the Senate to attend when the Senate meets as a court of impeachment.”

Texas state Sen. Angela Paxton, R-McKinney, wife of impeached state Attorney General Ken Paxton, arrives at the Senate Chamber at the Texas Capitol in Austin, Texas, on May 29, 2023. (Eric Gay/AP Photo)

Articles of Impeachment Against Paxton

“As a member of the Senate, I hold these obligations sacred and I will carry out my duties, not because it is easy, but because the Constitution demands it and because my constituents deserve it,” the senator concluded.

The GOP-led Texas House voted 123–23 to adopt 20 articles of impeachment against Paxton on May 27.

The articles of impeachment include allegations of false statements, obstruction of justice, bribery, and abuse of public trust.

They accuse Paxton of conducting a “sham investigation” into whistleblower complaints made by employees at his office whom he allegedly fired in retaliation for reporting him to federal law enforcement for alleged “illegal acts and improper conduct.”

The whistleblowers accused Paxton of improperly issuing legal opinions to benefit real estate developer Nate Paul and had previously reached a tentative settlement agreement with Paxton for $3.3 million, which prompted the Texas House committee investigation.

According to the articles of impeachment, Paxton “benefited from Nate Paul’s employment of a woman with whom Paxton was having an extramarital affair. Paul received favorable legal assistance from, or specialized access to, the office of the attorney general.”

The articles also accuse Paxton of having benefited from Paul providing renovations to Paxton’s home in exchange for “favorable legal assistance” and “specialized access” to the office of the attorney general.

Other charges date back to Paxton’s pending 2015 felony securities fraud case, shortly after he won his first attorney general election, and include making false statements to state investigators.

Paxton, a longtime ally of former President Donald Trump who was reelected to a third term as attorney general in November, was immediately suspended from office pending the outcome of his trial.

He has denied the charges and previously called the impeachment a “politically motivated sham from the beginning.”

“RINOS and far-left radicals have established a kangaroo court in the TX Lege. to eliminate America’s most conservative Attorney General. Help me fight back! Would you donate $1, $5, $50, $100 today to show Austin you are in this fight w/me?” he wrote on Twitter earlier this week.

President Donald Trump waves upon arrival, alongside Attorney General of Texas Ken Paxton (L) in Dallas, Texas, on June 11, 2020. (Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images)

Impeachment Trial ‘Politically Motivated’

Paxton’s trial will be largely open to the public, save for closed-door deliberations. Other rules passed Wednesday include that both sides will have the right to present evidence, and call and cross-examine witnesses.

They will also have roughly one hour to present for both opening and closing statements.

Trump has condemned Paxton’s impeachment, calling him “one of the most hard-working and effective Attorney Generals in the United States.”

Elsewhere, Matt Rinaldi, chair of the Republican Party of Texas, has called the impeachment proceedings against Paxton “the latest front in the Texas House’s war against Republicans to stop the conservative direction of our state.”

“This sham impeachment is the result of the Phelan leadership team empowering Democrats, allowing them to hold leadership positions and letting them control the agenda,” Rinaldi said in May.

Earlier this week, the Republican Party of Texas issued a resolution condemning the impeachment which it said is both illegal and politically motivated, noting that Paxton was not granted any opportunity to offer any rebuttal evidence or testimony despite his offer to do so, something that Paxton has previously pointed out.

Paxton previously said his office had made “every effort to present evidence, testimony, and irrefutable facts that would have disproven the countless false statement and outright lies advanced by Speaker Dade Phelan and the Murr-Johnson panel he appointed.”

“Unfortunately, they refused to consider anything that would interfere with their desired result,” Paxton said in May.

Only two Texas officials have ever been impeached: Gov. James “Pa” Ferguson, a Democrat who was removed from office in 1917 after being charged with misapplication of public funds, embezzlement, and the diversion of a special fund, and State Judge O.P. Carrillo, who was removed from his position in 1975 after being found guilty for the personal use of public money and equipment and filing false financial statements.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.