The coming impeachment trial for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has a twist
On the way to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton becoming a rising figure in the GOP, his wife, Angela, used to entertain crowds with a guitar and a song.
“I’m a pistol-packin‘ mama, and my husband sues Obama,” she sang at campaign events and Republican clubs in Texas.
When it came time for the high school teacher and guidance counselor to launch own political career, a $2 million loan from her husband propelled Angela Paxton to a narrow victory for a state Senate seat in the booming Dallas suburbs. Once elected, she filed bills to expand his office’s powers, and approved budgets over his state agency and salary.
Now, Sen. Paxton is a key figure in the next phase of Ken Paxton’s historic impeachment: as a “juror” in a Senate trial that could put her husband back in office or banish him permanently.
It’s a role that raises an ethical cloud over the Senate proceeding. State law compels all senators to attend, but is silent on whether she must participate.
“If it were a trial in the justice system, she would be completely required to (step aside),” said Kenneth Williams, professor of criminal procedure at the South Texas College of Law in Houston. “It’s a clear conflict of interest.”
The trial is to start no later than Aug. 28, and it promises to be quite personal for Angela Paxton.
The 20 articles of impeachment brought against Ken Paxton include sweeping charges of abuse of office an unethical behavior. They include a bribery charge related to an extramarital affair. Another suggested Angela Paxton was involved in the installation of $20,000 countertops at their home, paid for by a political donor.
Angela Paxton hasn’t said if she’ll recuse herself from the trial. She declined comment when approached by The Associated Press outside the Senate chamber on Monday.
State Rep. Andrew Murr, who led the impeachment investigation in the state House, declined to say if he thinks Angela Paxton should step aside. The Senate gets to set the rules, he said.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick tightly controls the Senate and its 19-12 Republican majority.
