Texas Senate imposes deadline for Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial.

The Texas Senate has adopted a resolution calling for the impeachment trial of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to begin by August. This resolution, authored by state Sen. John Whitmire, passed unanimously.

“After Paxton was elected attorney general, Paxton was indicted by a Collin County grand jury for engaging in fraud or fraudulent practices in violation of The Securities Act (Title 12, Government Code),” the impeachment articles state. “Paxton then concealed the facts underlying his criminal charges from voters by causing a protracted delay of the trial, which deprived the electorate of its opportunity to make an informed decision when voting for attorney general.”

Under the resolution, a seven-member committee will be appointed to prepare and present rules of procedure for consideration to the Senate by June 20. A date for the trial, which will be presided over by Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, has been set for no later than Aug. 28. On that date, the Texas Senate will convene as a “court of impeachment” according to the measure.

The resolution comes after the Republican-controlled Texas House voted 123–23 to adopt 20 articles of impeachment, including allegations of false statements, bribery, and abuse of public trust, against Paxton on May 27 following hours of debate.

As a result, Paxton, who is only the third sitting official in Texas’s nearly 200-year history to have been impeached, has been temporarily suspended from office pending his trial in the Senate, where his wife, Angela Paxton, is a senator.

A two-thirds Senate vote is needed to permanently remove him from office. The Senate is comprised of 19 Republicans and 12 Democrats.

Articles of Impeachment

• 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.
• “Specifically, 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 of impeachment state.
• 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, was reelected to a third term as attorney general in November. He has denied the charges and said the impeachment vote was based on “totally false claims.”