Texas Sen. Angela Paxton will participate in impeachment trial of husband Ken Paxton

In case anyone’s wondering, Texas Sen. Angela Paxton has told the world that she’ll take part in the impeachment trial of her husband, embattled Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton.

“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,” Angela Paxton, R-McKinney, said in an announcement shared Monday. “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 Texas Constitution doesn’t explicitly say what constitutes a conflict of interest in a Senate impeachment trial. However, the document calls on lawmakers to sit out votes in which they are personally invested.

“A member who has a personal or private interest in any measure or bill, proposed, or pending before the Legislature, shall disclose the fact to the House, of which he is a member, and shall not vote thereon,” the text reads.

Angela Paxton made no mention of the Texas Constitution’s conflict-of-interest clause in her brief statement.

Documents recently unearthed by the Houston Chronicle also show that Angela Paxton owes $600,000 to her husband’s campaign as part of a loan. What’s more, he helped guarantee millions in additional funding for her first run for the Texas Senate, according to the report.

Further, Ken Paxton owes $125,000 in outstanding campaign loans to Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, the man who will preside over the Senate trial, according to the Chronicle‘s analysis of financial documents.

Prior to the report, Patrick said he plans to preside over the trial. He’s since made no statement to the contrary.

The Texas House suspended Ken Paxton in late May via a bipartisan vote, and he next faces an impeachment trial in the Senate, which will decided whether to permanently remove him from office. He faces 20 articles of impeachment accusing him of bribery, obstruction of justice, conspiracy and misappropriation of public resources.

Paxton, who also faces separate felony securities fraud charges and U.S. Justice Department investigation, has repeatedly denied wrongdoing.

Speculation has swirled since the House vote whether Angela Paxton would participate in the Senate trial, which is expected to get underway Aug. 28.

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This article appears in Jun 14-27, 2023.