Senators Can’t Agree on How to Conduct Paxton’s Impeachment Trial
Secret meetings produce no rules for suspended attorney general's trial
By Brant Bingamon, Fri., June 23, 2023
Will Attorney General Ken Paxton's upcoming impeachment trial be a real examination of the charges against him or, as members of the Texas House of Representatives recently put it, a "sham trial"? This was the question lingering at the Capitol as the Chronicle went to press Wednesday.
Tuesday and Wednesday, Texas senators conducted secret meetings with the Senate committee in charge of recommending the rules that will govern Paxton's impeachment. When finally adopted, these rules will determine whether the senators examine physical evidence against Paxton and hear from witnesses. But with the announcement of the rules having already been postponed five times, and with reports by The Texas Tribune of "several lengthy meetings in private," it seems clear that the senators can't agree on how deeply to look into Paxton's alleged misdeeds.
On May 27, members of the Texas House voted 121-23 that Paxton be impeached for a years-long pattern of alleged corruption, including illegally firing four whistleblowers who had accused him of bribery, and allegedly attempting to undermine an FBI investigation. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who will preside over the impeachment, has offered no particular defense of his longtime ally. He said Paxton's trial will take place by the end of August.
Paxton's attorneys have asked that the Senate adopt a "summary procedure" for the impeachment (read: fast and loose trial) that would permit them to consider only the articles of impeachment sent over by the House, and not the actual evidence. There were 20 of these articles, alleging securities fraud, bribery, and other crimes ranging from class A misdemeanors to second-degree felonies – crimes that could send Paxton to prison for years, were he found guilty of them in an actual court.
In response, the House reps advocating impeachment, known as the board of managers, warned in a memo last week about "Mr. Paxton's counsel's alarming public request for a sham trial." The board went on to ask the Senate to adopt the traditional rules of Texas trial procedure in Paxton's impeachment, including lawyers, the transcription of testimony, witnesses who can be placed under oath and cross-examined, and rules for the admission of evidence.
Ironically, the 22 House Republicans who voted against Paxton's impeachment said they did so not because he was innocent, but because the presentation by the House's investigating committee did not include this kind of trial-level evidence and witness testimony. Without this kind of evidence, they said, the presentation amounted to hearsay. Now, the same political faction is asking that the evidence and testimony that was excluded from the House proceedings also be excluded in the Senate, presumably so senators will have the same excuse to vote against impeachment.
The fact that there has been no easy agreement among the senators implies that at least some of them are uneasy with a summary procedure. Since Paxton's impeachment was announced, observers have speculated about conflicts of interest in the upper body, as well as the willingness of Patrick, who has been Paxton's extremely close ally – politically, if not personally – to oversee his conviction and removal from office. Both Republicans are funded by many of the same wealthy interests. Chris Tomlinson of the Houston Chronicle reported on June 5 that the Defend Texas Liberty PAC, one of Paxton's largest donors, has given him $1.25 million and loaned him another $750,000. The PAC's funding comes almost entirely from West Texas billionaires Tim Dunn and Farris Wilks, who also donate to Patrick.
One person who certainly seems to have a conflict of interest in the upcoming trial is Paxton's wife, Angela Paxton, who has served as a senator since 2019 and chairs the Republican caucus. The articles of impeachment allege that Nate Paul, the Austin real estate developer whom Paxton is accused of taking bribes from, replaced the Paxtons' kitchen countertops, something that was a particular desire of Angela's. The articles also allege that Paxton cheated on Angela and that Paul provided Paxton's mistress a job in Austin, so that the pair could more easily meet for trysts. Angela Paxton announced on Monday that she will not recuse herself.
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