State Sen. Angela Paxton (R-McKinney), the wife of suspended Texas Attorney General (TXAG) Ken Paxton, said on Monday she won’t recuse herself from the impeachment proceedings against him.
The Texas House of Representatives voted 121-23 late last month to impeach Ken Paxton, just a few days after a House panel recommended that he face 20 articles of impeachment.
“I have been twice 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,” the North Texas lawmaker said in a statement issued by her office. “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.
“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,” she added.
According to a report from The Texas Tribune, Angela Paxton had remained tight-lipped about the litany of charges against her spouse, which include but aren’t limited to bribery, retaliation and obstruction of justice.
The impeachment trial will be held in the upper chamber of the state legislature on Aug. 31, with the 31 members serving as a jury and tasked with determining Ken Paxton’s guilt or innocence.
Meanwhile, at the helm of the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) on an interim basis is John B. Scott, who previously served as secretary of state (SOS) just six months prior.
Austin FOX affiliate KTBC reported that a bipartisan committee of five Republicans and two Democrats was slated to consider the rules for the trial on Tuesday.
The prosecution is led by Houston attorneys Dick DeGuerin and Rusty Hardin while another high-profile Bayou City lawyer, Tony Buzbee, is representing Ken Paxton, who was reelected to a third term as the state’s top law enforcement official last fall.