LAW:...Texas A.G. Ken Paxton On Trial This Tuesday...

 

By EDUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

McALLEN, Texas | Kenny's going to court. The Republican Texas Attorney General who's lived a charmed life in Austin will walk into his impeachment trial courtroom on Tuesday. Paxton's the name.

Ken Paxton.

You've seen all the TV news reporting and the newspaper write-ups about the royal mess 60-year-old Paxton created to find himself a vote from being removed.

This from the Associated Press: [ Billionaires, burner phones, alleged bribes: The impeachment trial of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is going to test the will of Republican senators to oust not only one of their own, but a firebrand who has helped drive the state’s hard turn to the right for years.

The historic proceedings set to start in the state Senate Tuesday are the most serious threat yet to one of Texas’ most powerful figures after nine years engulfed by criminal charges, scandal and accusations of corruption. If convicted, Paxton - just the third official in Texas’ nearly 200-year history to be impeached - could be removed from office.

Witnesses called to testify could include Paxton and a woman with whom he has acknowledged having an extramarital affair. Members of the public hoping to watch from the gallery will have to line up for passes. And conservative activists have already bought up TV airtime and billboards, pressuring senators to acquit one of Donald Trump’s biggest defenders.

"It’s a very serious event but it’s a big-time show," said Bill Miller, a longtime Austin lobbyist and a friend of Paxton. "Any way you cut it, it’s going to have the attention of anyone and everyone."

The build-up to the trial has widened divisions among Texas Republicans that reflect the wider fissures roiling the party nationally heading into the 2024 election. ]

In the courtroom's gallery will likely be Paxton's wife, Angela. She is a state senator representing a district just north of Dallas. Angela Paxton, shown in photo above, has been barred from voting in the yes or no ouster of her husband.

The trial has drawn interest from the major networks and the country's largest, more-influential newspapers.

It should be a wild one, as Paxton has said he will defend himself vigorously.

Does that mean he'll dish dirt on his high-ranking GOP pals?

This is what he said about the upcoming trial during a speech just yesterday: [ "I can talk about something that I think has become maybe the leading issue that we need to deal with as a county, and the state needs to deal with it, and that is something known as the Texas House of Representatives and the leadership in the Texas House of Representatives," Paxton told the audience at a Collin County GOP picnic.

"We all know the name (Texas House Speaker) Dade Phelan, we saw the videos of what happened, and we see his leadership," Paxton said, referring to a video of Phelan slurring his words on the House floor the evening before the House announced its investigation into Paxton. Some Phelan critics suggested Phelan was drunk. ]

Paxton followed that by saying, "Let's clean house."

Since the House voted to impeach him, Paxton has been suspended without pay.

He could get his old job back if he is cleared of the allegations. A conviction would strip Paxton of his title. However, he could run for another term as attorney general in the future. The Texas Senate would have to conduct a second vote if it wished to block him from seeking office in the state again.

Yeah, let's clean house. Well, first the trial...

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