Texas AG Ken Paxton's impeachment trial set for Sept. 5; wife won't serve as juror

Attorney General Ken Paxton's impeachment trial in the Texas Senate will begin Sept. 5, but his wife, Sen. Angela Paxton, won't get to participate in the proceedings, according to the rules officials approved.

After two days of deliberating behind closed doors, the Senate on Wednesday night announced Paxton's trial date and the 31 rules that will guide the impeachment hearing.

As expected, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick will preside as judge, and the senators will serve as jurors. The rules explain that if Paxton is convicted on any impeachment article levied against him, he will be removed from office for the remainder of his four-year term, which expires in 2026, and he could be permanently banned from serving in any public office in the state.

More: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's impeachment trial to be held Sept. 5 in Senate

Paxton, a three-term Republican who was reelected in November, has been suspended from office since May 27 when the Texas House voted overwhelmingly in favor of 20 articles of impeachment. Four of those articles relate to Paxton's pending criminal securities cases and will not be considered in the impeachment trial, according to the Senate rules. That leaves 16 remaining articles, many of which involve Paxton's relationship with Nate Paul, an Austin real estate developer recently arrested and indicted in federal court for mortgage fraud.

A key question senators tackled was whether Angela Paxton would serve as a juror in her husband's trial. The rules say that she must be present but "shall not be eligible to vote on any matter, motion, or question, or participate in closed sessions or deliberations."

On Monday night, Angela Paxton released a statement saying she planned to carry out her duties during her husband's impeachment trial.

"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," she said in her statement.

Related: Will Sen. Angela Paxton serve as a juror in her husband's impeachment trial? What we know.

As per the Senate rules, Angela Paxton will be considered "present and eligible" for the purpose of calculating the number of votes required for all impeachment matters. Support from two-thirds of the Senate, or 21 members, is required to convict Paxton on any count. The decision to strip his wife from a vote does not change that math.

The Senate passed the impeachment trial rules by a 25-3 vote, with Paxton, R-McKinney; Sarah Eckhardt, D-Austin; and Bob Hall, R-Edgewood, voting in opposition. The rules applied a gag order to all parties, including lawyers.

Eckhardt explained her no vote in a statement to the Senate Journal. She said that many of the approved rules are unprecedented and noted that a simple majority of senators can vote to dismiss an article through a motion from Paxton's legal team. Republicans outnumber Democrats in the Senate, 19-12.

"Most disturbing is the unprecedented ability of the defense to win a dismissal of an Article of Impeachment by a simple majority vote," Eckhardt said.

Eckhardt also noted that Patrick, as the presiding officer, is given authority that, "in almost every aspect, cannot be openly challenged, debated or even commented on by the senators until after the trial is complete."

Paxton is being represented by loquacious, storied Houston attorneys Tony Buzbee and Dan Cogdell, who this month held a news conference in Austin blasting the House impeachment process and taking shots at the trial's special prosecutors — Texas legal titans Dick DeGuerin and Rusty Hardin.

The rules say that DeGuerin and Hardin cannot present opening statements or closing arguments, which will be done by the House Board of Managers — a group of seven Republican and five Democrat House members. Conversely, Paxton's lawyers can present opening statements and closing arguments.

DeGuerin and Hardin issued a statement Thursday saying the rules will provide a fair trial "for both sides."

"We thank the Senate for their diligence and hard work, and we look forward to presenting our case," the statement said.

The trial will be held in public and streamed live, except for when jurors go into private session to deliberate. Patrick, as the presiding officer, will rule on questions about evidence but reserves the right to instead put it to a Senate vote.

More: What could Austin real estate developer Nate Paul's federal indictment mean for Ken Paxton?

The rules also address time limits. Both sides get 60 minutes each for opening statements and final arguments. They also get 24 hours each to present evidence. Lawyers have until Aug. 22 to announce the witnesses they intend to call to testify.

A senator can be called as a witness but only when the evidence cannot be provable without their testimony. This suggests that Angela Paxton, though prohibited from serving as a juror, could participate as a witness. Investigators say she and her husband received an extensive home remodel that Paul funded in exchange for Ken Paxton using the attorney general's office to intervene in legal matters involving the real estate developer.

Another senator, Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, might also be asked to testify. House investigators say Paxton used Hughes as a "straw requestor" to issue a legal opinion to help Paul avoid a foreclosure.

The standard of guilt to convict Paxton on any impeachment article is beyond a reasonable doubt — the same measure used in a criminal case in Texas. If Paxton is convicted on any article, the prosecution can then bring a motion to "include disqualification from holding any office of honor, trust, or profit under this state."

The Sept. 5 trial date is a bit of a head-scratcher. Previously, the Senate had said the trial must start no later than Aug. 28. The rules did not address the date extension.

Nate Paul, bribery & whistleblowers: Breaking down the investigation into Texas AG Ken Paxton

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas AG Ken Paxton faces permanent removal as trial set for Sept. 5