Texas Senator Angela Paxton will ‘carry out’ her duties in impeachment trial of her husband

The impeachment trial of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton will be a family affair.

Angela Paxton, a Texas state senator and Ken’s wife, said she will “carry out [her] duties” as one of the jurors who will decide her husband’s fate.

“Texas law compels each member of the Senate to attend when the Senate meets as a court of impeachment,” she said late 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 my constituents deserve.”

The Texas state house impeached Paxton in late May on charges of bribery, retaliating against whistleblowers and obstructing justice. A trial in the state Senate will begin no later than Aug. 28.

Included in the charges were allegations that Paxton had an affair with one of his friend’s employees. Neither of the Paxtons has commented on that claim.

Speculation raged for weeks about whether Angela Paxton would take part in the trial. Texas senators met Tuesday to draft rules for the proceedings.

While the Texas Constitution compels all senators to attend impeachment trials, it also says lawmakers should recuse themselves from personal matters.

Paxton, a Republican, has vehemently denied all the charges and claimed they were politically motivated. Texas’ Republican-majority statehouse voted 121-23 in favor of impeachment, and Republicans also hold 19 of 31 seats in the state Senate. Paxton has been barred from acting in his role as the state’s top lawyer since he was impeached.

Many of the charges against Paxton surround his friend, Austin-based real estate developer Nate Paul. Paxton is accused of using his office to aid Paul in exchange for favors, including a job for his mistress.

The FBI arrested Paul on June 8 and charged him with lying on financial forms.