Ken Paxton, the embattled Texas attorney general, is due to face his impeachment trial in the state's Senate which could result in his permanent removal from office.
Paxton was impeached by the Texas House of Representatives in May in a 121-23 vote, becoming only the third sitting official in Texas' near 200-year history to be impeached. The trial will begin at 9 a.m. CDT on Tuesday in the Senate chamber of the Texas Capitol.
The Republican is accused of numerous offenses ranging from corruption and bribery, false statements in official records, and being unfit for office. Many of the allegations relate to accusations Paxton used his power to help his friend and Austin real estate investor Nate Paul while he was under criminal investigation, as well as attempting to hide an alleged extramarital affair.
Paxton has long denied all the allegations against him and accused the trial of being a "politically motivated sham."
Texas senators, who will serve as jurors in the trial, will consider 16 of the 20 articles of impeachment filed against Paxton, with the remaining four to be acted upon after the trial as they overlap with allegations that stemmed from 2015 criminal charges against the Republican.
How To Watch Ken Paxton's Impeachment Trial
For residents of Texas, the proceedings will be broadcast live on numerous local news networks including KPRC and NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth.
The trial will be streamed live on Texas-based news sites such as The Texas Tribune.
The official Texas Senate website will be broadcasting the entire proceedings from 9 a.m. on Tuesday.
All senators, barring Paxton's wife, State Sen. Angela Paxton, will vote on whether to impeach Paxton in the 16 articles against him, or have all 20 thrown out.
The Texas Constitution requires that there be a two-thirds majority vote of senators—21 of the 31 in the chamber—to convict Paxton.
Republicans hold a 19-12 majority in the Texas Senate, meaning all 12 Democrats and at least nine GOP state senators would have to support impeaching the attorney general to trigger his removal from office.
Paxton faces 16 articles of impeachment: Seven over alleged disregard of official duty, two of constitutional bribery, as well as dereliction of duty, misapplication of public resources, misappropriation of public resources, false statements in official records, conspiracy and attempted conspiracy, abuse of public trust, and unfitness for office.
The four articles that are being held in abeyance can be dismissed by a majority vote from the senators at the end of the impeachment hearings. If the motion to reject them is denied by the senators, a new trial date for those four accusations will be set.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Ewan Palmer is a Newsweek News Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on US politics, domestic policy ... Read more
To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.
