Rules for Ken Paxton's impeachment trial include barring his wife from voting
AUSTIN, Texas - The impeachment trial for Texas Attorney Ken Paxton will be September 5.
Wednesday night, the Senate released the 31 rules for the trial, which included barring State Senator Angela Paxton from voting.
The ground rules have been set and lawyers on both sides have agreed with how the impeachment process will go.
"The citizens of Texas can count on the Senate of Texas to have a fair and just trial," Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said.
Now, we wait to see if suspended AG Paxton will testify in his own defense.
Texas Senate sets date, guidelines for Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial
A total of 31 rules have been set for the impeachment trial that starts on Sept. 5. One of the biggest rules says Collin County Senator Angela Paxton has a conflict of interest being Ken Paxton’s wife and cannot vote in the trial.
FOX 4 spoke with SMU political scientist Matthew Wilson about the procedure.
"What ultimately does Ken Paxton have to say for himself. If he says these charges are silly, they are easily disprovable, then let’s here it," Wilson said.
Rule 31 says Paxton's wife cannot vote as a juror.
However, she can declare herself "present," which might complicate the two-thirds requirement needed to convict.
"If it’s two-thirds of the senators present, then simply a vote of present is de facto a vote against impeachment," Wilson explained.
The Senate will only take up 16 of the 20 articles of impeachment approved by the House.
Three articles that were set aside involve whistleblower claims from Paxton’s staff that are also being heard in criminal court.
"Essentially, saying let’s let that process play out separately, let’s see what happens in the court of law before the Senate decides if they need to act on an impeachment basis regarding those charges," Wilson said.
The fourth article set aside involves an alleged bribe between Paxton and his donor to provide a job for his mistress.
Wilson said it’s important to note that a conviction on just one article removes Paxton from office.
"It may not be necessary to look at them. If the Senate agrees by a two-third’s majority to even one of the 16 charges, it doesn’t matter what happens with the other four," he said.
The Senate also ordered Paxton to appear in person at the trial. His attorney said: "Now that the Senate has adopted the rules, we look forward to proving every count of this sham impeachment is baseless."
The presiding officer of the Senate, Lt. Gov. Patrick, holds a lot of power over the trial.
He can exclude evidence without a Senate vote.
"We will see if he ends up excluding any significant evidence that could be damming or exculpatory for Ken Paxton, but certainly he seems thus far to be taking the process seriously," Wilson added.
The House Investigation Committee chair and the impeachment manager lawyers called the rules fair and said they look forward to the trial.