AG Ken Paxton's impeachment trial begins Sept. 5, while Senator Paxton, his wife, can't vote
AUSTIN (CBSNewsTexas.com) - The impeachment trial against Attorney General Ken Paxton will begin at 9 a.m. on Sept. 5, and while his wife, Senator Angela Paxton will be able to attend the proceedings, she will not be allowed to vote on any part of the trial.
Senate Resolution 35, approved by Senators Wednesday night by a margin of 25-3 states, "A member of the court who is the spouse of a party to the court of impeachment is considered to have a conflict pursuant to Article III, Section 22, of the Texas Constitution. Such member of the court shall be seated in the court of impeachment pursuant to Article 15 of the Texas Constitution. However, such member of the court shall not be eligible to vote on any matter, motion, or question, or participate in closed sessions or deliberations. Notwithstanding any other rule, a member of the court who is the spouse of a party to the court of impeachment shall be considered present and eligible only for the purpose of calculating the number of votes required for any and all matters, motions, and questions under these rules."
Removing Paxton from office will require two-thirds of the Senate.
If Paxton is convicted, the senators will then decide whether he should be disqualified from holding further office.
Ever since the House overwhelmingly voted to impeach Paxton on 20 articles of impeachment in late May, he has been suspended without pay.
Paxton and his attorneys have repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and have called the impeachment a sham.
As part of the rules, senators will be able to deliberate behind closed doors, but when they vote on the articles of impeachment, they will have to do so in open session in public view.
The prosecutors representing the Texas House and Paxton's lawyers will be able to make opening statements, present evidence and witnesses, and cross-examine the other side's witnesses.
They will also make closing arguments. All will be under time limits.
Opening statements and closing arguments will be no longer than one hour while the total time for presenting of evidence will be limited to 24 hours for each side.
Lawyers for both the House and Paxton can each present rebuttal evidence up to one hour.
At the beginning of the trial, Paxton will be asked how he pleads - guilty or not guilty - on each of the 20 articles of impeachment.
The Senate rules state the burden of proof is beyond a reasonable doubt and that the House Board of Managers and their lawyers must prove their case against Paxton.
Twenty-one Senators signed on as authors of Senate Resolution 35.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said Wednesday evening that Texans can rely on the Texas Senate to hold a fair trial.
He praised senators and reminded them they are not allowed to comment or discuss the proceedings publicly and cannot advocate a position until deliberations begin.
The media will be provided space in the Senate gallery during the open session of the trial.
There will be two stationary pool cameras in the Senate chamber that will be providing video and audio of the trial available to the news media.
The proceedings will also be live-streamed.
The Senate will allow members of the public to sit in the Senate gallery during the trial on a rotating basis.
