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Texas Senator Angela Paxton is in the limelight as multiple reports stated that she could potentially be called upon to vote in her husband, Attorney General Ken Paxton’s, impeachment trial. On Saturday, May 27, the Texas House of Representatives voted to impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton, 60, for alleged bribery, obstruction of justice, and abuse of office.
The charges stem from years of allegations levied against Paxton. The Attorney General has been embroiled in multiple scandals since shortly after he was elected into office in 2014.
The recent suspension stems from multiple accusations, amongst which his ties with a campaign donor, Austin real estate developer Nate Paul, take center stage.
Ken Paxton, amongst other things, is accused of dismissing a fraud lawsuit against Paul and accepting bribes in exchange for favors. The mutually beneficial transaction included the real estate developer rewarding the AG with a home remodel. Paul also hired a woman with whom Paxton was accused of having an extramarital affair.
Erin Epley, lead counsel for the House Investigating Committee, said that when members of Paxton’s office discovered the alleged affair and confronted the AG, their powers were scaled back in the office:
"There are also people on staff who, for example, found out about the affair and confronted Attorney General Ken Paxton who ended up with a pay raise but moved out of their scope of employment with less access with less control."
Angela Paxton was allegedly aware of her husband's affair
On the heels of the Texas House voting to impeach Ken Paxton, it’s been widely reported that his wife, Senator Angela Paxton, could be an integral figure in the next phase of her husband’s historic impeachment trial set to take place in August 2023. Angela Paxton is part of the Texas Senate that will serve on a jury in Paxton’s impeachment trial.
In the lead of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton being elected into office in 2014 and after, his wife Angela Paxton, 60, was often seen behind the scenes, entertaining crowds as her husband lobbied for the position.
Per her bio, Angela, an adopted child and the first person in her family to graduate from college, earned an undergraduate degree in Mathematical Science from Baylor University, where she met Ken Paxton. The couple reportedly married in 1986 and have raised four children together.
The senator served as a high school teacher and guidance counselor for 20 years before she leveraged her husband’s position and secured a $2 million loan to launch her political career. Angela Paxton was elected to the Texas Senate in November 2018 to represent Senate District 8. Shortly after her appointment, the senator was accused of introducing legislation that would directly benefit her husband to expand his office’s powers.
After years of ardently supporting her husband, the senator is now set to vote in his impeachment trial, borne out of his corruption and affair allegations.
Erin Epley, lead counsel for the House Investigating Committee, revealed that Angela Paxton was aware of her husband's affair in 2019:
"The affair was not public. There was a desire to keep it private, according to these interviews, and the interviews establish that now-Senator Angela Paxton learned of the affair in 2019, that the affair ended briefly, but then it resumed and was underway again by 2020."
As of yet, it is unclear if the senator will be able to recuse herself from voting in her husband’s trial.
All about the many allegations against Ken Paxton over the years
During his tenure as the Texas attorney general, Ken Paxton was accused of abusing his power multiple times in the office. Paxton was indicted by the Senate in 2015, just months after being elected into the post.
As per CNN, the attorney general was accused of fraud by the securities exchange commission after “selling shares of a technology company without registering as an investment adviser representative with the state board or disclosing that he was being paid by the company.”
The case, where Paxton has denied any wrongdoing, has still not gone to trial. Despite the scandal, Paxton was elected for a second term in 2018. Two years later, several whistleblowers from his office accused him of bribery and abusing his office. The Whistleblowers alleged that Paxton used his elevated position to benefit political friend and real estate developer Nate Paul, who had donated tens of thousands of dollars to Paxton’s campaign.
Federal prosecutors began an investigation shortly after the Whistleblowers were fired in retaliation. The recent vote to impeach Paxton stems from the aforementioned allegations.
Meanwhile, Paxton has denied any wrongdoing and described the string of legal woes as a politically motivated attack against him.
