The Texas Senate has yet to announce Attorney General Ken Paxton’s Impeachment Trial rules, choosing to conduct closed-door deliberations since Tuesday morning. This decision has raised concerns about the level of transparency promised leading up to the trial.
Currently, the Senate stands in recess and will return at 1 pm. Sen. Paul Bettencourt says they are “working hard on rules” for Paxton’s impeachment — confirming the Senators closed-door deliberations.
Impeachment is incredibly rare in Texas, Paxton is only the third public official in the state’s history to be impeached. The exact mechanism of the upcoming trial in the Senate is still being determined.
The rules under consideration encompass crucial aspects such as the trial duration and the potential recusal of Paxton’s wife, Sen. Angela Paxton. Senators were provided with draft copies of the rules early Tuesday, and members or their staff had to sign confidentiality agreements in order to accept them.
The draft rules for Paxton’s trial were developed by a special committee that met privately. None of the committee’s seven members have publicly disclosed the precedents or processes that influenced their rulemaking.
Granbury Republican Sen. Brian Birdwell, who heads the rules committee, declined to comment on Monday, citing his commitment to preserving the integrity of the process.
“While he understands the desire for information, he is committed to ensuring the integrity of the process,” Birdwell’s chief of staff J.W. Galloway said in an email to The Dallas Morning News.
*This is a developing story.
