TX AG Ken Paxton; a criminal or not?

Paxton, the first statewide elected official facing impeachment in Texas in more than 100 years, has filed multiple motions to have his upcoming Senate impeachment trial as a criminal proceeding rather than civil. Huh, you say? If designated as a criminal trial that would prevent prosecutors from calling him to the stand and might lead to several articles of impeachment against him being thrown out. What’s more, if it is designated as a civil trial, Paxton could be called to the stand and forced to face prosecutors asking questions about his alleged affair in front of his wife (although she will be non voting).

The final decision will be up to Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who will preside over Paxton’s impeachment trial in early September.

The sanctions that result from an impeachment conviction in Texas do not include imprisonment or execution,” said University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Michael Gerhardt, an impeachment expert and law professor. “No criminal punishments, therefore, it’s not a criminal proceeding.”

Don’t worry, though. After his impeachment, Ken will be finally facing the clearly criminal fraud charges pending against him—charges he’s managed to evade for years!