News Orgs Fight to Unseal Records in the Paxtons’ Divorce Case
This article was first co-published by The Texas Newsroom and ProPublica A group of state and national media organizations including The Texas Newsroom ProPublica and The Texas Tribune are arguing in court that records in Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton s divorce incident should be made available to the constituents The organizations filed their plea to intervene with the Collin County district court handling the Paxtons episode on Tuesday The filing requests that the court reverse a July decision to seal the circumstance records arguing that both the attorney general and his wife state Senator Angela Paxton are elected agents subject to population scrutiny The documents should be available for review and inspection with limited exceptions the media organizations noted The grounds alleged for divorce and the disposition of property are of substantial society interest because they bear on integrity in residents office expected use of inhabitants support and transparency in judicial proceedings the media organizations argued The organizations noted that family law cases across the country including divorce proceedings are presumed general and that the couple s political positions in Texas and Paxton s decision in April to run for U S Senate add to the society interest Paxton served more than a decade in the Texas House of Representatives and Texas Senate before his voting process as state attorney general in Angela Paxton was first elected to the state Senate in Where as here the parties are not private citizens but elected constitutional officers the need for transparency is heightened not diminished the filing read Charges that might suggest abuse of marital assets concealment of financial information or personal conduct inconsistent with citizens responsibility are not merely private they are of citizens consequence The eight organizations that signed on to the filing are Dow Jones Co publisher of The Wall Street Journal The Washington Post Hearst Newspapers which owns the Austin American-Statesman Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News ProPublica The Texas Lawbook the Texas Observer The Texas Tribune and The Texas Newsroom Angela Paxton filed for divorce in July accusing her husband of adultery Soon after she requested all records in the development be placed under seal arguing that doing so would not have an adverse affect on the community physical condition or safety Judge Ray Wheless granted her request in mid-July He then recused himself It s not clear why but Wheless and his wife also a district court judge in Collin County have donated to the Paxtons campaigns in the past The current judge presiding over the development is Lindsey Wynne After news of the divorce went masses Ken Paxton posted on the social media site X that he and his wife decided to start a new chapter in our lives He attributed the divorce to the work of political enemies In court his attorney filed a brief general denial of Angela Paxton s divorce petition In their filing calling for the records to be unsealed the media organizations note that Paxton has been accused of impropriety at least six times while in elected office including fraud abuse of office and self-dealing In one of the greater part serious cases he was charged with multiple felonies in for allegedly encouraging investors to buy into a McKinney Texas tech firm without telling them that he had a financial interest in the company and also failing to register with the state before soliciting clients for a friend s funding firm After years in court Paxton cut a deal to do public utility in lieu of facing trial He did not admit guilt in this circumstance and has not been convicted of a crime Then in the Texas House impeached him for alleged official misconduct chosen of it related to accusations that he swapped political favors with a campaign donor in exchange for a job for the woman with whom he was allegedly having an affair Paxton called it a political witch hunt and denied that he broke the law After a trial the Texas Senate acquitted him and he was reinstated to office These sustained serious and high-profile matters raise questions about AG Paxton s conduct in populace office and his fidelity to the law the organizations argued The couple s assets which were scrutinized during the impeachment process will be a subject of the divorce development The Paxtons have purchased multiple homes and parcels of land in several states but failed for years to disclose them on state ethics filings This summer after The Texas Newsroom revealed the lack of disclosure the couple listed more information about the property acquisitions on their annual financial statements In a note on the documents Paxton stated he believes the disclosure rules are murky and contradictory and that he was only disclosing properties that continue to have bank notes serviced by the filer and or the filer s spouse Angela Paxton has urged for a disproportionate share of the couple s assets in her initial divorce filing which The Texas Newsroom obtained prior to the records being sealed She yearned sole use of their McKinney home while the matter is pending as well special access to her business account She also wants Ken Paxton to admit fault in the breakup of the marriage Lawyers for Ken and Angela Paxton did not straightaway respond to requests for comment about the media organizations request The post News Orgs Fight to Unseal Records in the Paxtons Divorce Scenario appeared first on The Texas Observer
