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June 22 (UPI) -- The Texas Senate has set rules for the impeachment trial of Attorney General Ken Paxton, which include forbidding his wife -- as state senator -- from voting. Paxton, who has been subject to legal scrutiny for alleged abuse of office and other scandals for nearly a decade, has been removed from office pending a trial in the state Senate after the Republican-led House voted to impeach him last month.
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The Texas Senate has scheduled Paxton's impeachment trial for Sept. 5 and barred his wife, Sen. Angela Paxton, from voting during the proceedings, according to deliberations televised by the chamber.
The impeachment came after the bipartisan House General Investigative Committee filed 20 articles of impeachment against Paxton after finding him unfit for office.
Paxton, first elected in 2014, was indicted after taking office in 2015 on felony securities fraud charges for allegedly pushing investment into the former Texas software company Servergy -- without disclosing he would profit from the solicited investments. He has faced numerous other scandals in office.
His woes have now started to cause rifts within the GOP in Texas between his Republican defenders and those in the party fed up with what they see as a lack of principles.
Paxton is the third official in the state's history to be impeached.
"After 2 days of thoughtful deliberation, the Texas Senate has adopted rules for the impeachment trial of Attorney General Paxton," Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who presides over the chamber, said in a statement. "The Senate will perform its duty per the Texas Constitution."
Paxton has denied wrongdoing and called the impeachment "outrageous" and part of an unfair "plot" against him.
In his remarks last month, Paxton attempted to discredit Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan and the investigative committee he impaneled to look into his controversies. His argument largely hedged on the idea that he should not have been impeached because he was elected to the office.
