Houston Chronicle: Dan Patrick’s $125,000 loan to Ken Paxton adds to conflicts in Senate impeachment trial

06.14.2023 / By Benjamin Wermund & Edward McKinley
Houston Chronicle: Dan Patrick’s $125,000 loan to Ken Paxton adds to conflicts in Senate impeachment trial

"The fact that the trial is taking place in the state Senate means there is going to be politics involved," said Anthony Gutierrez, executive director of Common Cause Texas, a nonpartisan organization focused on government accountability. "Texans still should expect fairness and impartiality and you’re not going to get that if you have senators with conflicts serving as jurors." The financial connection to Patrick could be an especially significant red flag, given Patrick’s position in the process, said Gutierrez. “His role is so much bigger,” Gutierrez said. “Any appearance of a conflict is probably more serious because he’s the one presumably presiding over this trial." “You wouldn’t want the judge in a trial to be someone who has a financial relationship with the defendant, and that seems to be the case here,” Gutierrez said.

“The fact that the trial is taking place in the state Senate means there is going to be politics involved,” said Anthony Gutierrez, executive director of Common Cause Texas, a nonpartisan organization focused on government accountability. “Texans still should expect fairness and impartiality and you’re not going to get that if you have senators with conflicts serving as jurors.”

The financial connection to Patrick could be an especially significant red flag, given Patrick’s position in the process, said Gutierrez.

“His role is so much bigger,” Gutierrez said. “Any appearance of a conflict is probably more serious because he’s the one presumably presiding over this trial.”

“You wouldn’t want the judge in a trial to be someone who has a financial relationship with the defendant, and that seems to be the case here,” Gutierrez said.

 

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