Ken Paxton (L - photo by Raquel Natalicchio) and Angela Paxton (R - photo by Sam Hodde)
COLLIN COUNTY, Texas - Nearly 300 pages of court documents were released Friday after a judge signed an order unsealing them in the divorce proceedings between Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and state Sen. Angela Paxton.
What's in the Paxton divorce documents
Around 70 documents, totaling nearly 300 pages, were released Friday. Most of the documents were filings made in support and opposition to unsealing the records. Angela Paxton asked for the court to seal the records after filing for divorce from her husband. A watchdog group and a coalition of media companies fought to unseal the documents. The two sides came to an agreement Thursday and Judge Robert Brotherton signed off on the order Friday morning.
Among the documents is a Rule 11 agreement that allows both sides to pull $20,000 each from the same trust to pay for attorney fees and sets up a mediation before going to trial.
Court documents also show a revolving door of judges recusing themselves from the case. At least four judges in Collin County removed themselves from the case before it landed with Brotherton.
Angela Paxton's original divorce filing is included in the documents as well as Ken Paxton's response to the filing. In his response, Ken Paxton asks that all relief in the proceedings goes to him.
Earlier this month, court documents show that Angela Paxton sent a list of written discovery questions. The answers to those questions were not included in the documents obtained Friday.
The backstory:
Angela Paxton filed for divorce in July on "biblical grounds" and accused her husband of adultery. The divorce petition noted that the couple had stopped living together more than a year ago. The case was sealed shortly after the divorce was filed at the request of the Paxtons.
In September, watchdog group Campaign for Accountability and several media outlets filed a motion to have the records unsealed.
That motion was challenged by Ken Paxton who called the move to unseal the records "intrusive." The attorney general said that divorce records are presumptively private under Texas law. The group looking to unseal the records said the matter was of the "public's overriding interest" in knowing information about their elected officials.
Both sides reached an agreement to unseal the records Thursday. On Friday, a judge issued an order stating, "all court records and filings, and any other materials previously sealed in this case are hereby unsealed."
FOX Local is working to obtain a copy of the documents and will provide an update once they are reviewed.
Ken Paxton controversies
Ken Paxton's tenure as attorney general has been marked with turmoil leading up to his impeachment trial in 2023, during which he was acquitted.
He was accused of having an affair during that trial, and the alleged mistress was deemed "unavailable to testify."
Paxton's felony securities fraud case was dismissed in August after he completed a pretrial diversion program. He was accused of selling securities without a license and without disclosing to buyers that he was being paid.
Paxton challenges Cornyn for Senate
Paxton announced in April his intent to run against Cornyn, challenging the former Republican minority whip, who also previously served as Texas AG.
The attorney general openly considered the possibility in an interview shortly after he was acquitted in his 2023 impeachment trial.
Prior to becoming attorney general, Paxton was a member of the Texas House of Representatives and Texas Senate.
Paxton will be allowed to continue as attorney general while running for Senate.
The Source: Information in this article comes from court records filed in Collin County and a release from Campaign for Accountability. Backstory information about Ken Paxton comes from previous FOX 4 reporting.