{"id":34,"date":"2026-05-21T17:38:52","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T17:38:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movingservicesamerica.com\/?p=34"},"modified":"2026-05-21T17:38:52","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T17:38:52","slug":"propublica-and-other-news-organizations-fight-to-unseal-texas-ag-ken-paxtons-divorce-records","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movingservicesamerica.com\/?p=34","title":{"rendered":"ProPublica and Other News Organizations Fight to Unseal Texas AG Ken Paxton\u2019s Divorce Records"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

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\u2019s divorce case should be made available to the public.<\/p>\n

Read more \u201cHis Audience Was Really Trump\u201d: How New FBI Lead Used His Missouri AG Role to Wage a Culture War<\/a><\/p>\n

The organizations filed their plea to intervene with the Collin County district court handling the Paxtons\u2019 case on Tuesday. The filing requests that the court reverse a July decision to seal the case records, arguing that both the attorney general and his wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, are elected officials subject to public scrutiny. The documents should be available for \u201creview and inspection\u201d with limited exceptions, the media organizations said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe grounds alleged for divorce and the disposition of property are of substantial public interest because they bear on integrity in public office, potential use of public resources, and transparency in judicial proceedings,\u201d the media organizations argued.<\/p>\n

The organizations noted that family law cases across the country, including divorce proceedings, are presumed public and that the couple\u2019s political positions in Texas and Paxton\u2019s decision in April to run for U.S. Senate add to the public interest.<\/p>\n

Paxton served more than a decade in the Texas House of Representatives and Texas Senate before his election as state attorney general in 2014. Angela Paxton was first elected to the state Senate in 2018.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere, as here, the parties are not private citizens but elected constitutional officers, the need for transparency is heightened, not diminished,\u201d the filing read. \u201cAllegations that might suggest abuse of marital assets, concealment of financial information, or personal conduct inconsistent with public responsibility are not merely private \u2014 they are of public consequence.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Angela Paxton filed for divorce in July, accusing her husband of adultery. Soon after, she requested all records in the case be placed under seal, arguing that doing so would \u201cnot have an adverse affect on the public health or safety.\u201d<\/p>\n

Judge Ray Wheless granted her request in mid-July. He then recused himself. It\u2019s not clear why, but Wheless and his wife, also a district court judge in Collin County, have donated to the Paxtons\u2019 campaigns in the past.<\/p>\n

The current judge listed online as presiding over the case is Lindsey Wynne.<\/p>\n

After news of the divorce went public, Ken Paxton posted on the social media site X that he and his wife \u201cdecided to start a new chapter in our lives.\u201d He attributed the divorce to the work of political enemies. In court, his attorney filed a brief general denial of Angela Paxton\u2019s divorce petition.<\/p>\n

Read more \u201cNo Separation Between Church and State\u201d: Inside a Texas Church\u2019s Training Academy for Christians Running for Office<\/a><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

In one of the most serious cases, he was charged with multiple felonies in 2015 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\u2019s investment firm. After years in court, Paxton cut a deal to do community service in lieu of facing trial. He did not admit guilt in this case and has not been convicted of a crime.<\/p>\n

Then in 2023, the Texas House impeached him for alleged official misconduct, some 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.<\/p>\n

After a trial, the Texas Senate acquitted him and he was reinstated to office.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese sustained, serious, and high-profile matters raise questions about AG Paxton\u2019s conduct in public office and his fidelity to the law,\u201d the organizations argued.<\/p>\n

The couple\u2019s assets, which were scrutinized during the impeachment process, will be a subject of the divorce case.<\/p>\n

The Paxtons have purchased multiple homes and parcels of land in several states but failed for years to disclose them on state ethics filings.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

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 said he believes the disclosure rules are murky and contradictory and that he was only disclosing properties \u201cthat continue to have bank notes serviced by the filer and\/or the filer\u2019s spouse.\u201d<\/p>\n

Angela Paxton has asked for a \u201cdisproportionate share\u201d of the couple\u2019s assets in her initial divorce filing, which The Texas Newsroom obtained prior to the records being sealed. She wanted sole use of their McKinney home while the case is pending as well exclusive access to her business account.<\/p>\n

She also wants Ken Paxton to admit fault in the breakup of the marriage.<\/p>\n

A lawyer for Ken Paxton did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the media organizations\u2019 request. A spokesperson for Angela Paxton declined to comment.<\/p>\n

Read more Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Long a Defender of States\u2019 Rights, Embraces Trump\u2019s Push to Expand Presidential Power<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A group of eight state and national media organizations are arguing that the records are of public interest, especially in light of Paxton\u2019s bid for a U.S. Senate seat.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":33,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4],"class_list":["post-34","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","tag-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nProPublica and Other News Organizations Fight to Unseal Texas AG Ken Paxton\u2019s Divorce Records - Moving Services America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/movingservicesamerica.com\/?p=34\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"ProPublica and Other News Organizations Fight to Unseal Texas AG Ken Paxton\u2019s Divorce Records - 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