Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and his wife, Angela, have agreed to unseal their divorce case after a group of media organizations requested the records be made public.
According to an order signed by the Paxtons’ lawyers, the couple has agreed that the court can “restore full public access to the case file.” The judge presiding over the case must sign off on the order for it to become official. A hearing is scheduled for Friday morning.
State Sen. Angela Paxton filed for divorce in July alleging adultery. Soon after, she asked for the court record to be sealed. A previous judge handling the case agreed and put all of the records under seal. Ken Paxton supported the decision, saying the press was attempting to unfairly invade his personal life.
Eight media organizations, including The Texas Newsroom, and nonpartisan nonprofit the Campaign for Accountability, filed requests to unseal the records. The media group argued Paxton’s divorce records should be public because he is an elected official running for office who has faced repeated allegations of corruption.
The attorney general’s finances, which are a subject of the divorce case, have been central to the misconduct allegations against him. While he has been charged with multiple crimes during his decade in statewide office, Paxton has never been convicted.
Paxton is now challenging John Cornyn in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate.
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