Nearly two months after the Republican-led state House in Texas impeached state Attorney General Ken Paxton, the next step is an impeachment trial in the GOP-led state Senate. Under the procedural rules in place in Austin, that process will be led by Texas’ high profile lieutenant governor, Republican Dan Patrick.

With this in mind, The Texas Tribune published a fascinating report last week.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who is presiding over the impeachment trial of suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton, received $3 million in campaign support last month from a top group campaigning against Paxton’s impeachment. In a campaign-finance report published Tuesday, Patrick — who is not up for reelection until 2026 — reported a $1 million contribution and a $2 million loan from Defend Texas Liberty PAC.

In case anyone needs a refresher, let’s revisit our earlier coverage and review how we arrived at this point.

By any measure, Texas’ Republican attorney general is among the most scandal-plagued officials currently serving in elected office anywhere in the country. Paxton was, for example, indicted over alleged securities fraud. He’s also facing a state bar investigation over his ridiculous efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. There’s also ample evidence that he weaponized his office in pursuit of political goals.

But what’s proven to be his biggest problem is the fact that several of his top aides accused Paxton of brazen corruption, which is currently the subject of an ongoing federal criminal investigation. The matter was also the subject of a state House investigation, which in May concluded that the state attorney general repeatedly broke the law by, among other things, abusing his office to hide an extramarital affair, doing special favors for a donor, and retaliating against perceived foes.

The allegations were so serious that the Republican majority in the Texas House felt compelled to impeach Paxton on a 121-23 vote in May. Even the state attorney general’s most ardent backers struggled to come up with any kind of credible defense for his alleged misconduct.

In the short term, this meant that Paxton had to temporarily leave the office to which he was elected. But it also meant that the GOP lawyer had time to start preparing for his impeachment trial scheduled to begin in September.

As is the case in Congress, we’re not talking about a literal trial in a judicial courtroom. Rather, there will be impeachment proceedings in the state Senate, with the lieutenant governor presiding over the process, effectively serving as the judge in the case.

It’s against this backdrop that a pro-Paxton political action committee thought it’d be a good idea to direct $3 million to Texas’ lieutenant governor — who isn’t up for another term until 2026.

The Texas Tribune’s report added, “Patrick has previously received financial support from the PAC, including $100,000 in donations during his reelection campaign last year. But the latest burst of money is far more than that and comes as all eyes are on his front-and-center role in the impeachment trial.”

Paxton’s trial is scheduled to begin on Sept. 5. Watch this space.

This post updates our related earlier coverage.