Court says case against Paxton can proceed
The 3rd Court of Appeals has denied a petition from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office to stop a trial court hearing in a suit filed by whistleblowers who claim they were wrongfully terminated after reporting Paxton to law enforcement for alleged bribery and other public corruption.
Attorneys for the office did not respond to a request for comment, but they are likely to appeal the decision to the Texas Supreme Court.
“We were pleased but not surprised, by the 3rd Court’s ruling,” said Carlos Soltero, who represents David Maxwell, the agency’s former director of law enforcement who was fired in November. “This brings us closer to being able to move forward and present our case on the merits, which we are looking forward to doing.”
The eight whistleblowers no longer work for the office after they reported Paxton in October for allegedly abusing the power of his office
to help Nate Paul, an Austin-based real estate investor who donated $25,000 to Paxton in 2018. Five of the whistleblowers have been fired and three resigned. The FBI is reportedly investigating those claims.
The state’s top lawyer, who also has been under indictment for felony securities fraud for five years without going to trial, has denied all wrongdoing.
In the whistleblower lawsuit, four former employees are seeking damages for what they say was retaliation for speaking up about Paxton’s alleged crimes, and two of them have requested
reinstatement to their jobs.
A Travis County trial court on March 1 heard a motion by Paxton’s attorneys to dismiss the case. When the judge left the issue under advisement and continued on to entertain an injunction hearing in the case, Paxton’s attorneys appealed, arguing she needed to first rule on the motion to dismiss before proceeding. The appellate court temporarily stayed all further action in the case; the stay was lifted with Friday’s order.