Texas AG will be under oath in new lawsuit from top aides
AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suddenly facing another trial over his termination of top aides turned whistleblowers, and this time he will be forced to answer questions under oath or publicly plead the Fifth Amendment.
The state Supreme Court on Friday denied Paxton’s request to review the former staffers’ lawsuit and effectively dissolved the $3.3 million settlement agreement he had reached with them, a deal that got blocked when the Texas House refused to let taxpayers pick up the cost.
The accusations at the heart of the settlement were also the foundation for this month’s historic impeachment trial in the Texas Senate. The defendant, who attended only its opening and closing hours, was acquitted of 16 charges in a proceeding that ended with bitter sniping among Republicans in the GOP-controlled legislature.
Paxton is a staunchly conservative Republican serving his third term as attorney general. His new trial will take place in Travis County District Court, potentially before a jury assembled in the deep-blue county seat of Austin.
“We are looking forward to obtaining a trial setting and to preparing the case for trial as soon as possible,” read a statement from the plaintiffs’ lawyers.
Paxton, who did not respond to emails seeking comment, has 15 days to ask for a rehearing, but legal experts say the court is unlikely to grant one. While the two sides could resume negotiations, a new agreement also seems unlikely.
“After seven months and after the positions taken at the impeachment trial, there is no reason to believe a final settlement agreement is achievable at this point,” the plaintiffs wrote in their request to the court.
The parties had agreed to settle in February, but when the attorney general asked House lawmakers for the money, they refused and opened an investigation that led to his impeachment. He was charged with bribery, unfitness for office and abuse of office in connection with favors his former staffers said he did for a wealthy Austin real estate developer and donor.
Paxton’s subsequent trial badly divided Republicans throughout the state, but particularly those in the Legislature. His upcoming case will cover some of the same ground but will proceed much differently. For one, he won’t be excused from testifying.
In the two weeks since his acquittal, Paxton has celebrated in interviews with conservative media outlets, blasted the “months of wasteful and destructive political theater” that were the probe into his actions and touted how his office has “redoubled our focus on countless issues facing the state.”
This week he sued Yelp over how the platform labels crisis pregnancy centers. He continues to fundraise off the impeachment, with a text message Thursday asking supporters for money.