Paxton whistleblower trial gets green light
A whistleblower lawsuit against Attorney General Ken Paxton can move forward, the Texas Supreme Court ruled on Friday, setting the stage for the Republican to again face the allegations that spurred his impeachment.
The court rejected Paxton’s request to review and toss the case, which has been on pause since Paxton agreed to a tentative $3.3 million settlement with the four former aides who accused him of accepting bribes and abusing the powers of his office. The agreement withered when the Texas House refused to fund it with taxpayer dollars and instead launched impeachment proceedings.
The whistleblowers asked the court to resume the case after the state Senate acquitted Paxton of all impeachment charges earlier this month.
“We are looking forward to obtaining a trial setting and to preparing the case for trial as soon as possible,” attorneys for the whistleblowers said in a written statement.
If the case goes to trial, Paxton; his wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, R-mckinney; and other witnesses who did not testify in the impeachment trial could be forced to do so in court.
Representatives for Paxton, a Republican who won a third term as the state’s top lawyer in 2022, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The attorney general’s office retained a private law firm to help handle the case, and Paxton had previously defended the settlement as a way to save money on future legal costs.
Because the Supreme Court denied Paxton’s request for review, a lower court ruling that the former aides are entitled to sue under the Texas Whistleblower Act still stands.
Paxton’s attorneys had argued that the attorney general is an elected official, not a public employee, so the whistleblower law doesn’t apply to him. Lawyers for Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick filed amicus briefs in 2022 encouraging the Supreme Court to review Paxton’s appeal, not necessarily because they endorsed the attorney general’s argument but because the case dealt with the powers of a state official.
The former aides sued Paxton in 2020, alleging they were fired in retaliation for reporting the attorney general to law enforcement. They accused the attorney general of misusing state resources to help Austin real estate tycoon Nate Paul, a friend and campaign donor.
Their testimony was central to House prosecutors’ impeachment case. Paul is another key witness who may have to take the stand in court.
“For us, this case has always been about more than money,” Blake Brickman, the former deputy attorney general for policy and strategy initiatives, said earlier this week. It was the whistleblowers’ first public appearance since Paxton was acquitted.
“It’s about truth,” Brickman said. “It’s about justice. And although political pressure may have thwarted justice this month, we will continue our fight.”
Paxton was accused of interfering in a charity’s civil suit against Paul; helping him avoid foreclosures on valuable properties; and investigating federal officials who were looking into Paul’s alleged criminal activity.
In exchange, prosecutors said, Paul provided a remodel of Paxton’s Austin home and employed a woman with whom Paxton was allegedly having an extramarital affair.
Paul was indicted by a federal grand jury earlier this year on eight felony counts of making false statements to lenders. He has pleaded not guilty.