High court blocks Paxton’s deposition in whistleblower suit
The Texas Supreme Court on Tuesday temporarily blocked the deposition of Attorney General Ken Paxton in the whistleblower case that spurred his impeachment.
Paxton was set to be deposed on Thursday, and three top aides also were set to testify in the days following. The depositions could have huge implications for Paxton — anything he says could be used by federal criminal investigators and could put pressure on state lawmakers to revisit the impeachment allegations.
Paxton is accused in the suit of having fired four employees in retaliation for their claims that he accepted bribes and abused his office to help a friend and campaign donor. He has denied wrongdoing. The Texas Senate acquitted him last fall on those and other claims after a two-week impeachment trial.
The third-term Republican filed a motion this month saying he no longer would contest the allegations in the lawsuit and asked the judge to award damages. The whistleblowers have said Paxton is attempting to “have it both ways” — denying them the right to prove their allegations in court while also declining to admit any wrongdoing. They all have agreed that they would prefer to continue with depositions and the trial.
A Travis County judge at first ignored Paxton’s filing and scheduled the depositions. Paxton appealed last week to the Austin-based 3rd Court of Appeals, which within hours denied his petition. He then embarked on this appeal to the state’s highest civil court.
The high court on Tuesday did not explain its decision to grant the temporary relief in its brief order. The court has requested responses from the parties by Feb. 29.
Lawyers for the plaintiffs did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the order.
Earlier on Tuesday, former President Donald Trump exerted pressure on the court to rule in Paxton’s favor, writing on the social media platform Truthsocial that the legal system was being politicized and abused to attack Paxton.
“The great Supreme Court of Texas now has a big choice to make,” Trump wrote, hours before the court intervened. “Enough time and money has been wasted forcing Texas Attorney General, Ken Paxton, to defend himself.”