A district court judge awarded $6.6 million to four whistleblowers who sued Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, claiming they fired them in retaliation for reporting to the FBI.
Blake Brickman, David Maxwell, Mark Penley and Ryan Vasser informed Paxton and his office on October 1, 2020 that they reported him to the FBI for allegedly abused his office. All four were fired by mid-November.
Travis County Judge Catherine Moussey ruled on Friday that “the predominance of evidence” meant that whistleblower proved liability, damages and attorney’s fees in a complaint against the Attorney General’s office.
The ruling states that a former aide has reported to federal law enforcement “in good faith” and that Paxton’s office did not challenge the lawsuit claim or damages.
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The judge awarded $6.6 million to four whistleblowers who allegedly fired Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for reporting to the FBI. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
“The court here ruled the plaintiff because the Attorney General’s Office violated the Texas Whistleblower Act by dismissing the plaintiff in good faith to report a violation of the law by Ken Paxton and the OAG,” wrote Mousie in her ruling.
The court found that four former attorney general aides had been fired in retaliation over allegations that he was using his office to accept bribery from Austin property developer and Polimba Paul.
Paxton denied allegations that he had accepted the bribes and misused his office to help Paul.
“Their top law enforcement officer, Ken Paxton, admitting that he violated the law should shock all Texans, but that’s exactly what happened in this case,” said Tom Nesbitt, the lawyer representing Brickman, and TJ Turner, the lawyer representing Maxwell, in a joint statement.
The court found that four former attorney general aides were retaliated for reporting allegations that he had abused his office. (Dylan Hollingsworth/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
In a statement, Paxton said the judge’s decision was “silly” and “not based on facts or law.” He said his office plans to appeal the ruling.
The attorney general was investigated by federal authorities after eight employees reported his office to the FBI in 2020 for a bribery allegation. He agreed to settle the lawsuit with $3.3 million paid by Congress, but the state House rejected his request and conducted its own investigation.
Paxton was fired each in the House of Representatives in 2023 before he was later acquitted in the Senate.
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Paxton said the judge’s decision was “silly” and “not based on facts or law.” (Reuters)
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In November, the state Supreme Court overturned a lower court’s decision requiring Paxton to testify in the case.
The U.S. Department of Justice refused to pursue an investigation into Paxton in the last few weeks of the Biden administration, according to the Associated Press.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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