A district court docket decide awarded $6.6 million mixed to 4 whistleblowers who sued Texas Legal professional Normal Ken Paxton on claims he fired them in retaliation for reporting him to the FBI.
Blake Brickman, David Maxwell, Mark Penley and Ryan Vassar notified Paxton and his workplace on Oct. 1, 2020, that they’d reported him to the FBI for allegedly abusing his workplace. The 4 have been all fired by mid-November.
Travis County Choose Catherine Mauzy dominated Friday that by a “preponderance of the proof,” the whistleblowers proved legal responsibility, damages and legal professional’s charges of their criticism in opposition to the legal professional common’s workplace.
The judgment says the previous aides made their stories to federal regulation enforcement “in good religion” and that Paxton’s workplace didn’t dispute any claims or damages within the lawsuit.
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A decide awarded $6.6 million mixed to 4 whistleblowers who sued Texas Legal professional Normal Ken Paxton on claims he fired them for reporting him to the FBI. (AP Photograph/Tony Gutierrez)
“As a result of the Workplace of the Legal professional Normal violated the Texas Whistleblower Act by firing and in any other case retaliating in opposition to the plaintiff for in good religion reporting violations of regulation by Ken Paxton and OAG, the court docket hereby renders judgment for plaintiffs,” Mauzy wrote in her judgment.
The court docket discovered that the 4 former aides of the legal professional common have been fired in retaliation for reporting allegations that he was utilizing his workplace to just accept bribes from Austin actual property developer and political donor Nate Paul, who employed a lady with whom Paxton was having an extramarital affair.
Paxton has denied allegations that he accepted bribes or misused his workplace to assist Paul.
“It ought to shock all Texans that their chief regulation enforcement officer, Ken Paxton, admitted to violating the regulation, however that’s precisely what occurred on this case,” Tom Nesbitt, an legal professional representing Brickman, and TJ Turner, an legal professional representing Maxwell, stated in a joint assertion.
The court docket discovered that the 4 former aides of the legal professional common have been fired in retaliation for reporting allegations that he had abused his workplace. (Dylan Hollingsworth/Bloomberg through Getty Pictures)
Paxton stated in a press release that the decide’s ruling is “ridiculous” and “not primarily based on the info or the regulation.” He stated his workplace plans to attraction the ruling.
The legal professional common was probed by federal authorities after eight staff reported his workplace to the FBI in 2020 for bribery allegations. He agreed to settle the lawsuit for $3.3 million that might be paid by the legislature, however the state Home rejected his request and performed its personal investigation.
Paxton was impeached within the Home in 2023 earlier than he was later acquitted within the Senate.
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Paxton stated the decide’s ruling is “ridiculous” and “not primarily based on the info or the regulation.” (Reuters)
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In November, the state Supreme Courtroom overturned a lower-court ruling that might have required Paxton to testify within the lawsuit.
The U.S. Justice Division declined to pursue its investigation into Paxton within the closing weeks of the Biden administration, in response to The Related Press.
The Related Press contributed to this report.
