Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sues whistleblowers, wins temporary halt to litigation
AUSTIN – Texas attorney General Ken Paxton won a temporary halt to a whistleblower lawsuit that has dogged him for years – one that played a central role in his impeachment earlier this year.
Paxton’s legal team sued the whistleblowers Tuesday in Burnet County, a mostly rural swath of central Texas about 30 miles northwest of Austin. There, 424th District Court Judge Evan Stubbs ruled Tuesday the whistleblowers must halt any discovery or further action in the case for at least one week.
Stubbs scheduled a hearing for Nov. 14 at 9 a.m.
Paxton’s move to file suit against the whistleblowers comes after the Texas Supreme Court ruled that litigation can resume in the case. The suit had remained on hold after both sides agreed to a settlement that included a $3.3 million payout to four employees who were fired shortly after several reported Paxton to the FBI in 2020 over his dealings with Austin real estate developer Nate Paul.
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The suit triggered a House ethics investigation into Paxton that led to his impeachment in May. The Texas Senate cleared Paxton of all charges in September and the attorney general has since returned to office.
But shortly after Paxton’s acquittal, the Texas Supreme Court ruled litigation could resume in the civil case in an unsigned order that legal experts saw as a major loss for the attorney general.
While the whistleblowers, James “Blake” Brickman, David Maxwell, J. Mark Penley and Ryan Vassar, agreed to a settlement, its terms – specifically the payout – were never fully fulfilled after the Texas Legislature refused to appropriate $3.3 million for the settlement.
attorney general for policy and…”/>Whistleblower James Blake Brickman, the former deputy attorney general for policy and strategic initiatives, holds a book gifted to him and inscribed by Texas attorney General Ken Paxton while testifying during Day 7 of Paxton’s impeachment trial in the Senate chamber at the Texas State Capitol on Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023, in Austin, Texas. Paxton was acquitted of impeachment. (Juan Figueroa/The Dallas Morning News/TNS)(Juan Figueroa / Staff Photographer)
With an injunction now in place, Paxton’s team has won a new avenue to, at the very least, delay the case.
According to the suit filed Tuesday, the attorney general’s office is seeking protection from the whistleblowers deposing Paxton, his second-in-command Brent Webster, chief of staff Lesley French and senior adviser Michelle Smith. The whistleblowers’ attorneys had sent notice to Paxton’s legal team Friday that they intended to depose those four individuals.
Paxton also asked the court to prohibit the whistleblowers from obtaining any records from the impeachment trial.
Related:Exclusive: Texts show lawmakers were ‘pissed off’ at Ken Paxton before impeachment
Paxton argued that while the defendants have not been paid, the settlement agreement remains in place and their civil suit has been resolved.
“The harm in this case is imminent given the fact Defendants have breached and continue to disregard the resolution of that lawsuit under the clear terms of the MSA (mediated settlement agreement),” it states.
Lawyers for the whistleblowers said they were given no notice that Paxton was seeking an injunction in the case, which they said violates Burnet County rules of procedure. In an emailed statement, Tom Nesbitt and TJ Turner, attorneys for the whistleblowers, said Paxton is trying to avoid testifying in the case.
“This lawsuit is Ken Paxton’s latest cowardly attempt to avoid testifying under oath,” they said. “Just like he hid out during his impeachment trial, sheltered from giving testimony, he’ll do anything to avoid accountability.”
Lawyers for the Office of the attorney General did not return a message seeking comment.
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