Paxton, whose office appeals the ruling, called it “absurd” and “not based on facts or law” in a statement Friday night.
A district court judge awarded four whistleblowers $6.6 million on April 4 in a lawsuit against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
The whistleblower was fired shortly after reporting Paxton to the FBI. Travis County Judge Catherine Moussey said the plaintiff had determined that “by the predominance of evidence” had proven liability, damages and attorney’s fees in a complaint against Paxton’s office.
“The court hereby took the plaintiff’s decision because the Attorney General’s Office violated the Texas Whistleblower Act by firing the plaintiff in good faith reporting a violation of the law by Ken Paxton and the OAG,” Mousie said.
The court held that four Paxton aides were retaliated for advancing allegations that they were using his office to accept bribery from Austin-based property developer Nate Paul. Paul had hired a woman who was allegedly having an extramarital relationship with Paxton.
The Attorney General denied accepting bribery or misuse his office to help Paul.
The ruling found that the employee had prepared a report with law enforcement in “good faith” and that Paxton’s office had not challenged the claims or damages filed in the suit.
“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, Blake Brickman’s lawyer, and Tom Nesbitt, TJ Turner, attorney, in a joint statement Friday evening.
Paxton, whose office appeals the verdict, called it “absurd” and “not based on facts or law” in a statement Friday night.
The Attorney General became the centre of a federal investigation in 2020 after eight employees reported Paxton’s office to the FBI for bribery. He agreed to settle the lawsuit for $3.3 million. This required the council to pay. The House rejected his request and enacted its own investigation before blasting him each in 2023. The state Senate later acquitted Paxton.
The court said that the orders of Paxton and his aides (staff Leslie French Henneke, senior adviser Michelle Smith and first attorney Brent Webster) were not appropriate to testify in the lawsuit.
“For the purposes of this case, what is important is that the agreement to find liability (of Paxton’s office) is significantly less likely to require testimony from these four witnesses to resolve the remaining factual disputes,” the ruling states.
Aldgra Fredy and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
