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AUSTIN – A state appeals court has denied Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s attempt to avoid testifying in a lawsuit by four top officials who were fired from the attorney general’s office in 2020 after reporting him to the FBI.
The late-Friday ruling from the 3rd Court of Appeals in Austin was a setback for Paxton, who has fought efforts to compel his testimony about allegations of bribery and official misconduct on behalf of Nate Paul, an Austin real estate investor now under federal indictment.
The ruling likely sets up a legal showdown at the Texas Supreme Court. The state’s highest civil court could be his last chance to avoid answering questions under oath about why he marshaled an extraordinary amount of his agency’s resources to help Paul, a friend and campaign donor.
In a one-sentence ruling, a three-justice panel in the Austin appeals court – all Democrats – provided no explanation for the ruling, which came little more than two weeks after a Travis County district court judge ordered Paxton and several of his top deputies to testify in the case.
“This is another failure by Ken Paxton in his quest to hide from accountability for his corrupt conduct,” whistleblower attorney Tom Nesbitt said.
Paxton’s campaign and the attorney general’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The four whistleblowers in the case are James “Blake” Brickman, Paxton’s former policy director; David Maxwell, former head of law enforcement; Mark Penley, former head of criminal justice; and Ryan Vassar, former deputy attorney general for legal counsel.
Their testimony and accounts from other former top executives at the attorney general’s office formed the foundation of numerous articles of impeachment approved overwhelmingly by the Texas House last year. All four also testified in Paxton’s impeachment trial in September.
Ongoing civil case
The Texas Senate cleared Paxton of all charges in September. Shortly after the verdict, the four whistleblowers vowed to force Paxton to take the stand in their ongoing civil case.
The attorney general’s office has said the whistleblower suit should not move forward because the case is settled. Paxton and the four fired employees agreed to a $3.3 million settlement that also included a public apology from Paxton for referring to them as “rogue employees” in a news release.
However, the payout required approval from the Legislature. After House members balked at the size of the payout and Paxton refused to answer questions about the allegations, they launched an investigation that led to Paxton’s impeachment.
The Texas Supreme Court has already ruled once in the case, allowing litigation to resume shortly after Paxton was acquitted. Whistleblowers then sent numerous subpoenas, including demands for Paxton and his chief deputy, Brent Webster, to sit for depositions. Paxton has challenged those in numerous courts.
The whistleblower allegations revolve around Paul, who has been indicted on multiple federal charges of bank and wire fraud. They accused Paxton of improperly using his office to help Paul in several ways, such as intervening in a civil lawsuit and secretly hiring an outside lawyer to work hand-in-hand with Paul’s attorney to serve subpoenas against Paul’s adversaries in numerous lawsuits involving his real estate company, World Class Holdings.