Judge awards $6.6 million to whistleblowers who reported Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to FBI

A territory tribunal justice has awarded much than $6 cardinal combined to 4 whistleblowers successful their suit against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton who were fired soon aft they reported him to the FBI.

“By a preponderance of the evidence,” Travis County Judge Catherine Mauzy says successful her judgment, the plaintiffs proved liability, damages and attorney's fees successful their ailment against the lawyer general's office.

“Because the Office of the Attorney General violated the Texas Whistleblower Act by firing and different retaliating against the plaintiff for successful bully religion reporting violations of instrumentality by Ken Paxton and OAG, the tribunal hereby renders judgement for plaintiffs," Mauzy states.

The tribunal recovered that the 4 Paxton aides were fired successful retaliation for reporting allegations that helium was utilizing his bureau to judge bribes from an Austin existent property developer who employed a pistillate with whom helium was having an extramarital affair. Paxton has denied accepting bribes oregon misusing his bureau to assistance Nate Paul, the existent property developer.

The judgement besides stated that the employees made their reports to instrumentality enforcement “in bully faith” and that Paxton's bureau did not quality immoderate claims oregon damages successful the lawsuit.

“It should daze each Texans that their main instrumentality enforcement officer, Ken Paxton, admitted to violating the law, but that is precisely what happened successful this case," said Tom Nesbitt, an lawyer for Blake Brickman, and TJ Turner, an lawyer for David Maxwell, successful a associated statement.

In a connection to the media, Paxton called the ruling “ridiculous” and “not based connected the facts oregon the law.” He besides said that his bureau intends to entreaty the ruling.

Paxton was astatine the halfway of a national probe aft 8 employees reported his bureau to the FBI successful 2020 for bribery allegations. He agreed to settee the suit for $3.3 cardinal that would beryllium paid by the Legislature. However, the House rejected his petition and conducted its ain probe and impeached Paxton successful 2023. He was aboriginal acquitted successful the Senate.

In November, the Texas Supreme Court overturned a lower-court ruling that Paxton attest successful the lawsuit.

The U.S. Justice Department decided not to prosecute its probe into Paxton successful the last weeks of the Biden administration, according to 2 radical acquainted with the substance who spoke to The Associated Press connected the information of anonymity to sermon interior deliberations.

___

Associated Press writers Alanna Durkin Richer and Eric Tucker contributed to this study from Washington.

___

Nadia Lathan is simply a corps subordinate for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is simply a nonprofit nationalist work programme that places journalists successful section newsrooms to study connected undercovered issues.