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Four whistleblowers who were fired after reporting Attorney General Ken Paxton to the FBI vowed Monday to continue their legal fight with their former boss, promising to expose his alleged wrongdoing by forcing him and others to publicly testify.
During a press conference on Monday, Blake Brickman, the former deputy attorney general for policy and strategy under Paxton, expressed their determination by stating, “We will persist. This case holds significance beyond financial gains for us. It is centered around seeking truth and justice.”
The whistleblowers — Brickman, David Maxwell, Mark Penley and Ryan Vassar — were among a small group of top Paxton deputies who had first-hand knowledge of his relationship with real estate investor Nate Paul. At Paxton’s impeachment trial they each testified about their growing concerns in 2020 that Paxton was illegally using his office to help Paul, a friend and political donor, as the real estate investor’s faltering business empire faced an FBI investigation, looming bankruptcies and a litany of related lawsuits.
The Texas Senate acquitted Paxton on 16 articles of impeachment this month.
Paxton was reported to the FBI for bribery by whistleblowers in late September 2020. Following their termination, they filed a lawsuit against Paxton, alleging wrongful termination and retaliation. The lawsuit was on the verge of reaching a settlement of $3.3 million last year. However, Texas House investigators became alarmed when Paxton requested taxpayer money from the Legislature to cover the settlement. As a result, they initiated an investigation into the allegations made in the lawsuit and eventually proposed Paxton’s impeachment.
The whistleblowers filed a document with the Texas Supreme Court on Monday, claiming that Paxton has not fulfilled important aspects of the settlement agreement. These include a $3.3 million payment and an apology for referring to them as “rogue employees” following their termination. As a result, they argued that the court should remove the temporary suspension imposed during mediation and reinstate the case on the court’s active docket.
Brickman acknowledged it is still possible that the House could authorize the settlement, but he said the whistleblowers “have been given zero indication that that’s likely to happen” and therefore want to return to the trial court. Doing so, Brickman added, would allow them to do what the House impeachment managers could not — including examining financial documents and putting Paxton, Paul, Paxton’s girlfriend Laura Olson and Paxton’s wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton under oath.
And they vowed that their trial would be free of the political influence that they said affected the outcome of Paxton’s trial in the Texas Senate. In a shot at Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Brickman said their lawsuit wouldn’t feature a judge who received $3 million from a pro-Paxton group ahead of the trial.
When asked for a comment regarding the news conference, Paxton’s office stated that it intends to address the concerns raised by the whistleblowers through legal proceedings.
Paige Willey, a spokesperson for the Office of the Attorney General, stated that they would provide a written response to the comments made by the whistleblower plaintiffs. This response will be filed with the Texas Supreme Court, following the procedures set by the Court. Instead of holding a press event in the state Capitol, they will address the matter through the appropriate legal channels.
On Monday, there was no immediate response from Patrick, Paul, or Angela Paxton when contacted for comment.
The news conference signaled the whistleblowers’ inaugural public address following the verdict. Brickman, accompanied by Vassar and Penley, led the news conference. Although Maxwell was unable to attend, Brickman assured that all four individuals concurred on the statement he presented to commence the event.
Brickman expressed that despite political pressure potentially obstructing justice this month, our determination to fight will persist.
Brickman dismissed Paxton’s assertion of being a political witch hunt victim as “absurd.” He highlighted that it was conservative individuals who reported Paxton to the FBI during the tenure of former President Donald Trump. Furthermore, the whistleblowers refuted the allegations that they were the ones who attempted to resolve the lawsuit last year, not Paxton.
A lawyer representing one of the whistleblowers sent a letter to Texas senators on Monday, which was also shared with reporters. In the letter, the lawyer contradicted the claims made by Patrick and others, and presented a timeline that he believes disproves the “misinformation” regarding the initiation of settlement discussions.
Joseph Knight, representing Vassar, stated that it was the Office of the Attorney General who initiated discussions resulting in the abatement and the subsequent funding request by the Attorney General.
Monday’s news conference is the latest fallout in the wake of Paxton’s impeachment trial, and comes as experts warn that Paxton’s acquittal could have a chilling effect on state employees who witness potential wrongdoing.
Brickman agreed with those concerns.
He expressed his belief that the 16 Republican senators should deeply contemplate the reasons behind why any public employee would ever come forward to report their superior’s misconduct, considering the treatment they have endured over the past three years.
Politically, Paxton’s acquittal has proven no less than an earthquake, further deepening schisms between the Texas GOP’s far-right and more moderate, but still deeply conservative, flanks. Patrick especially inflamed tensions by ending the trial with a speech excoriating the House for how it handled the impeachment process.
Brickman expressed astonishment, saying, “That was unlike anything I’ve ever witnessed before. It was truly shocking.”
On Saturday, the State Republican Executive Committee, the governing body of the Texas GOP, almost unanimously approved a resolution calling for House Speaker Dade Phelan to resign. The same day, at the Texas Tribune Festival in downtown Austin, House impeachment managers and prosecutors accused Patrick of gaming Paxton’s impeachment trial to affect the outcome.
Patrick has denied doing so, and gave a lengthy interview last week in which he defended himself and made the comments about the lawsuit settlement that prompted the Monday backlash from whistleblowers.
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