Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has reached an initial agreement with four former employees he fired after they accused him of bribery and other potential abuses of his office in October 2020.
James Blake Brickman, J. Mark Penley, David Maxwell, and Ryan M. Vassar were among a group of seven officials within the attorney general’s office who raised criminal accusations that Paxton interfered in civil disputes and criminal investigations involving one of his donors. The seven individuals signed a statement, with the letterhead for the attorney general’s office, stating “we have a good faith belief that the Attorney General is violating federal and/or state law, including prohibitions relating to improper influence, abuse of office, bribery, and other potential criminal offenses.”
Brickman, Penley, Maxwell, and Vassar argued that in the weeks after they released their statement, Paxton either fired or “ran off” all of the individuals who signed the statement. The four men subsequently sued Paxton, arguing he wrongfully retaliated against them.
On Friday, Paxton and the four whistleblowers announced they had an agreement, in principle, for Paxton to pay out $3.3 million to the four individuals and to apologize for referring to them as “rogue employees.”
“Attorney General Ken Paxton accepts that plaintiffs acted in a manner that they thought was right and apologizes for referring to them as ‘rogue employees,” the proposed apology statement reads.
Paxton has agreed to remove an Oct. 5, 2020, press statement that referred to the four whistleblowers as “rogue employees.”
The settlement agreement includes no admission of wrongdoing by Paxton for the allegations the whistleblowers raised.
It will be contingent on the approval of the payment. Once that settlement is reached, the parties will jointly agree to drop their case, which is currently up for consideration before the Supreme Court of Texas.
The settlement agreement comes after Paxton was elected to a third term in office in November.
Paxton welcomed the settlement in a statement his office shared with NTD on Wednesday.
“After over two years of litigating with four ex-staffers who accused me in October 2020 of ‘potential’ wrongdoing, I have reached a settlement agreement to put this issue to rest,” Paxton said. “I have chosen this path to save taxpayer dollars and ensure my third term as Attorney General is unburdened by unnecessary distractions. This settlement achieves these goals. I look forward to serving the People of Texas for the next four years free from this unfortunate sideshow.”
NTD reached out to attorneys for Brickman, Penley, Maxwell, and Vassar, but they either declined to comment or did not respond before the time this article was published.
Attorneys for Brickman, Maxwell, and Vassar told the Texas Tribune: “Our clients are honorable men who have spent more than two years fighting for what is right. We believe the terms of the settlement speak for themselves.”
An attorney for Penley separately said: “We think this settlement goes a long way toward restoring the good reputations of the men who brought this suit against the attorney general’s office. They should never have been fired in the first place. [T]his settlement confirms that in a big way.”
Investigations Against Paxton
Paxton has allegedly been under FBI investigation over bribery and abuse of office allegations, but no charges have materialized against him.
In August 2021, Paxton’s office released a 374-page internal report concluding he had acted lawfully in regard to allegations of bribery and abuse of office.
“AG Paxton’s actions were lawful, and consistent with his legal duties and prior actions taken by Attorneys General of Texas,” the report said.
In addition to the federal probe, the Texas attorney general was also arrested and indicted on state-level securities fraud charges in August 2015. Nearly eight years later, Paxton still has yet to stand trial on the state-level charges.