Texas AG’s office agrees to pay $3.3M to resolve aides’ whistleblower allegations

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Verdicts & Settlements Texas AG's office agrees to pay $3.3M to resolve aides' whistleblower allegations

By Debra Cassens Weiss

February 13, 2023, 12:29 pm CST

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Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Photo from the Texas attorney general’s office.

Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has reached an agreement to pay $3.3 million to resolve allegations by four former aides who claimed that they were fired after reporting abuse of office.

Paxton said in a statement he has “chosen this path to save taxpayer dollars and ensure my third term as attorney general is unburdened by unnecessary distractions,” report Bloomberg Law, Law360 and the New York Times.

Paxton was reelected in November.

The settlement would be paid with taxpayer dollars, which would need approval by state lawmakers. The settlement also requires Paxton to apologize for referring to the aides, all of them lawyers, as “rogue employees.”

The aides had alleged that Paxton abused his office to help a real estate developer who donated $25,000 to Paxton’s campaign. A report by Paxton’s office said the donation didn’t constitute a bribe because there was no quid pro quo. Paxton “committed no crime,” the report said.

Paxton still faces criminal charges for alleged securities fraud, which he denies. He also faces an ethics petition alleging that he made “dishonest” statements in election litigation.

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