Attorney General Ken Paxton is fighting back against a group of former employees who have alleged they were fired unfairly.
In October of 2020, eight of Paxton’s top aides accused him of bribery and abuse of office. After being terminated from employment, four of them filed a whistleblower lawsuit against Paxton. They alleged that Paxton did political favors for Nate Paul, a real estate developer and donor, by having his office intervene in his legal disputes.
Earlier this year, the Office of the Attorney General and the so-called “whistleblowers” reached a settlement for $3.3 million to avoid a costly court battle.
The Texas House refused to approve the settlement, leading to their impeachment of Paxton in May.
He was acquitted on all impeachment charges by the Senate in September, after much of the testimony from the former employees undermined their own accusations. For example, Ryan Vassar admitted to having no evidence when reporting Paxton to the FBI. Another, David Maxwell, said he made claims to House investigators and didn’t know whether or not those statements were true.
After Paxton’s acquittal, the group of former employees continued on with their lawsuit.
On Tuesday, the Attorney General’s Office filed a counter suit, asking a judge for a temporary restraining order that would enjoin the former employees from pursuing further litigation in the case that they have already agreed to settle.
“Texas taxpayers should not have to bear the burden of litigation in a lawsuit that has already been resolved,” said Paxton.
The countersuit has been filed in the 424th District Court in Burnet County. The judge granted the restraining order and has set a hearing for November 14.
