Feb. 11 (UPI) — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Friday agreed to pay a $3.3 million settlement to four former staffers who accused him of corruption.
The funds used to pay the four whistleblowers, whom Paxton had referred to as “rogue employees,” will likely come from taxpayers, according to the Austin American-Statesman.
In court filings obtained by the Texas Tribune, Paxton and the four former employees said the two sides will move to end the case after payment is approved and asked the Texas Supreme Court to defer consideration of the whistleblower case.
“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,” attorneys for three of the whistleblowers said in a statement to the Texas Tribune.
The saga began in 2020 when the four whistleblowers — Mark Penley, Blake Brickman, David Maxwell and Ryan Vassar — approached the FBI and said that Paxton had may have committed crimes involving Nate Paul, a wealthy donor in Austin.
“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 in a statement to the Austin American-Statesman.
“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.”
The settlement will also require Paxton to apologize to his former staffers for referring to them as “rogue employees” and require him to remove a written response the attorney general previously made about the allegations.