Attorney General Ken Paxton agreed to apologize and pay $3.3 million to the whistleblowers as compensation.

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Attorney General Ken Paxton and four of his former top deputies, who said he improperly fired them after they accused him of crimes, have reached a tentative agreement to end the lawsuit, which will pay $3.3 million to those employees. .

On Friday, lawyers for Paxton and the whistleblowers asked the Texas Supreme Court to hold the whistleblower’s case pending until both parties complete a preliminary settlement. Once the deal is completed and the payment has been approved by prosecutors, both parties will move to close the case, the statement said.

In a joint statement, attorneys for the three whistleblowers Blake Brickman, David Maxwell and Ryan Vassar said: “Our clients are respected people who have fought for what is right for over two years. We believe that the terms of the settlement agreement speak for themselves.”

Don Tittle, a lawyer for another whistleblower, Mark Penley, said in a statement that the case is indeed important to “how government should function and what we expect from our public officials.”

“We believe this settlement goes a long way in restoring the goodwill of the people who filed the lawsuit against the attorney general’s office. Under no circumstances should they be fired. [T]his settlement largely confirms that,” Tittle said.

Paxton, a Republican who won a third four-year term in November, said in a statement that he agreed to the settlement to save taxpayers money and start his new term unencumbered by the charges.

“After more than two years of litigation with four former employees who in October 2020 accused me of “potential” wrongdoing, I have reached a settlement to resolve this matter,” Paxton said. “I chose this path to save taxpayer money and ensure that my third term as Attorney General is not burdened 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 annoying sideshow.”

The preliminary agreement provides for a $3.3 million payment to the four whistleblowers and upholding the appeals court decision that allowed the case to move forward. Paxton petitioned the Supreme Court to reverse the decision.

The settlement, once it is finalized, will also include a statement from Paxton saying that he “acknowledges that the plaintiffs acted in the way they felt was right and apologizes for calling them ‘fraudulent employees’.” The Attorney General’s Office also agreed to remove the statement. a press release from his website calling the whistleblowers “fraudulent employees”.

The final agreement will include a statement that neither party admits guilt or accepts responsibility in the case, the statement filed on Friday said.

The settlement will be arranged to pay Vassar 27 months of back pay for the work he would have done had he not been fired. This would allow Vassar, the former Deputy Attorney General for Legal Counsel, to claim a 27-month service credit into his state pension fund.

The Attorney General’s office also agreed to stop objecting to Maxwell’s proposal to change documents filed with the Texas Law Enforcement Commission to remove him from his position as director of the Attorney General’s Law Enforcement Division. Such paperwork is important in the work of law enforcement, and dismissal can be a wake-up call for future employers.

The settlement, which included attorney Patrick Keel of Austin, is subject to funding approval.

The other whistleblower in the lawsuit, Penley, is a former Deputy Attorney General for Criminal Justice.

The settlement fee will come from public funds and must be approved by the Legislative Assembly. After the tentative agreement was made public, Rep. Jeff Leach, a Plano Republican who oversees the House Committee on Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence, said he was “concerned that hard-working taxpayers could be on the hook because of this.” agreement between the Attorney General and former employees of his office”.

“I spoke directly with the Attorney General this morning and made it clear that, on behalf of our constituents, there will be questions from lawmakers and lawmakers will be waiting for answers,” Leach said in a statement to the Texas Tribune.

The whistleblower lawsuit was filed after eight of Paxton’s former top deputies accused him of bribery and malpractice in October 2020 and reported Paxton’s alleged actions to authorities. All eight of these employees have either been fired or retired.

Their reports led to an FBI investigation. No charges were filed, and Paxton denies any wrongdoing.

In November 2020, four of these former employees filed a whistleblowing suit alleging that Paxton had wrongfully retaliated against them after they accused him of criminal acts. They demanded reinstatement and compensation for lost wages, as well as payment of future lost earnings and compensation for non-pecuniary damage and suffering.

Documents in the whistleblower’s lawsuit revealed more details about the crimes former employees claimed Paxton committed, including providing political favors to real estate developer Nate Paul, a friend and political donor who gave Paxton $25,000 for his 2018 campaign. The allegations stated that Paul helped Paxton renovate the house and hired Paxton’s alleged girlfriend. Paxton is married to State Senator Angela Paxton, R-McKinney.

Whistleblowers claimed that Paxton insisted that the attorney general’s office intervene in Paul’s legal wrangling, even when lawyers in the office advised against it. Paxton pushed for a real estate deal involving one of Paul’s companies and an Austin charity, and appointed a special counsel to investigate Paul’s allegations that state and federal law enforcement illegally ransacked his home in 2019. The Office found no “credible evidence” that Paul’s rights had been violated, but a special counsel was appointed over their objections.

Whistleblowers said special counsel Brandon Cammack then received more than three dozen subpoenas against people they considered Paul’s enemies.

Two weeks ago, three of the four whistleblower plaintiffs – Penley, Maxwell and Vassar – asked the Texas Supreme Court to stay their case while they negotiate with Paxton. Brickman initially opposed the motion, but signed a settlement agreement filed with the court on Friday.

Brickman did not participate in the mediation, but agreed to sign the settlement after including some “significant non-monetary terms,” ​​his lawyer Tom Nesbitt said.

“We are pleased with this result,” Nesbitt said.

Paxton argued in state court that he was not covered by the Texas Whistleblower Act, written to protect public employees from workplace retaliation by other employees after reporting misconduct, arguing that he is an elected official and not a public employee. He also said that he fired the employees not in retaliation for their complaint, but because of personnel disputes. The Court of Appeal ruled against him and allowed the case to move forward. Last January, Paxton filed an appeal with the Texas Supreme Court.

The whistleblowing lawsuit is not Paxton’s only legal problem.

Paxton is still facing charges of securities fraud related to private business transactions in 2011. He denies wrongdoing in a nearly 8-year-old case.

The Texas Bar Association also sued Paxton last year for professional misconduct for allegedly misrepresenting that he had uncovered substantial evidence of fraud in an attempt to reverse Democrat Joe Biden’s four-state election victory. Paxton denies wrongdoing and has criticized the lawsuit as politically motivated.

Patrick Switek contributed to this report.