Paxton whistleblowers are urging lawmakers not to object to the settlement, which will be paid in taxpayer dollars.

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Lawyers for four former employees who accused Attorney General Ken Paxton of corruption on Friday urged lawmakers not to object to their $3.3 million settlement, which must be approved by the Legislature because it is paid with taxpayer money.

Attorneys for Blake Brickman, David Maxwell, Mark Penley and Ryan Vassar – all former Paxton deputies in the attorney general’s office – said their clients “courageously reported what they considered corruption and turned the investigation into the hands of law enforcement where it belongs.” and now asked legislators to support their whistleblowing efforts.

Not settling, they said, could prevent others from reporting wrongdoing to government agencies in the future.

“No Texas legislator should object to these whistleblowers’ insistence on the compensation they are entitled to under the Texas Whistleblower Act,” the attorneys wrote. “Public servants cannot be expected to report government corruption in the future if they know that the Legislative Assembly will not uphold their rights under the law it passed for the very purpose of protecting them.”

[D.C.-based DOJ investigators take over corruption probe into Attorney General Ken Paxton]

The lawyers’ call comes after prominent lawmakers such as House Speaker Dade Phelan, a Beaumont Republican, and State Rep. Jeff Leach, a Plano Republican who chairs the House Committee on Judicial and Civil Jurisprudence, questioned the use of government dollars to pay Paxton. .

Phelan, who heads the House of Representatives, said Wednesday night that he does not support the move and does not expect the House to have money in its budget to pay compensation.

“I don’t think that’s the right use of taxpayer dollars,” he told CBS 11 in Dallas.

Leach said in a statement on the day the settlement was announced that 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,” and that lawmakers will have questions and they will be awaiting payment responses. .

Paxton’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But in his original statement, in response to the settlement, he said he was saving taxpayers money by stopping the lawsuit.

In October 2020, eight of Paxton’s top deputies accused him of providing political favors to real estate developer Nate Paul, a friend and political donor who gave $25,000 to Paxton’s campaign in 2018. Employees told authorities that Paxton had inappropriately attempted to help a donor involved in Paul’s legal cases despite their objections. They also claimed that Paxton was in debt because Paul helped him rebuild his multi-million dollar home and gave a job to a woman they said Paxton had an extramarital affair with.

Paxton is married to State Senator Angela Paxton, R-McKinney. Ken Paxton and Paul deny wrongdoing.

The settlement was announced last Friday and will include $3.3 million in payments to four employees who were laid off and lost their wages after reporting what they believed to be Paxton’s crimes. It will also include an apology from Paxton, a rebuttal to a press release that called the former deputies “fraudulent employees” and a statement that neither party is pleading guilty in the case.

But the proposed settlement has drawn some opposition from the public and lawmakers, as it would be paid for with public funds. Senate budget writers such as Dallas Democrat Royce West have also expressed skepticism about the agreement.

Under the Texas Whistleblower Act, plaintiffs are allowed to sue the recruiting agency where the retaliation occurred, but not a specific employee in their personal capacity. That is why the payment will be made from public funds and not from Paxton’s personal funds.

In their statement, the lawyers told lawmakers that the former employees were unfairly fired and vilified in the news by Paxton for reporting what they considered serious crimes.

On Thursday, the Texas Supreme Court, which was hearing Paxton’s whistleblower’s appeal, suspended the case to give the parties time to finalize the agreement. The parties have until April 3 to find out whether lawmakers will agree to a settlement agreement, and must notify the court of any changes in the proceedings.

Deputies’ reports to authorities in October 2020 led to an FBI investigation into Paxton. No charges have been filed, but this week state prosecutors investigating a separate securities fraud case against Paxton said federal authorities in Washington, D.C. are currently looking into the case, indicating an ongoing investigation.