AUSTIN - Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has dropped his appeal over a $6.7 million judgment awarded to four whistleblowers who claim they were fired after reporting Paxton to the FBI for alleged bribery.
Allegations that Paxton abused his office to help real estate investor Nate Paul eventually led to his impeachment. The Attorney General, however, was acquitted by the Texas Senate.
Court records show that after the $6.7 million judgment was signed back in April, Paxton appealed the following month.
The judgment was in favor of former OAG employees James Blake Brickman, David Maxwell, J. Mark Penley, and Ryan M. Vassar, and stated that the plaintiffs had proven by a preponderance of the evidence that Paxton’s office had violated the Texas Whistleblower Act, awarding between $1.1 and $2.1 million to each of the plaintiffs.
Court records further show that Paxton’s appellate brief was due by the end of July, but he instead opted to file a motion to dismiss on July 3.
Attorneys TJ Turner and Tom Nesbitt, who respectively represented Maxwell and Brickman, provided the following statement to The Texan:
"To avoid answering questions under oath about his corruption, Ken Paxton surrendered to the whistleblowers in the trial court and consented to judgment. But he appealed the judgment anyway, preventing the legislature from funding it during the recent session.
“Unfortunately, Paxton’s abandoned appeal will cost his client, the people of Texas, approximately $1.2 million in post-judgment interest before the legislature meets again, unless the Legislature funds the judgment in a special session or an interim budget execution."
Paxton, who is not seeking reelection, is challenging Sen. John Cornyn for his seat in the 2026 Republican Primary.
The law firm of Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & SmithPaxton represented Paxton during the litigation.
Case No. 15-25-00085-CV
