Texas AG Ken Paxton dodged impeachment but can't dodge whistleblower suit, high court rules

Two weeks after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) was acquitted of more than a dozen articles of impeachment alleging of using his office to engage in misconduct, bribery and corruption, the Texas Supreme Court ruled in favor of fired Paxton staffers-turned-whistleblowers, meaning their lawsuit can move forward in Travis County.

The whistleblowers, former Deputy Attorney General for Criminal Justice Mark Penley, former Deputy Attorney General for Policy and Strategy Initiatives Blake Brickman, former Deputy Attorney General for Legal Counsel Ryan Vassar, and David Maxwell, the former director of the Office of Attorney General’s (OAG) enforcement division, filed their wrongful termination lawsuit against Paxton in November 2020.