Paxton declines to say whether he would pay whistleblower settlement from campaign funds
The State of Texas has spent roughly $600,000 so far fighting former employees of the Office of the Attorney General in court over their whistleblower lawsuit against AG Ken Paxton .
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The State of Texas has spent roughly $600,000 so far fighting former employees of the Office of the Attorney General in court over their whistleblower lawsuit against AG Ken Paxton .
Paxton declined to comment when asked by Rep. Jarvis Johson , D-Houston, about whether he would pay the proposed $3.3 million settlement out of personal or campaign funds. Paxton's staff dismissed that suggestion, telling lawmakers that "the agency is the proper defendant" in the case, not Paxton personally. Texas law says that Paxton could pay it from campaign funds, by the way.
The proposed budgets from the Texas House , Texas Senate , and Gov. Greg Abbott all omit the money for the proposed settlement. Paxton’s staff told legislators this morning that funding the settlement now would save the state money in the long run. In fact, AG’s staff went so far as to say that there is no financial upside for the state in this scenario. That’s because, they argued, even if Paxton’s side were to prevail over his former employees who accused him of bribery, misuse of office, and other crimes, the state would still have to pay for the defense in the case.
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