Whistleblowers who helped spark an impeachment trial against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton pledged to continue their fight against him in court, the Houston Chronicle reported.
The Texas Senate on Sept. 16 acquitted Paxton, a Republican, on 16 articles of impeachment. Paxton has been dogged by corruption allegations since taking office in 2014. He still faces a state trial on securities fraud and is under investigation by the FBI.
But Paxton was vindicated by the state Senate by easily winning acquittal on the various allegations of corruption contained in the articles of impeachment, which the Texas House had passed by a wide margin in May.
"The impeachment process is over, but we are not going away," said Blake Brickman, the former deputy attorney general for policy and strategy initiatives under Paxton. "For us, this case has always been about more than money. It's about truth. It's about justice. And although political pressure may have thwarted justice this month, we will continue our fight."
Brickman, along with fellow former deputy attorneys general Mark Penley and Ryan Vasser, spoke at a news conference on Monday for their first public statements since the verdict.
The Houston Chronicle noted they had filed suit against Paxton's office in late 2020, alleging they were forced out for reporting him to the FBI for alleged corruption.
Paxton had agreed to apologize and pay $3.3 million in taxpayer money to the former staffers who accused him of corruption in 2020, igniting an FBI investigation of the three-term Republican, The Associated Press reported.
Under terms of a preliminary lawsuit settlement filed in February in Dallas, Paxton made no admission of wrongdoing to accusations of bribery and abuse of office, which he has denied for years and called politically motivated.
But Paxton did commit to making a public apology toward some of his formerly trusted advisers whom he fired or forced out after they reported him to the FBI. He called them "rogue employees" after they accused Paxton of misusing his office to help one of his campaign contributors, who also employed a woman with whom Paxton acknowledged having an extramarital affair.
The Chronicle noted the deal "withered" and the suit is now pending before the Texas Supreme Court.
At the news conference, the whistleblowers praised senators who voted to convict Paxton for not "wilting under political pressure."
Penley said he would welcome lawmakers funding the settlement. But if state lawmakers decline to fund it, Penley said the group is ready to take the case to trial.
Paxton was reinstated as attorney general last week. He did not respond to a Chronicle request for comment.
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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