Texas AG Ken Paxton has fired or put on leave 4 of 7 whistleblowers accusing him of bribery

[essentialsaltes]

The attorney general's office has sidelined four of the seven whistleblowers who reported Ken Paxton to law enforcement
Two were fired and two placed on leave — moves employment attorneys say will likely spark a whistleblower lawsuit. A spokesperson for Paxton said the personnel changes were not related to the whistleblower allegations.

The aides, who represented a large share of the agency’s most senior staff, alerted law enforcement and then agency human resources that they believed Paxton was using the power of his office to serve a political donor, Austin real estate developer Nate Paul.

Under Texas law, an employer who fires a whistleblower within 90 days of that whistleblower’s report is “presumed” to be retaliating against the employee because of the report. The actions against Penley, Maxwell, Brickman, Mase and Vassar all occurred squarely within that three-month window.

 

[Fantine]

Why not tell the president? After all, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and there is no president in recent memory who has been so susceptible to flattery.

I did hear some good news about Texas, though. If only six seats in the Texas legislature turn blue, Democrats will gain control in the state house.

Reports of voter suppression and more in Texas just make me sick, so I am hopeful the people of Texas will be rescued soon.

 

[essentialsaltes]

The aides, who represented a large share of the agency’s most senior staff, alerted law enforcement and then agency human resources that they believed Paxton was using the power of his office to serve a political donor, Austin real estate developer Nate Paul.

Lawsuit: Texas AG Ken Paxton swapped political favors for home remodel, job for alleged ‘mistress’
The new allegations offer up the most detailed theory to date about why Paxton helped Austin real estate developer Nate Paul even as his top aides balked at his behavior.

Four former high ranking agency officials are accusing Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton of swapping political favors for a donor’s help with a home remodel and a job for his alleged “mistress.”

The new, more detailed allegations, first reported by The Texas Tribune, were laid out in an updated court filing in a whistleblower lawsuit the former employees filed against Paxton in November. The lawsuit accuses Paxton of repeatedly abusing his position as the state’s top lawyer to help Nate Paul, an Austin real estate developer and campaign donor.

The News reported last year that Paxton personally intervened at least four times on a range of legal matters at his agency that involved or helped Paul since March 2020. Several senior officials objected to Paxton’s actions last fall, reporting him to law enforcement for alleged abuse of office and bribery.

The FBI is now investigating these claims, according to The Associated Press.

 

[rambot]

Could he be impeached?
I'd just read all the different reasons folks have been impeached. Can that happen to ags?

 

[essentialsaltes]

The attorney general's office has sidelined four of the seven whistleblowers who reported Ken Paxton to law enforcement
Two were fired and two placed on leave — moves employment attorneys say will likely spark a whistleblower lawsuit.

Appeals court allows whistleblower lawsuit from former employees who accused Ken Paxton of bribery to proceed

Paxton’s lawyers had argued in court that he’s exempt from the Texas Whistleblower Act because he’s an elected official, not a public employee. But the court upheld a previous lower court decision that denied Paxton’s attempt to dismiss the case.

 

[essentialsaltes]

Appeals court allows whistleblower lawsuit from former employees who accused Ken Paxton of bribery to proceed

Paxton’s lawyers had argued in court that he’s exempt from the Texas Whistleblower Act because he’s an elected official, not a public employee. But the court upheld a previous lower court decision that denied Paxton’s attempt to dismiss the case.

DALLAS (AP) — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has agreed to apologize and pay $3.3 million in taxpayer money to four former staffers who accused him of corruption in 2020, igniting an ongoing FBI investigation of the three-term Republican.

 

[essentialsaltes]

Washington DOJ will take over the corruption probe of Paxton.

The U.S. attorney’s office in Texas was recently recused from the complex case after working on it for years — an abrupt change that came within days of Paxton agreeing to apologize and pay $3.3 million in taxpayer money to four of the former staffers who reported him to the FBI.

 

[essentialsaltes]

DALLAS (AP) — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has agreed to apologize and pay $3.3 million in taxpayer money

Texas legislature is not keen to appropriate millions of dollars to pay this settlement. Not clear what the outcome will be. The law is clear -- the state is on the hook for the money, not Paxton.

Texas legislature has little appetite to fund Ken Paxton’s $3.3 million settlement with whistleblowers​

Neither legislative chamber included money for the settlement in the first drafts of the “miscellaneous claims” bill that includes state payments for legal cases.

Under the Texas Whistleblower Act, employees can sue a government agency, not an individual person, for firing them after reporting a crime. That means any fees Paxton would pay must come from state funds, not his own pocket, they argue.

Last month, lawyers for the fired executives asked the Texas Supreme Court to pause the case after both sides worked out a potential settlement, subject to legislative approval.

On Wednesday, they asked the court to resume the case, saying Paxton refused to agree to a May deadline and was trying to “perpetually” stall the case amid the Legislature’s reluctance to fund the settlement.

Lawyers for the former employees said an impasse at the Legislature was troubling and could erode whistleblower protections.

“The Act encourages public employees to report criminal activity by providing a safety net if their employer retaliates against them,” Turner said in a statement. “If the legislature refuses to approve the settlement, it will be sending a strong message to future public employees who consider reporting public corruption: don’t bother. You’re on your own.”

--

Maybe the GOP can amend the law so they only have to pay if the whistleblowers make Democrats look bad?

 

[USincognito]

Making Texans proud.

 

[essentialsaltes]

State House ethics panel says Texas AG broke state laws, ethics rules​

Ken Paxton may have violated multiple state laws and ethics rules, a Texas House of Representatives committee disclosed in a hearing Wednesday morning that summarized its months-long investigation into the Republican attorney general.

In a probe that began in March, investigators say Paxton abused his official capacity, misused official information and retaliated against whistleblowers who had accused him of corruption in October 2020. Paxton settled the corruption lawsuit with four former aides in February for $3.3 million — a sum Paxton had sought to pay using taxpayer funds.

Committee members on Wednesday heard what the Texas Tribune described as hours of “painstaking and methodical” testimony from investigators about Paxton’s allegedly inappropriate and illegal behavior.

Investigators said Paxton pressured the open records division in his office to help a donor and friend, Nate Paul, in his legal fight with a nonprofit group in Austin. In exchange for that help, investigators said, Paul helped with a “floor-to-ceiling renovation” at Paxton’s home and employed a woman with whom Paxton allegedly had an extramarital affair. The investigators also said Paxton wrongly fired several former staffers who reported his inappropriate behavior to authorities.

Paxton has been under felony indictment for securities fraud since 2015, the year he became attorney general. The FBI opened an investigation into Paxton in November 2020 on allegations he used his office to benefit a wealthy donor, the AP reported.

 

[SimplyMe]

Could he be impeached?
I'd just read all the different reasons folks have been impeached. Can that happen to ags?

I doubt it, though I think he there is a way for him to be removed. The issue is that this is at least the third "bribery scandal" that Paxton has been involved in. He's been under federal indictment since 2015 (as is mentioned above) and has been re-elected twice since that indictment; somehow Paxton keeps delaying the trial.

From what I've seen, Paxton is horribly corrupt but, since he is a good ol' boy Republican, they forgive his sins as long as he keeps doing the right things (and protecting the right people) while in office.

 

[USincognito]

From what I've seen, Paxton is horribly corrupt but, since he is a good ol' boy Republican, they forgive his sins as long as he keeps doing the right things (and protecting the right people) while in office.

Also persecuting the right people.

 

[essentialsaltes]

State House ethics panel says Texas AG broke state laws, ethics rules​

Ken Paxton may have violated multiple state laws and ethics rules, a Texas House of Representatives committee disclosed in a hearing Wednesday morning that summarized its months-long investigation into the Republican attorney general.

Texas House panel recommends impeachment of Attorney General Ken Paxton​

The vote by the Committee on General Investigating came a day after committee investigators testified about the findings of their months-long probe into Paxton’s alleged misconduct.

The committee recommended 20 articles of impeachment against Paxton, including claims of bribery, unfitness for office and abuse of public trust.

 

[NxNW]

Also persecuting the right people.

And protecting the White People.

 

[USincognito]

And protecting the White People.

Yep.

Crystal Mason’s contentious illegal voting conviction must be reconsidered, criminal appeals court says

Mason said she didn’t know she was ineligible to vote when she cast a provisional ballot in 2016, but she was sentenced to five years in prison. Now, the Court of Criminal Appeals says an appellate court that affirmed her conviction must look again at the evidence of Mason’s intent.

www.texastribune.org

 

[wing2000]

...vote scheduled for Saturday.

A Republican-controlled Texas House committee filed 20 articles of impeachment against GOP Attorney General Ken Paxton, ranging from bribery to abuse of public trust, and a vote that could remove him from office is scheduled for Saturday.

The allegations include attempts to interfere in foreclosure lawsuits, improperly issuing legal opinions to benefit real estate developer Nate Paul, and firing, harassing and interfering with whistleblower staffers. Bribery charges stem from Paul allegedly employing a woman with whom Paxton had an affair in exchange for legal help and Paul allegedly paying for renovations to Paxton’s home. Other charges date back to Paxton’s pending 2015 felony securities fraud case, including lying to state investigators.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/2023/05/26/texas-attorney-general-ken-paxton-impeachment-articles/472119ae-fbee-11ed-bafc-bf50205661da_story.html

 

[Ana the Ist]

State House ethics panel says The FBI opened an investigation into Paxton in November 2020 on allegations he used his office to benefit a wealthy donor, the AP reported.​

Hmmmm....November 2020. I wonder why they waited until then?

 

[essentialsaltes]

Hmmmm....November 2020. I wonder why they waited until then?

The whistleblowers first went to law enforcement on the last day of September 2020.

 

[Ana the Ist]

The whistleblowers first went to law enforcement on the last day of September 2020.
View attachment 331629

And a full month later the FBI opens a case....

Well it's good to see they can work with speed on some things.

Did you see the testimony of their whistleblowers? Did you see the retaliation they're doing to them? The FBI are a disgrace.

 

[essentialsaltes]

Texas House votes to impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton​

The vote triggers Paxton’s immediate suspension from office pending the outcome of a trial in the state Senate.

The 121-23 vote constitutes an abrupt downfall for one of the GOP’s most prominent legal combatants, who in 2020 asked the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn President Joe Biden’s electoral defeat of Donald Trump. It makes Paxton only the third sitting official in Texas’ nearly 200-year history to have been impeached.

“Free Ken Paxton,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social, warning that if House Republicans proceeded with the process, “I will fight you.”

Don't mess with Texas.