A liberal Travis County choose on Friday handed down a $6.6 million judgment towards Texas Lawyer Normal Ken Paxton’s workplace, rewarding 4 disgruntled ex-aides who ran to the FBI with no single piece of proof — all in a blatant try and take down probably the most pro-Trump Lawyer Normal within the nation.
Decide Catherine Mauzy sided with the so-called “whistleblowers” — Blake Brickman, Mark Penley, David Maxwell, and Ryan Vassar — who claimed they had been wrongfully terminated after accusing Paxton of misconduct.
The plaintiffs claimed they had been wrongfully terminated in 2020. Quite than litigate the case, the OAG was basically boxed out of defending itself due to authorized maneuvering and judicial “estoppel,” which prevented them from contesting legal responsibility or damages after earlier authorized steps.
Now, the taxpayers of Texas are footing the invoice — to the tune of $6.6 million, together with huge lawyer’s charges, emotional damages, and even future “entrance pay” for years these whistleblowers received’t work.
Right here’s a breakdown of what makes up the $6.6 million payout, as detailed within the court judgment:
1. James Blake Brickman
Again pay (misplaced wages): $65,770.82
Emotional damages: $250,000
Prejudgment curiosity: $102,906.69
Lawyer’s charges: $842,269
Courtroom prices: $2,420.66
Put up-judgment curiosity: TBD
Subtotal: ≈ $1.26 million+
2. David Maxwell
Again pay (misplaced wages): $871,249.83
Emotional damages: $250,000
Prejudgment curiosity: $365,404.57
Entrance pay (future misplaced wages): $392,916.59
Lawyer’s charges: $336,708
Subtotal: ≈ $2.22 million+
3. J. Mark Penley
Again pay: $484,324
Emotional damages: $250,000
Prejudgment curiosity: $239,309.15
Entrance pay: $223,197
Misplaced retirement advantages: $374,394
Lawyer’s charges: $432,292
Subtotal: ≈ $2.00 million+
4. Ryan M. Vassar
Again pay: $135,465.33
COBRA insurance coverage damages: $6,500
Emotional damages: $250,000
Prejudgment curiosity: $12,734.81
Misplaced retirement/entrance pay: $155,114
Lawyer’s charges: $518,320
Subtotal: ≈ $1.08 million+
GRAND TOTAL (Approximate):
$6.6 million, not together with post-judgment curiosity, which accrues at 7.5% yearly on every award.
The lawsuit’s claims middle on Paxton allegedly retaliating towards the aides for reporting him to the FBI in 2020 involving actual property investor Nate Paul — however even Ryan Vassar, one of many plaintiffs, admitted beneath oath throughout the 2023 Senate impeachment trial that they’d zero proof once they made the report.
Let that sink in: they went to the FBI with nothing — and now they’re strolling away millionaires, courtesy of an activist choose.
Lawyer Mitch Little, who defended Paxton throughout the impeachment proceedings, obliterated Vassar’s credibility on the stand. But none of that mattered to the Travis County court docket.
Mitch Little:
You had a superb religion perception in sure info, however you didn’t know that Ken Paxton had disclosed something to anybody whenever you made this report back to the FBI, did you?Ryan Vassar:
No.Mitch Little:
You had been hoping the FBI would kind it out for you and never suppose that you just had been co-conspirators with him, appropriate?Ryan Vassar:
No. The aim of the criticism to the FBI was as a result of we had shaped a perception in good religion that the Lawyer Normal was concerned in felony exercise.Mitch Little:
That is one thing that I preserve listening to again and again. “We shaped a superb…” Let me make certain I get it proper: “Fashioned a superb religion perception that the Lawyer Normal of this state was engaged in criminality.” Did I say that proper?Ryan Vassar:
That’s correct.Mitch Little:
However you didn’t know. Effectively, you didn’t know, proper?Ryan Vassar:
That’s the purpose of the nice religion perception — we had no proof that we may level to, however we had affordable conclusions that we may draw.[…]
Mitch Little:
I need to get this straight. You went to the FBI on September thirtieth together with your compatriots and reported the elected Lawyer Normal of the state for a criminal offense — with none proof. Sure?Ryan Vassar:
That’s proper. We took no proof.Mitch Little:
Did you acquire any after that? Did you acquire any after that?Ryan Vassar:
Effectively, we weren’t gathering proof.Mitch Little:
Did you acquire any after that?Ryan Vassar:
Proof of what, sir?Mitch Little:
Proof of a criminal offense dedicated by the elected Lawyer Normal of this state — elected by over 4 million voters. That man.Ryan Vassar:
I don’t recall if we had collected any proof.
WATCH:
Regardless of the Texas Senate overwhelmingly acquitting Paxton on all prices in a extremely publicized impeachment trial final 12 months, Decide Mauzy determined to pad the wallets of the whistleblowers-turned-pawns with taxpayer {dollars}.
The ruling rewards 4 insiders who not solely betrayed the AG’s workplace however helped ignite a political witch hunt that just about eliminated one of the efficient conservative leaders within the nation.
And what did the choose cite in her ruling? A “preponderance of proof.”
“Unbiased of judicial estoppel, the Courtroom finds that Plaintiffs have proved legal responsibility, damages, and affordable and obligatory lawyer’s charges by a preponderance of the proof. As a result of the Workplace of the Lawyer Normal violated the Texas Whistleblower Act by firing and in any other case retaliating towards the Plaintiffs for in good religion reporting violations of legislation by Ken Paxton and OAG, the Courtroom hereby renders judgment for Plaintiffs,” based on the court docket ruling.
In response to the ruling, Paxton issued a fiery statement:
“The sham impeachment orchestrated by the disgraced former Speaker of the Texas Home Dade Phelan, in collusion with Joe Biden’s corrupt DOJ, has already price taxpayers over 5 million {dollars}. The Texas Senate rejected their witch hunt after the allegations had been confirmed to be false with no proof to help them.
Now a liberal Austin choose needs the folks of Texas to pay much more for the Phelan/ Biden corrupt impeachment scheme with a ridiculous judgment that’s not based mostly on the info or the legislation.
We are going to enchantment this bogus ruling as we proceed to wash up Dade Phelan’s mess.”
