Sign up for The Brief, The Texas Tribune’s day-to-day e-newsletter that helps to keep readers up to velocity at the maximum crucial Texas news.
Lawyers for the Ken Paxton whistleblowers are shifting ahead with their lawsuit in Travis County after some other judge cleared the way in which, asking the Austin-based courtroom to pressure the legal professional common and his best aides to sit for depositions.
The whistleblower legal professionals filed a movement Tuesday to compel the depositions, calling it a final hotel after they may now not succeed in an settlement with legal professionals for the Office of the Attorney General.
“OAG’s effort to resist these straightforward depositions is nothing more than a continuation of OAG’s cynical effort to deny Plaintiffs their right to access to the justice system,” the whistleblower legal professionals wrote.
The whistleblower legal professionals particularly need to take depositions from Paxton; Brent Webster, the primary assistant legal professional common; Lesley French Henneke, leader of group of workers on the company; and Michelle Smith, Paxton’s longtime political aide. The legal professionals proposed a agenda the place Paxton is deposed Dec. 12, Webster on Dec. 14, Henneke on Dec. 18 and Smith on Dec. 20.
A legal professional for Paxton’s place of business didn’t right away reply to a request for remark.
The whistleblower legal professionals filed the movement per week after a district courtroom judge in Burnet County gave the golf green gentle for the Travis County lawsuit to proceed. Lawyers for Paxton’s place of business had sued the whistleblowers in within sight Burnet County to check out to forestall their lawsuit in Travis County, arguing they have been breaking the phrases of a tentative agreement settlement they struck in February. While the Burnet County judge, Evan Stubbs, first agreed to quickly halt the Travis County case, he sided with the whistleblowers on the Nov. 14 listening to and allowed the case to continue once more.
The whistleblowers — Blake Brickman, Ryan Vassar, David Maxwell and Mark Penley — sued Paxton in 2020, arguing he improperly fired them when they reported him to the FBI. They alleged he used to be abusing his place of business to lend a hand a rich buddy and donor, Nate Paul.
The whistleblowers virtually settled with Paxton for $3.3 million in February, however the Texas House balked at the usage of taxpayer greenbacks for it and made up our minds to examine the underlying claims. That led to Paxton’s impeachment within the House in May.
The Travis County lawsuit got here again to existence in September after the Texas Senate acquitted Paxton in his impeachment trial, which targeted on equivalent claims of corruption via former best deputies in his place of business. After the acquittal, the whistleblowers requested the Texas Supreme Court to reinstate the case and it did, sending it again to Travis County for trial.
Shortly after the whistleblowers sought to restart paintings at the case in Travis County — giving understand they deliberate to take depositions of Paxton and the 3 aides — Paxton’s place of business filed go well with in Burnet County.
In their newest submitting, the whistleblowers’ legal professionals say the Burnet County lawsuit used to be simply the newest lengthen tactic via Paxton’s facet within the 3-year-old case. The legal professionals requested the Travis County courtroom to compel the depositions in order that the whistleblowers “may at long last pursue justice.”
If the whistleblowers’ movement is granted, it will be the first time Paxton could be required to resolution questions beneath oath similar to the allegations of bribery and corruption made in opposition to him. Paxton didn’t take the stand in his Senate trial in September.
While the Burnet County judge, Stubbs, allowed the Travis County case to restart final week, the more moderen lawsuit in his courtroom stays pending. Stubbs set a Dec. 14 listening to on a movement via the whistleblowers to exchange the venue to Travis County.
]