Ex-staffers who reported Texas AG Ken Paxton to FBI say he’s lying about them and investigation

AUSTIN — Four former aides who reported Attorney General Ken Paxton to the FBI for alleged bribery are now accusing him of lying about his legal troubles while facing a tough reelection bid.

In a rare public statement on Monday, the ex-employees said “their preference was to remain silent while the wheels of justice turned.”

“However, in recent weeks, Paxton has made numerous false and misleading public statements that we feel obligated to correct,” said the former deputy attorneys general James “Blake” Brickman, J. Mark Penley, and Ryan Vassar and the agency’s former law enforcement director David Maxwell.

As Paxton seeks a third term as the state’s top lawyer, he faces three GOP challengers who are hammering him over the FBI corruption probe spurred by his former staffers.

Paxton has denied any wrongdoing. No federal charges have been filed.

In recent interviews with conservative media, Paxton said he doesn’t know the specific allegations against him and threw the blame back on his former aides, saying they are the ones who broke the law. The Republican also accused the FBI of infiltrating his office.

The former staffers say none of that is true.

“We confronted Ken Paxton about his and his agency’s corrupt and criminal conduct, and, when he would not abide by the law, we reported him to the FBI,” they said. “Paxton is under criminal investigation, not the whistleblowers.”

In October 2020, the aides and four other top staff members accused Paxton of repeatedly abusing his power to help real estate developer and campaign donor Nate Paul.

After they were fired, Brickman, Maxwell, Penley and Vassar filed a whistleblower lawsuit against the office that further detailed the allegations against Paxton. The suit alleges Paxton swapped political favors for Paul’s help with a home remodel and a job for his alleged “mistress.”

The staffers only went to the FBI after first confronting Paxton, their statement said, and had no prior contact with federal investigators.

“The most basic qualifications of an attorney general are respect for truth and respect for the law. Ken Paxton has neither,” the whistleblowers said on Monday. “The day will come when Ken Paxton must testify under oath about his and his agency’s actions. Until then, we call on Ken Paxton to start telling the truth to the people of Texas.”

In a statement on Monday, Paxton didn’t directly respond to the whistleblowers, but instead took aim at the media. Paxton called the allegations false and pointed to an unsigned report his own office released last summer that concluded his actions regarding Paul “were indeed lawful” and his staff was in the wrong.

“Others can play politics while we keep winning for Texas,” Paxton said in a statement posted on Twitter.

The whistleblowers said Monday the office’s report shows that Paxton knows what he is accused of: “he and his taxpayer-funded staff wrote a 374-page manifesto purporting to exonerate him from those allegations. Of course he understands the allegations.”

The whistleblower lawsuit is ongoing. In a previous response, Paxton argued that the state’s whistleblower act doesn’t apply.

Three high-profile Republicans are seeking to oust Paxton: Land Commissioner George P. Bush, U.S. Congressman Louie Gohmert and former Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman. The GOP primary is March 1.

In addition to the federal probe, Paxton is fighting an unrelated, 6-year-old securities fraud indictment. The case has not yet gone to trial.