Texas AG settles with former aides who reported him to FBI

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.

Under terms of a preliminary lawsuit settlement filed Friday, 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 remarkable 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 the attorney general acknowledged having an extramarital affair.

The attorney general’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday.

Both sides signed a mediated agreement that was filed in the Texas Supreme Court and will be followed by a longer, formalized settlement.

“Attorney General Ken Paxton accepts that plaintiffs acted in a manner that they thought was right and apologizes for referring to them as 'rogue employees,'” the final settlement must state, according to court records.

In all, eight members of Paxton's senior staff joined in the extraordinary revolt in 2020 and either resigned or were fired. The settlement is with four of them who sued under Texas' whistleblower law.

The payout would not come from Paxton's own pocket but from state funds, which means it would still require approval by the GOP-controlled Texas Legislature.

Settlement of the case, which Paxton's office fought in court for years, means he will avoid sitting for a civil deposition at a time when a...