Summarize and humanize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in English A district court judge has awarded $6.6 million combined to four whistleblowers in their lawsuit against Texas Atty. Gen. Ken Paxton who were fired shortly after they reported him to the FBI.“By a preponderance of the evidence,” Travis County Judge Catherine Mauzy said in her judgment Friday, the plaintiffs proved liability, damages and attorney’s fees in their complaint against the attorney general’s office.“Because the Office of the Attorney General violated the Texas Whistleblower Act by firing and otherwise retaliating against the plaintiff for in good faith reporting violations of law by Ken Paxton and OAG, the court hereby renders judgment for plaintiffs,” Mauzy wrote.The court found that the four Paxton aides were fired in retaliation for reporting allegations that he was using his office to accept bribes from an Austin real estate developer who employed a woman with whom he was having an extramarital affair. Paxton has denied accepting bribes or misusing his office to help Nate Paul, the real estate developer.The judgment also said that Paxton’s office did not dispute any claims or damages in the lawsuit.“It should shock all Texans that their chief law enforcement officer, Ken Paxton, admitted to violating the law, but that is exactly what happened in this case,” said Tom Nesbitt, an attorney for Blake Brickman; and TJ Turner, an attorney for David Maxwell; in a joint statement Friday evening.In a statement to the media Friday night, Paxton called the ruling “ridiculous” and “not based on the facts or the law.” He said that his office intends to appeal.Paxton was at the center of a federal investigation after eight employees reported his office to the FBI in 2020 on bribery allegations. He agreed to settle the lawsuit for $3.3 million that would be paid by the state Legislature. But the Texas House rejected his request and conducted its own investigation and impeached Paxton in 2023. He was acquitted in the Senate.In November, the Texas Supreme Court overturned a lower-court ruling that Paxton testify in the lawsuit.The U.S. Justice Department decided not to pursue its investigation into Paxton in the final weeks of the Biden administration, according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.Paxton is in his third term as attorney general, a post he has held since 2015. He is widely expected to challenge U.S. Sen. John Cornyn in next year’s Republican primary. Lathan writes for the Associated Press. AP writers Alanna Durkin Richer and Eric Tucker contributed to this report.
Keep Reading
