Texas Attorney General Paxton to Appear for Deposition as Ordered by Judge

A Texas judge on Friday ordered state Attorney General Ken Paxton to appear for a deposition in a lawsuit brought by four former employees.

Judge Jan Soifer of the 250th Judicial District in Travis County ordered Paxton, a Republican, to answer questions in an oral deposition on Feb. 1 at an Austin law firm, KXAN reported.

The order also sets dates and times for three of Paxton’s top employees: First Assistant Attorney General Brent Webster, Chief of Staff Lesley French Henneke, and senior advisor Michelle Smith.

Soifer said she issued her order because Paxton’s office “failed to negotiate in good faith to schedule these depositions.”

Four former top-ranking deputies allege that Paxton wrongfully terminated them after reporting him to federal authorities.

The judge’s order came a day after Paxton’s attorneys submitted a filing that they said aims to end the lawsuit the former employees brought against his office, KXAN reported.

Paxton sought to end the whistleblower lawsuit by announcing his agency will not contest the facts of the case and will accept any judgment.

“There is clearly no length to which Ken Paxton will go to avoid putting his hand on a Bible and telling the truth, including confessing to violating the whistleblower act and opening up the states’ coffers to an uncontested judgment,” said TJ Turner, lawyer for David Maxwell, one of the former assistants who sued Paxton.

An attorney representing another plaintiff agreed.

“It does not end the case,” said Tom Nesbitt, a lawyer for another one one of the whistleblowers, Blake Brickman. “This is a pathetic bid for more delay by a coward.”

The Texas Supreme Court last week denied Paxton’s request to block his deposition in the lawsuit.

Four former top-ranking deputies allege Paxton wrongfully terminated them after reporting him to the FBI on claims he misused his office to protect a friend and campaign donor, who in turn was helping Paxton conceal an extramarital affair.

In September, the Texas Senate acquitted Paxton on all 16 articles of impeachment he faced before that body. The allegations in the lawsuit were among the impeachment charges.

Paxton did not testify during his impeachment trial.

The attorney general has been dogged by corruption allegations since taking office in 2014. He still faces a state trial on securities fraud and is under investigation by the FBI.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this story.