A private law firm has charged the state nearly $700,000 to defend the Office of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton against the whistleblower lawsuit that led to his impeachment.
According to documents The Texas Newsroom obtained through a public information request, Houston-based Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith filed an invoice on Jan. 1 that brought its charges to date to $697,658.63.
Including other charges, the state has been billed just more than $700,000 to fight the case over more than three years. These costs are in addition to, and separate from, those incurred during Paxton's impeachment trial.
The lead lawyer on the case, William Helfand, is charging $540 an hour. The January invoice, which detailed $30,637 in charges, included time spent drafting arguments that Paxton and his aides should not have to testify under oath.
Paxton's agency hired the outside law firm in 2020, shortly after four former senior employees sued for wrongful termination under state whistleblower laws. They accused Paxton of forcing them out of their jobs after they reported him to the FBI for alleged corruption.
The allegations eventually led the Texas House to impeach Paxton for alleged bribery and abuse of office. He was acquitted after a trial in the Senate.
But the whistleblower lawsuit has continued.
Spokespeople for Paxton's agency did not respond to requests for comment. But the attorney general himself has repeatedly weighed in on the cost of the lawsuit.
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