AUSTIN – Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office made its case on Tuesday for state budget writers to fund a $3.3 million whistleblower settlement, saying the cost to keep fighting the lawsuit would be far higher.

But the attorney general ducked a question about whether he would tap his own campaign coffers if the Legislature won’t pay the tab with taxpayer dollars.

Paxton and his agency faced lawmakers for the first time Tuesday since agreeing to settle a whistleblower lawsuit with four former high-ranking employees who alleged retaliation after accusing Paxton of serious crimes.

While the terms are set, the agreement is “contingent upon all necessary approvals for funding.”

At a House Appropriations subcommittee hearing, Houston Democratic Rep. Jarvis Johnson asked whether Paxton would be willing to tap his campaign account for the $3.3 million.

Paxton, a third-term Republican, did not answer the question. Instead, agency attorney Chris Hilton, who sat beside him, weighed in.

“I don’t want to speak for the attorney general,” said Hilton, who heads the office’s general litigation division.

“I’ll just say that there is no whistleblower case where any individual has paid anything because the individual is not liable under the terms of the statute,” Hilton said. “Also, under the terms of the settlement, there is no admission of fault or liability or wrongdoing by any party.”

While the whistleblower lawsuit was brought against the agency, many of the allegations center on...

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