AUSTIN — A whistleblower who was awarded part of a nearly $6.7 million judgment last month said Ken Paxton is appealing the award to stall the plaintiff’s victory while the Texas attorney general runs for U.S. Senate.

A Travis County judge in April awarded the sum to four whistleblowers who reported Paxton to law enforcement in 2020 for alleged criminal conduct. After the ruling, Paxton vowed to appeal.

An attorney representing Paxton’s office filed the appeal Friday in Travis County district court.

The judgment awarded compensation for lost wages, pain and suffering, attorney fees, court costs and interest for James “Blake” Brickman, David Maxwell, Mark Penley and Ryan Vassar. The former Paxton aides sued the agency in November 2020 under the Whistleblower Act after their firings. The law prohibits retaliation against public employees who report a violation of law in good faith.

The judgment is more than double the $3.3 million Paxton’s office agreed to pay in a 2023 settlement the Legislature declined to fund. State lawmakers would need to approve funding for the state to satisfy the latest judgment.

Brickman, former policy director at the attorney general’s office, said the appeal is another example of Paxton’s “brazen dishonesty and shameless abuse of taxpayer funds” for personal gain.

A spokesperson for Paxton’s office did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

The whistleblowers accused Paxton of using his office to benefit Nate Paul, a real...

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