The Texas Attorney General's Office must pay four whistleblowers $6.7 million after a judge found they were subjected to retaliation for reporting corruption allegations against Attorney General Ken Paxton to federal investigators.

The amount is more than twice the amount the agency would have paid under a proposed settlement Paxton reached with the former top aides in 2023. State lawmakers did not agree to fund the payment, but Paxton's request for them to do so led to a historic impeachment trial where Paxton was acquitted.

"Now the Texas Legislature needs to do the honorable thing and fund the judgment so these brave public servants can be compensated for the lost pay and damages they suffered when Paxton illegally terminated their employment," attorneys Tom Nesbitt and TJ Turner, who represented two of the four, said in a statement.

Paxton said in a statement released to news outlets that he would appeal, calling the ruling a "ridiculous judgment that is not based on the facts or the law."

State District Judge Catherine Mauzy issued the judgement late Friday following a two-day trial. Mauzy noted in her ruling that "OAG by and through its counsel of record elected not to dispute plaintiff's lawsuit as to any issue, including any issue of fact in this case."

The former staffers — Blake Brickman, David Maxwell, Mark Penley and Ryan Vassar — sued the agency after they said Paxton's office attempted to harass and intimate them, placing them on leave and terminating their...

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