AUSTIN — Attorney General Ken Paxton does not have to sit for questioning, under oath, by whistleblowers who accused him of accepting bribes to misuse the power of his office, the Texas Supreme Court ruled Friday.
The ruling canceled a lower-court order requiring Paxton and three senior officials to be deposed.
Four fired officials of the attorney general’s office sued the agency in November 2020, saying their terminations violated the Texas Whistleblower Act, which prohibits retaliation against public employees who in good faith report a violation of law.
The attorney general’s office argued the depositions were not necessary because the agency agreed in January to end its opposition to the lawsuit, leaving no issues in dispute.
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The only unresolved issue is the amount of damages for the plaintiffs, for which depositions would not be germane, the agency said.
The Supreme Court agreed in an unsigned opinion.
“While we agree with the former employees that OAG’s concessions do not preclude all discovery, we agree with OAG that the trial court abused its discretion in ordering the depositions of these four witnesses without considering that the only fact issue on which those witnesses are likely to provide information — OAG’s liability under the Whistleblower Act — is now uncontested,” the ruling said.
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