He’s going to need ointment for this burn!
Now he claims he isn’t a public employee since he was elected and therefore doesn’t have to abide by whistleblower statutes.
https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politic ... r-hearing/Appeals court halts hearing before more testimony in whistleblower suit against Texas AG Ken Paxton
The attorney general’s office is seeking to dismiss a whistleblower lawsuit brought by four former staffers, who accused Paxton of abusing his position to help a campaign donor.
AUSTIN — An appeals court halted a hearing Tuesday that was set to include testimony from a former high-ranking employee at the attorney general’s office about why he and others accused the agency’s embattled leader, Ken Paxton, of abusing his position.
A lawyer representing the agency requested the stay, which the Austin-based 3rd Court of Appeals granted late Monday.
The action comes as the attorney general’s office is fighting to dismiss a whistleblower lawsuit brought by the ex-employee and three others who claim they were wrongly fired after reporting Paxon to law enforcement last fall.
The public testimony by Ryan Vassar, the former deputy attorney general for legal counsel, could offer new details about allegations that Paxton abused the office to help a campaign donor and real estate developer Nate Paul.
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A lawyer representing the attorney general’s office argued that Paxton, as an elected official whose position is created by the Texas Constitution, is not a “public employee,” so the statute doesn’t apply.
“The whistleblower act does not extend its protection to reports of unlawful conduct made about a state elected official. The Legislature did not include that in the statute,” said William Helfand, an outside attorney brought on to represent the agency in the lawsuit.
Lawyers representing the former employees, however, rejected Helfand’s argument, saying that the Republican attorney general was acting in his official capacity and also receives a salary and benefits like any other public employee.
“We think it would be fraught with quite a bit of legal danger if he were exempted through that kind of interpretation,” said attorney Joseph Knight, who is representing Vassar.