Paxton, a Republican who was re-elected last year, will apologize and the state will pay the whistleblowers $3.3 million, according to settlement documents filed Friday morning.
The agreement notes the settlement was mediated and is contingent “upon all necessary approvals for funding.” It is likely that the Texas Legislature will need to approve of and budget the money out of state coffers.
The final settlement will include a line that states, “Paxton accepts that plaintiffs acted in a manner that they thought was right and apologizes for referring to them as ‘rogue employees.’” His office will also delete a press release criticizing the whistleblowers, all of whom served a top aides to Paxton.
[No one’s admitting fault, but this does not make Paxton look good. He has a reputation for being a loose cannon, and it was dicey for a while whether he’d survive in the Republican primary, but once he did his re-election was assured. Hopefully, it will serve as a reminder to Paxton to keep his nose a bit cleaner in this term. — Ed]
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