Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has reached an initial agreement with four former employees he fired after they accused him of bribery and other potential abuses of his office in October 2020.
James Blake Brickman, J. Mark Penley, David Maxwell, and Ryan M. Vassar were among a group of seven officials within the attorney general’s office who raised criminal accusations that Paxton interfered in civil disputes and criminal investigations involving one of his donors. The seven individuals signed a statement, with the letterhead for the attorney general’s office, stating “we have a good faith belief that the Attorney General is violating federal and/or state law, including prohibitions relating to improper influence, abuse of office, bribery, and other potential criminal offenses.”
