A liberal Travis County judge on Friday handed down a $6.6 million judgment against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office, rewarding four disgruntled ex-aides who ran to the FBI without a single piece of evidence — all in a blatant attempt to take down the most pro-Trump Attorney General in the country.
Judge Catherine Mauzy sided with the so-called “whistleblowers” — Blake Brickman, Mark Penley, David Maxwell, and Ryan Vassar — who claimed they were wrongfully terminated after accusing Paxton of misconduct.
The plaintiffs claimed they were wrongfully terminated in 2020. Rather than litigate the case, the OAG was essentially boxed out of defending itself thanks to legal maneuvering and judicial “estoppel,” which prevented them from contesting liability or damages after earlier legal steps.
Now, the taxpayers of Texas are footing the bill — to the tune of $6.6 million, including massive attorney’s fees, emotional damages, and even future “front pay” for years these whistleblowers won’t work.
Here’s a breakdown of what makes up the $6.6 million payout, as detailed in the court judgment:
1. James Blake Brickman
Back pay (lost wages): $65,770.82
Emotional damages: $250,000
Prejudgment interest: $102,906.69
Attorney’s fees: $842,269
Court costs: $2,420.66
Post-judgment interest: TBD
Subtotal: ≈ $1.26 million+
2. David Maxwell
Back pay (lost wages): $871,249.83
Emotional damages: $250,000
Prejudgment interest: $365,404.57
Front pay (future lost wages): $392,916.59
Attorney’s fees: $336,708
Subtotal: ≈ $2.22 million+
3. J. Mark Penley
Back pay: $484,324
Emotional damages: $250,000
Prejudgment interest: $239,309.15
Front pay: $223,197
Lost retirement benefits: $374,394
Attorney’s fees: $432,292
Subtotal: ≈ $2.00 million+
4. Ryan M. Vassar
Back pay: $135,465.33
COBRA insurance damages: $6,500
Emotional damages: $250,000
Prejudgment interest: $12,734.81
Lost retirement/front pay: $155,114
Attorney’s fees: $518,320
Subtotal: ≈ $1.08 million+
GRAND TOTAL (Approximate):
$6.6 million, not including post-judgment interest, which accrues at 7.5% annually on each award.
The lawsuit’s claims center on Paxton allegedly retaliating against the aides for reporting him to the FBI in 2020 involving real estate investor Nate Paul — but even Ryan Vassar, one of the plaintiffs, admitted under oath during the 2023 Senate impeachment trial that they had zero evidence when they made the report.
Let that sink in: they went to the FBI with nothing — and now they’re walking away millionaires, courtesy of an activist judge.
Attorney Mitch Little, who defended Paxton during the impeachment proceedings, obliterated Vassar’s credibility on the stand. Yet none of that mattered to the Travis County court.
Mitch Little:
You had a good faith belief in certain information, but you didn’t know that Ken Paxton had disclosed anything to anyone when you made this report to the FBI, did you?Ryan Vassar:
No.Mitch Little:
You were hoping the FBI would sort it out for you and not think that you were co-conspirators with him, correct?Ryan Vassar:
No. The purpose of the complaint to the FBI was because we had formed a belief in good faith that the Attorney General was involved in criminal activity.Mitch Little:
This is something that I keep hearing over and over again. “We formed a good…” Let me make sure I get it right: “Formed a good faith belief that the Attorney General of this state was engaged in illegal activity.” Did I say that right?Ryan Vassar:
That’s accurate.Mitch Little:
But you didn’t know. Well, you didn’t know, right?Ryan Vassar:
That’s the point of the good faith belief — we had no evidence that we could point to, but we had reasonable conclusions that we could draw.[…]
Mitch Little:
I want to get this straight. You went to the FBI on September 30th with your compatriots and reported the elected Attorney General of the state for a crime — without any evidence. Yes?Ryan Vassar:
That’s right. We took no evidence.Mitch Little:
Did you gain any after that? Did you gain any after that?Ryan Vassar:
Well, we weren’t collecting evidence.Mitch Little:
Did you gain any after that?Ryan Vassar:
Evidence of what, sir?Mitch Little:
Evidence of a crime committed by the elected Attorney General of this state — elected by over 4 million voters. That guy.Ryan Vassar:
I don’t recall if we had collected any evidence.
WATCH:
Despite the Texas Senate overwhelmingly acquitting Paxton on all charges in a highly publicized impeachment trial last year, Judge Mauzy decided to pad the wallets of the whistleblowers-turned-pawns with taxpayer dollars.
The ruling rewards four insiders who not only betrayed the AG’s office but helped ignite a political witch hunt that nearly removed one of the most effective conservative leaders in the country.
And what did the judge cite in her ruling? A “preponderance of evidence.”
“Independent of judicial estoppel, the Court finds that Plaintiffs have proved liability, damages, and reasonable and necessary attorney’s fees by a preponderance of the evidence. Because the Office of the Attorney General violated the Texas Whistleblower Act by firing and otherwise retaliating against the Plaintiffs for in good faith reporting violations of law by Ken Paxton and OAG, the Court hereby renders judgment for Plaintiffs,” according to the court ruling.
In response to the ruling, Paxton issued a fiery statement:
“The sham impeachment orchestrated by the disgraced former Speaker of the Texas House Dade Phelan, in collusion with Joe Biden’s corrupt DOJ, has already cost taxpayers over five million dollars. The Texas Senate rejected their witch hunt after the allegations were proven to be false with no evidence to support them.
Now a liberal Austin judge wants the people of Texas to pay even more for the Phelan/ Biden corrupt impeachment scheme with a ridiculous judgment that is not based on the facts or the law.
We will appeal this bogus ruling as we continue to clean up Dade Phelan’s mess.”
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