The Texas supreme court has agreed to temporarily halt state attorney general Ken Paxton’s scheduled testimony in a whistleblower lawsuit, a case that lies at the heart of the impeachment charges brought against him in 2023.
Mr Paxton had urged the all-Republican court to block his deposition scheduled for Thursday morning, and the court agreed to stop the meeting while it considers the merits of his request.
The court gave lawyers for a group of former aides suing Mr Paxton until February 29th to present arguments on why the deposition should proceed at a later date.
The former aides allege they were improperly fired for bringing to the FBI allegations that Mr Paxton was misusing his office to protect a friend and campaign donor, who, in turn, they said, was helping the attorney general to conceal an extramarital affair.
The accusations were included in the impeachment charges brought against Mr Paxton last year. He was ultimately acquitted after a Senate trial.
That trial was not a criminal case or civil lawsuit, so the former deputies pressed on with their case.
In response, a state district judge ordered Mr Paxton to sit for a deposition.
Tuesday’s delay is a short-term victory for Mr Paxton, who has yet to be put under oath to respond to myriad legal claims against him.
Lawyers TJ Turner and Tom Nesbitt, representing two former aides suing the attorney general, said: “This was not a ruling on the merits, and we look forward to continuing the fight for justice in this case.”
“The people of Texas deserve answers from Ken Paxton.”
He also faces an upcoming trial on state felony security fraud charges in April and a federal criminal investigation into corruption allegations.
Mr Paxton has denied wrongdoing but has vigorously worked to avoid being deposed. Earlier this month, he announced that he would no longer contest the facts of the whistleblower lawsuit and would accept any judgment.
Lawyers for the former aides for Mr Paxton called it a blatant attempt to avoid testifying.
Mr Paxton insisted that the move was not an admission of guilt but rather an attempt to end what he said was a costly and politically motivated lawsuit.
He has also filed multiple appeals to stop the deposition but was denied several times.
