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Judge awards $6.6M to whistleblowers who were fired after reporting Texas AG Ken Paxton to FBI

Judge awards .6M to whistleblowers who were fired after reporting Texas AG Ken Paxton to FBI

A district court judge awarded $6.6 million combined to four whistleblowers who sued Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on claims he fired them in retaliation for reporting him to the FBI. Blake Brickman, David Maxwell, Mark Penley and Ryan Vassar notified Paxton and his office on Oct. 1, 2020, that they had reported him to the FBI for allegedly abusing his office. The four were all fired by mid-November. Travis County Judge Catherine Mauzy ruled Friday that by a “preponderance of the evidence,” the whistleblowers proved liability, damages and attorney’s fees in their complaint against the attorney general’s office. The judgment says the former aides made their reports to federal law enforcement “in good faith” and that Paxton’s office did not dispute any claims or damages in the lawsuit. FBI FLOODED WITH RECORD NUMBER OF NEW AGENT APPLICATIONS IN KASH PATEL’S FIRST MONTH LEADING BUREAU “Because the Office of the Attorney General violated the Texas Whistleblower Act by firing and otherwise retaliating against the plaintiff for in good faith reporting violations of law by Ken Paxton and OAG, the court hereby renders judgment for plaintiffs,” Mauzy wrote in her judgment. The court found that the four former aides of the attorney general were fired in retaliation for reporting allegations that he was using his office to accept bribes from Austin real estate developer and political donor Nate Paul, who employed a woman with whom Paxton was having an extramarital affair. Paxton has denied allegations that he accepted bribes or misused his office to help Paul. “It should shock all Texans that their chief law enforcement officer, Ken Paxton, admitted to violating the law, but that is exactly what happened in this case,” Tom Nesbitt, an attorney representing Brickman, and TJ Turner, an attorney representing Maxwell, said in a joint statement. Paxton said in a statement that the judge’s ruling is “ridiculous” and “not based on the facts or the law.” He said his office plans to appeal the ruling. The attorney general was probed by federal authorities after eight employees reported his office to the FBI in 2020 for bribery allegations. He agreed to settle the lawsuit for $3.3 million that would be paid by the legislature, but the state House rejected his request and conducted its own investigation. Paxton was impeached in the House in 2023 before he was later acquitted in the Senate. TEXAS AG PAXTON ACQUITTED ON ALL IMPEACHMENT CHARGES: ‘THE TRUTH PREVAILED’ In November, the state Supreme Court overturned a lower-court ruling that would have required Paxton to testify in the lawsuit. The U.S. Justice Department declined to pursue its investigation into Paxton in the final weeks of the Biden administration, according to The Associated Press. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Israel’s Netanyahu set for talks with Trump in Washington, DC

Israel’s Netanyahu set for talks with Trump in Washington, DC

US media reports citing unnamed US and Israeli officials say the meeting would take place at the White House on Monday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will travel to Washington, DC for talks with US President Donald Trump on a range of issues, including tariffs and Iran, Netanyahu’s office announced. The agenda for the trip will include Turkiye-Israel relations, “the Iranian threat”, Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza, tariffs and the “fight against the International Criminal Court,” the Israeli prime minister’s office said on Saturday. US media reports citing unnamed US and Israeli officials said the meeting would take place at the White House on Monday. Trump’s invitation came after a phone call on Thursday between the two leaders. Netanyahu raised the issue of tariffs during the conversation. Israel faces a 17-percent tariff under Trump’s so-called “reciprocal tariffs”. Israel recently moved to cancel remaining tariffs on US imports. The two countries’ free trade agreement, signed four decades ago, ensures that about 98 percent of US goods enter Israel tax-free. Netanyahu is currently visiting Hungary on his first trip to Europe since 2023 in defiance of the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) arrest warrant against him for alleged war crimes in Gaza. Advertisement Hungary’s government announced its withdrawal from the ICC just before Prime Minister Viktor Orban welcomed his Israeli counterpart. The United States is not a member of the court. Also on the agenda will be stalled efforts to reach a new agreement on a Gaza ceasefire deal and the return of Israeli captives held by Palestinian groups there. Israel renewed its attacks on Gaza last month, shattering a short-lived truce with the Palestinian group Hamas. Trump also has pressed Iran to enter talks on a new deal regarding its nuclear programme. Iran has said it would be willing to hold indirect talks. Western countries, led by the US, have, for decades, accused Tehran of seeking nuclear weapons. Iran rejects these allegations and maintains that its nuclear activities exist solely for civilian purposes. Adblock test (Why?)

Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,137

Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,137

Here’s where things stand on Sunday, April 6: Fighting Three women were wounded and several fires broke out in a Russian air attack on the southern Ukrainian region of Mykolaiv, according to Ukrainian officials. The attack also damaged several houses, Mykolaiv Governor Vitaliy Kim posted on the Telegram messaging app. Russia also launched air attacks on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, overnight, with the city’s air defence forces trying to repel the attack, according to officials. The latest strikes come a day after the Ukrainian Air Force reported shooting down 51 of 92 drones launched at the country by Russian forces overnight on Saturday. Russia’s Ministry of Defence has accused Ukraine of increasing its attacks on Russian energy infrastructure, including in the regions of Bryansk, Belgorod, Smolensk, Lipetsk and Voronezh, despite a United States-brokered moratorium. Ukraine dismissed the claims as “fake”. Ukrainian drones struck an explosive production facility in Russia’s Samara region, causing multiple explosions and fires, the Reuters news agency reported, citing a source in Ukraine’s security service. Advertisement Politics and diplomacy Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has expressed disappointment in the US Embassy’s “weak reaction” to a Russian missile strike that killed 18 people, including nine children, in his hometown of Kryvyi Rih. He noted that the US condemnation of the attack made no reference to Russia. Zelenskyy hailed “tangible progress” after meeting with British and French military chiefs in Kyiv to discuss the potential deployment of a multinational peacekeeping force to Ukraine. Adblock test (Why?)

Will Israel’s starvation policy work in Gaza?

Will Israel’s starvation policy work in Gaza?

There are growing warnings that food supplies in Gaza will soon run out. The humanitarian crisis in Gaza is getting worse by the day. The United Nations World Food Programme has warned it only has food stocks to last a few days. With limited supplies and no fuel, all bakeries have already closed across the Strip. That’s left Palestinians with no food, no home, and no sense of security. Israel has been blocking humanitarian aid from entering the Strip for more than a month. So, is famine now inevitable? Presenter: Adrian Finighan Guests: Ahmad al-Najjar – Resident in Gaza who’s been reporting on the war Sam Rose – Acting director of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in Gaza Martin Griffiths – Director of Mediation Group International Firas El Echi – Journalist, host of the Here’s Why podcast Adblock test (Why?)