The outside lawyers’ contracts put a price tag
on the fallout from Paxton’s deputies accusing
him of crimes in the service of a wealthy donor
who employs a woman with whom the attorney
general allegedly had an extramarital affair. It
remains to be seen how much taxpayers will
ultimately shell out under the complex deals.
“At the time I left, there was no intention of
hiring outside counsel,” Jeff Mateer, Paxton’s
former top lieutenant who resigned in October,
told the press.
Mateer said former Deputy Attorney General
Darren McCarty was leading the investigation into
Google and they intended to assemble a trial team
from among the office’s thousands of employees.
“Darren was more than able to do it,” Mateer said.
Through public records requests, the AP
obtained contracts Paxton signed last month
with two big-name law firms and a letter
informing lawmakers of them. The letter was
sent a day before the contracts were signed.
“The legal services cannot be adequately
performed by the attorneys and supporting
personnel,” of the attorney general’s office,
Paxton wrote.
The attorney general has denied any
wrongdoing. In response to questions for this
story, Kayleigh Date, spokeswoman for Paxton’s
office, said “the contract speaks for itself.”
Paxton hired the firms as Texas residents
are footing the bill for his defense against a
whistleblower lawsuit brought by his former
employees. The public may also end up on the
hook for legal costs from the FBI’s investigation
of Texas’ top lawman.
Image: Tony Gutierrez