Former Paxton employees accuse top deputy of witness tampering during impeachment
UNITED STATES - JULY 26: Brent Webster, first assistant attorney general of Texas, participates in a discussion titled Make the Greatest Economy in the World Work for All Americans, during the America First Policy Institute's America First Agenda Sum
AUSTIN, Texas - Two former employees of Attorney General Ken Paxton's office claim allegations of harassment were made up by Paxton's top deputy in an attempt to negatively impact the former employees' new firm.
Last month, a former employee of the attorney general's office filed a federal lawsuit claiming she was repeatedly harassed by former solicitor general Judd Stone and former assistant attorney general Chris Hilton after they all left the attorney general's office in order to represent Paxton during his 2023 impeachment trial.
Stone and Hilton refuted those claims in a new lawsuit filed against First Assistant Attorney General Brent Webster.
They claim Webster tampered with witnesses during the impeachment trial and, after a complaint was filed by Stone and Hilton with the State Bar of Texas, Webster fabricated the letter in "retaliation" against them.
Witness tampering
In a letter sent to the State Bar, Stone and Hilton claim Webster "tried to meddle" with their representation of Paxton during the impeachment trial by demanding the disclosure of confidential information.
They claim Webster was also attempting to tamper with possible witnesses by encouraging them to leave the state to avoid disclosing "information harmful to Webster."
According to Stone and Hilton, Webster threatened to fire employees at the attorney general's office if they testified against Paxton.
Paxton was eventually acquitted by the Texas Senate in the political trial.
After the impeachment trial, Stone and Hilton claim they were still targeted by Webster, claiming he would use his position at the attorney general's office to convince potential clients to not use Stone and Hilton.
The actions led the two former employees to seek records that Webster was using his office for personal gains, a move they say prompted Webster to falsify an email about why the pair had left the agency.
"Webster then did whatever he could to embarrass Stone and Hilton and tarnish their reputations as he desperately clings to power," court documents state.
Sexual harassment lawsuit
The backstory:
Stone and Hilton said the claims they were pushed out of the attorney general's office were fabricated after they had already left the agency.
The filing contained an email written by Webster that said Stone had admitted to sexually harassing other employees. The email also claimed that Stone had made several threats to other people about Webster.
What they're saying:
Stone and Hilton said that email was written long after the pair had started their own law firm.
"Stone and Hilton categorically deny any allegations of sexual harassment, and they deny that they ever admitted to any sexual harassment," court documents state. "Webster’s false allegations are repulsive."
Both lawsuits claim that Paxton supported their position. Webster claims Paxton was immediately in support of firing Stone and Hilton, while they claim was against releasing Webster's email publicly.
The attempt to block the release of the email, they said, is what prompted former OAG employee Jordan Eskew to file her lawsuit at the insistence of Webster.
The Source: Information about Webster's alleged witness tampering comes from a complaint filed with the State Bar of Texas. Claims that an email written by Webster was fabricated come from court documents filed in the Western District of Texas. Information on a lawsuit filed by Jordan Eskew against Stone and Hilton comes from previous FOX 7 reporting.