The Texas Supreme Court on Tuesday temporarily blocked a scheduled deposition for Attorney General Ken Paxton in the whistleblower case at the center of his impeachment.
Paxton’s deposition was scheduled for Thursday. But on Tuesday the all-Republican court issued an order putting the deposition on hold and giving the parties until Feb. 29 to respond.
The high court’s ruling came hours after former President Donald Trump called on the justices to stop the whistleblower case.
“Enough time and money has been wasted forcing Texas Attorney General, Ken Paxton, to defend himself, instead of defending our broken Southern border,” Trump posted Tuesday morning on Truth Social.
Paxton didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Earlier this month, Paxton announced his team was not going to continue contesting the lawsuit filed by four former top deputies who were fired after they reported Paxton to the FBI for alleged corruption and misuse of public office.
Paxton has said the strategy would effectively end the case, but the whistleblowers have continued to push for his deposition.
In a statement, whistleblower attorneys Tom Nesbitt and TJ Turner 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.”
Paxton was acquitted of all 16 impeachment charges in September. Most of the articles of impeachment were related to the allegations made by the whistleblowers.
He has denied any wrongdoing.
