Two former senior lawyers in the Texas attorney general’s office have filed a federal lawsuit and a State Bar of Texas complaint accusing First Assistant Attorney General Brent Webster of obstructing justice and tampering with witnesses during Ken Paxton’s 2023 impeachment trial. Ex-solicitor general Judd Stone and former litigation chief Chris Hilton allege that Webster urged potential witnesses to leave the state or tailor their testimony to aid Paxton’s defence and threatened staff with dismissal if they testified unfavourably. The filings also say Webster fabricated sexual-harassment accusations against the two men, retaliated when they sought public records about his conduct and improperly used state resources for personal gain. Webster has not commented on the new claims. He previously featured in a separate lawsuit brought last month by attorney-general’s-office employee Jordan Eskew, who alleges Stone harassed her and that Hilton failed to act. Stone and Hilton deny wrongdoing and contend Webster encouraged Eskew’s suit as part of a vendetta, creating duelling court cases that could drag on well into next year’s campaign season. The dispute re-opens questions about Paxton’s management of the agency just as he mounts a Republican primary challenge to U.S. Senator John Cornyn. Although Paxton was acquitted by the Texas Senate in 2023, the fresh accusations against his top deputy threaten to complicate his bid by reviving scrutiny of the impeachment episode and internal turmoil at the office he still leads.