In May, moments after the Texas House voted to impeach state Attorney General Ken Paxton, his office released an "outside" report produced by a private law firm that asserted his innocence against some of the allegations levied against him.

What Paxton and his office did not say: The law firm that produced the report, Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith, has been paid more than $500,000 in public money to defend him against whistleblowers who sued the agency for wrongful termination because they went to the FBI with allegations of corruption.

The outside firm never interviewed Paxton or key agency leaders who attorneys acknowledged could have provided useful information. Nevertheless, findings from the 56-page report conclude that the firings were likely lawful.

Neither Paxton's office nor a lawyer at Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith returned messages from the American-Statesman for comment to explain how they handled the apparent conflict or why Paxton wasn't interviewed.