Texas Democrats who fled the state to hinder redistricting proceedings may face felony bribery charges, Republican Governor Greg Abbott said in an interview with Fox News Digital.
As some AWOL Democrats reportedly plan to return in time for a second special legislative session to begin next week, Abbott, who previously served as the state’s attorney general and sat on the state supreme court, told Fox News that Texas is investigating whether they violated anti-bribery laws by accepting money to break quorum.
“There had been some identification of some people paying for it,” Abbott explained. “I’ve got to tell you, it raises a serious legal question for these officeholders, and that is, they were promised money if they did break quorum. That would be a bribe that could lead to a felony charge.”
Abbott revealed that Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is investigating the possibility of felony bribery charges against the Democratic lawmakers.
“That also is something that the Texas attorney general is investigating and actually even got a temporary injunction from a court stopping any more money being given to these House members because of the potential bribe consequences,” the governor explained.
Last Friday, Tarrant County District Judge Megan Fahey issued a temporary restraining order against Robert Francis “Beto” O’Rourke and his group, Powered by People, for alleged “unlawful fundraising practices” related to efforts to support Texas Democrats who fled the state, including funding for air travel, lodging, logistics, and daily fines.
Fahey’s decision prohibits O’Rourke and his supporters from continuing to fundraise or offer financial assistance to the fleeing Texas Democrats.
In the order, Fahey wrote that “defendants have and will continue to engage in unlawful fundraising practices and utilization of political funds in a manner that either directly violates or causes Texas Democratic Legislators to violate [the law]” and that contributors to the group “have and continue to suffer irreparable harm through these unlawful acts because they are making political contributions that are being used to fund personal expenses and violate state law.”
In light of this, Abbott warned that “these House numbers are going to be facing not just the challenges of having to come back in deal with the consequences of their failure to be here but also deal with potential bribery charges against them.”
On Tuesday, the Texas Senate passed the redistricting package that has Democrats in uproar. If approved by both chambers of the Texas legislature and signed into law by Abbott, Texas’ new districting design will give Republicans an estimated five more seats in Congress. Now, just the rogue House Democrats stand in the way.
Abbott said he has Texas law enforcement “scouring the streets of Texas right now to identify whether or not there are any Democrats remaining in the state of Texas. If they are, they will be arrested and taken to the Texas Capitol to try to make quorum.”
“There are 88 Republicans who are ready and able to work. We need 12 Democrats to show up. So, we’re looking for 12 Democrats in the state of Texas, or if they’re all out of state, we’re looking to identify them and as you point out, using federal officials and others to assist us in that effort,” he said.
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On Monday, California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom urged President Donald Trump to “call Greg Abbott and tell him to stand down.”
Abbott, on the other hand, has stated that similar attacks from Democrats do not bother him.
“Listen, these Democrats in other states are just completely out of control,” he told Fox News Digital. “They’ve been engaged in gerrymandering for decades in California, Illinois, New York, and elsewhere, and what they have lost touch with is the people.”
He pointed out that Texas’ redistricting plans are within legal parameters, explaining, “What’s happened here is that the law changed in the state of Texas last year that authorized the state to be able to redraw these lines because of a legal change that doesn’t require coalition districts.”
“So, we’re able to draw these districts in way in which representatives are going to be lining up with the values of voters of the state of Texas,” he said, adding, “What we’re doing in our state is to make sure that we are going to have the districts represented by people who actually represent these voters.”