Judge prevents Beto group from using funds to support quorum breakers
AUSTIN (Nexstar) — In the first court victory against the Democratic quorum break, the Tarrant County District Court placed a temporary restraining order against Beto O'Rourke and his organization Powered by People.
"The Court issues this Temporary Restraining Order, immediately restraining Defendants from the following: Using political funds for the improper, unlawful, and non-political purposes of (1)
funding out-of-state travel, hotel, or dining accommodations or services to
unexcused Texas legislators during any special legislative session called by the
Texas Governor, or (2) funding payments of fines provided by Texas House rules
for unexcused legislative absences," the decision, signed by Judge Megan Fahey, said. It also prevents Powered by People and O'Rourke from raising more funds for the quorum-breaking efforts and from moving any funds outside of the state.
“The Beto Bribe buyouts that were bankrolling the runaway Democrats have been officially stopped,” said Attorney General Ken Paxton. “People like [O'Rourke] believe Texas can be bought. Today, I stopped his deceptive financial influence scheme that attempted to deceive donors and subvert our constitutional process. They told me to ‘come and take it,’ so I did.”
"They want to make examples out of those who fight so that others won't," Beto said in a statement. "Paxton is trying to shut down Powered by People, one of the largest voter registration organizations in the country, because our volunteers fight for voting rights and free elections… the kind of work that threatens the hold that Paxton, Trump, and Abbott have on power in Texas."
A source familiar with the quorum breakers aren't especially worried about the temporary restraining order against O'Rourke and his team. They say money coming in small amounts from individual donors is helping in the interim.
Fahey ordered a hearing for 10 a.m. on Tuesday to discuss the issue further.
Wu responds to Abbott; other lawmakers weigh in
On Friday, State Rep. Gene Wu, D-Houston, filed his official response to Gov. Greg Abbott's attempt to have the Texas Supreme Court remove him from office.
"The Governor petitions this court to have five justices do what our Constitution grants only two-thirds of the House of Representatives the power to do: expel Representative Wu," the filing opens.
On Friday, Wu talked to Nexstar about his initial reactions to the lawsuit.
"I laughed out loud when I saw the suit, because this is, it's, frankly, it's embarrassing," Wu said. "I get maybe he's just putting on a political show, trying to scare us, try to show his primary voters what a bad a** he is. But to anybody who's an attorney, who knows what the law is, people are falling out of their chairs laughing."
In addition to Wu's response, State Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso, and State Rep. Mary Gonzalez, D-El Paso, filed a letter with the Supreme Court arguing in Wu's favor.
"What would be a constitutional crisis is this Court un-electing nearly every
member of the minority party over lawfully resisting the majority," the pair wrote. "This legislative battle began because legislators wanted to pick their voters. This legal battle
would cut voters out entirely and allow a partisan governor to pick his legislators. That puts us on the brink of naked authoritarianism. This Court should take no part in hurtling us over that edge into the endless darkness below."
On the opposing side, State Rep. Mitch Little, R-Carrollton, and State Rep. Briscoe Cain, R-Deer Park, filed a letter with the court to support Abbott's argument.
"This is an area of law that can be very confusing. It's confusing even lawyers," Little said. "There's some questions still about who has the authority and jurisdiction to bring these vacature petitions, and our hope is to contribute to that discussion with the Texas Supreme Court."
Cain admitted the court has a difficult decision.
"I don't expect them to declare the seat vacant today," Cain said. "After all, essentially it does still kind of challenge what the sovereign people have elected, so there's gotta be some kind of balance. But certainly, I think at some point the goal is to question whether that person's planning to come back. Is this going to be too prolonged? Have they essentially abandoned their district or abandoned the state?"
Paxton decides to up the ante
While Abbott only filed to declare Wu's seat vacant, Paxton filed a new petition with the Texas Supreme Court on Friday to vacate 13 Democratic seats.
Paxton targeted Wu along with:
- State Rep. Ron Reynolds, D-Missouri City
- State Rep. James Talarico, D-Austin
- State Rep. Vikki Goodwin, D-Austin
- State Rep. Lulu Flores, D-Austin
- State Rep. Gina Hinojosa, D-Austin
- State Rep. Mihaela Plesa, D-Plano
- State Rep. Suleman Lalani, D-Sugar Land
- State Rep. John Bucy III, D-Austin
- State Rep. Chris Turner, D-Arlington
- State Rep. Ana-Maria Ramos, D-Richardson
- State Rep. Christina Morales, D-Houston
- State Rep. Jessica Gonzalez, D-Dallas
“The rogue Democrat legislators who fled the state have abandoned their duties, leaving their seats vacant,” said Paxton. “These cowards deliberately sabotaged the constitutional process and violated the oath they swore to uphold. Their out-of-state rebellion cannot go unchecked, and the business of Texas must go on. I have asked the Texas Supreme Court to declare what has been clear from the beginning: that the runaway members have officially vacated their offices in the Texas House.”
Bucy responded quickly.
"It’s now more clear than ever that Republicans are scared. They’re scared of the voters. They’re scared of being held accountable. And they’re scared that Texas Democrats are united in our resolve to defeat Trump’s power grab and protect our democracy, our constitution, and our country," he said. "If defending democracy is a crime, I’m proud to be an outlaw.”
While Wu said he's confident the facts of the case are on his side, he has some reservations about the makeup of the all-Republican Texas Supreme Court, with six of the nine justices having been appointed by Abbott.
"The only real fear in this [is] that the level of corruption has not only spread from the White House into the state house, but is now spread into our courthouses as well," Wu said. "I'm afraid that [Abbott] might be calling them at night and saying, 'Hey, remember who gave you your your job, right?' You need to take care of this."