Ken Paxton Moves To Hold Beto O’Rourke In Contempt For Redistricting Stunt
'runaway Democrat legislator'
Paxton unleashes fury on Soros-backed group allegedly funding runaway Texas Democrats
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) announced this week action against the groups allegedly responsible for assisting Texas state House Democrats who fled the state to avoid a redistricting vote.
On Thursday, Paxton's office issued a press release declaring that it had opened another investigation, this time into a George Soros-funded political action committee that allegedly funded the Democrats' abrupt exit.
'The Governor fully supports using all necessary tools to discover potential legal violations connected to their refusal to appear for a quorum, conduct business, and cast votes.'
Texas Majority PAC, founded in December 2022 by campaign staffers of former Rep. Beto O-Rourke (D-Texas), was accused of "attempting to subvert the will of Texas voters" by "play[ing] a coordinating role in assisting with illegal fundraising and potentially the bribery of Texas House members."
Paxton's office described TMP as an "extremist group" with "a large, radical donor base."
"If Texas lawmakers are bowing to the Soros Slush Fund rather than the will of the voters, Texans deserve to know. Getting financial payouts under the table to abandon your legislative duties is bribery," Paxton said. "Texas Majority PAC's actions seem to indicate that it may be using its Soros-funded resources to break the law and fund the illegal abandonment of public office. If that's the case as determined by this investigation, there will be a heavy price to pay."
Earlier this week, Paxton opened an investigation into O'Rourke's Powered by People, accusing the organization of similar alleged "unlawful activity" regarding the House Democrats.
RELATED: Texas AG lays out 3 options for cowardly Democrats who fled redistricting vote
According to Paxton's office, Powered by People potentially operated "an illegal financial influence scheme to bribe runaway Democrats who fled Texas to break quorum."
The office's press release on the matter claimed that the group may have "violated bribery laws," as well as laws "governing campaign or officeholder contributions and expenditures, coercion of a public servant, and abuse of office."
Paxton issued a request to examine both TMP and Powered by People, which requires the groups to provide his office with documents related to the investigations.
O'Rourke responded to Paxton's probe into Powered by People in a post on social media, stating, "The guy impeached for bribery is going after the folks trying to stop the theft of five Congressional seats."
He added, "Let's stop these thugs before they steal our country."
Paxton was acquitted of all 16 articles of impeachment in 2023.
RELATED: Greg Abbott threatens to ARREST rogue Texas Democrats
Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) has also taken a firm stance against the Democratic House members, advocating for the potential arrest of absentee representatives and asking the state's supreme court to remove those who have abandoned their offices.
The governor's press secretary, Andrew Mahaleris, told Blaze News, "Governor Abbott directed the Texas Rangers to investigate delinquent Texas House Democrats on potential violations of Texas law, including bribery. The Governor fully supports using all necessary tools to discover potential legal violations connected to their refusal to appear for a quorum, conduct business, and cast votes."
Neither TMP nor Powered by People responded to a request for comment.
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FBI to locate 'derelict' Democrats who fled Texas, GOP senator says
While Democratic lawmakers dig their heels in over a redistricting vote, the Trump administration is working to rein them in.
The FBI has agreed to work alongside Texas law enforcement to locate the dozens of Democrat state legislators who fled the Lone Star State, according to Republican U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (Texas).
'In Texas, there are consequences for your actions.'
In recent days, Texas Democrats have scattered across the United States in order to avoid a vote on redistricting congressional districts. Cornyn said these "rogue legislators" are ultimately avoiding their "constitutional duties," prompting a federal response.
"I am proud to announce that Director Kash Patel has approved my request for the FBI to assist state and local law enforcement in locating runaway Texas House Democrats," Cornyn said in a statement Thursday.
RELATED: Texas AG lays out 3 options for cowardly Democrats who fled redistricting vote
"I thank President Trump and Director Patel for supporting and swiftly acting on my call for the federal government to hold these supposed lawmakers accountable for fleeing Texas," Cornyn added. "We cannot allow these rogue legislators to avoid their constitutional responsibilities."
Blaze News reached out to the FBI, but the bureau ultimately declined to comment.
RELATED: Paxton launches investigation into O'Rourke group over alleged illegal funding of fleeing Dems
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas also weighed in, confirming that the FBI will be working alongside law enforcement to track down the "derelict Democrats."
"Texas DPS and the FBI are tracking down the derelict Democrats," Abbott said Thursday in a post on X. "They will be taken directly to the Texas Capitol. Those who received benefits for skipping a vote face removal from office and potential bribery charges. In Texas, there are consequences for your actions."
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Texas AG lays out 3 options for cowardly Democrats who fled redistricting vote
In a bold move, some Texas Democratic state representatives have fled the state in order to block a vote on a congressional map that would redraw Texas voting districts to create five more areas likely to elect Republicans. Despite Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott's threats of arrests and removal from office, all but two Democrats have remained in other states, specifically Illinois, New York, and Massachusetts, claiming that the redistricting vote is full of Republican gerrymandering.
To find out what can be done about the Texas Democrats' refusal to return for the redistricting vote, Glenn Beck invited Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) to “The Glenn Beck Program.”
“It's pretty ironic that they're going to Illinois, New York, and Massachusetts – three of the most liberal states and some of the most gerrymandered states in the country,” says Paxton.
His preference would have been for Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows (R) to “shut the doors” and force a vote. “Once the doors are locked, you can't get out, and you spend the night there, and you vote,” Paxton tells Glenn.
But now that that ship has sailed, Texas is forced to choose from inferior options.
Option one is “arrest them,” but this poses complications as Texas is “not going to get help from jurisdictions like Illinois [or] Boston.”
“So arresting them is not a likely scenario until they come back,” says Paxton.
Option two, which Paxton says has proved successful in the past, is to “[wait] them out.”
“Ultimately, many of them have to come back. They have jobs, they have families. They're not going to live in Illinois,” he says.
“So they come back, and we vote, and every time we've ultimately been successful.”
Option three is to employ something called quo warranto, which is a legal action used to challenge someone's right to hold a public office or position.
“It might be a way to take existing members out of their positions if they fail to show up to perform their duties,” says Paxton.
“[If] you take them out of the positions ... then there has to be a special election, so you can't go right to vote, right?” asks Glenn.
Paxton confirms that this would likely delay voting, as the quorum – the minimum number of people needed to be present for a vote to take place – would change.
There’s a chance Gov. Abbott, however, could make special appointments to fill the vacant seats until a special election is arranged, says Paxton.
“It's definitely not a fast process, although we're trying to figure out a way to fast-track it,” he tells Glenn.
“Either way, in the end, we know how this is going to turn out because Governor Abbott is not going to back down, and he'll just keep calling them back until they show up.”
To hear more of the conversation, watch the full interview above.
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'Just a waiting game': AG Paxton tells Glenn Beck what fate awaits absentee Texas Democrats
Texas House Democrats fled to Illinois and other blue states on Sunday in an effort to thwart the people's will and to block the passage of a redistricting plan that would help the GOP gain five more congressional pickup opportunities ahead of the midterm elections.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) gave the "derelict Democrat House members" an ultimatum: Return to Texas and show up at work by 3:00 p.m. on Monday or face possible removal.
The absentee legislators, evidently keen to test their luck, refused to show up.
Attorney General Ken Paxton told Blaze Media co-founder Glenn Beck on Tuesday that the Texas Democrats are playing a "waiting game" that they will ultimately lose.
"I honestly would have locked them up when they were in the House. [The] Texas House speaker could have shut the doors and kept everybody in," said Paxton. "We did that back in 2003, and once the doors are locked, you can't get out, and you can spend the night there, and you vote."
Paxton noted that by failing to lock the lawmakers in for the vote on the redistricting plan, "they've let the cat out of the bag. The cat's gone. So now you need to arrest them, which you're not going to get help from jurisdictions like Illinois, Boston, or New York."
RELATED: Abbott orders arrests of 'derelict' Democrats after they flout his deadline
After Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows (R) announced Monday afternoon that a "quorum is not present," the Texas House passed a motion to issue arrest warrants for the Democrats who abandoned their posts.
Abbott subsequently announced that he had ordered the Texas Department of Public Safety to "locate, arrest, and return to the House chamber any member who has abandoned their duty to Texans."
Paxton suggested that while it is unlikely the absentee legislators will be arrested out of state, they'll inevitably "have to come back. They have jobs; they have families. They're not going to live in Illinois. It's cold up there. And New York's cold. Boston's cold. So they come back and we vote."
'Governor Abbott is not going to back down.'
While some Texas Democrats could face felony charges for allegedly soliciting funds to break quorum and evade the associated $500-per-day fine — Abbott ordered the Texas Rangers to investigate the delinquent Democrats for "potential" violations of Texas law, including bribery — the civil arrests awaiting the absentee legislators will not lead to jail time.
"It's not a prison sentence," Paxton told Beck. "I mean, unless you consider being on the Texas House floor, which I often did, a prison sentence. But the doors are shut, and you're stuck with all those people."
Beck pressed Paxton about the governor's threat of removal, whereby a district court could apparently determine that a legislator has forfeited office due to abandonment, then remove the legislator from office, thereby creating a vacancy.
RELATED: Democrat offers bizarre spin on imploding support for his party — and he's getting amazing backlash
The Texas attorney general, whose 2021 opinion was the cited basis of Abbott's plan, noted that removals would change the threshold of present bodies necessary for a quorum, possibly speeding things along, and that Abbott might be able to appoint replacements for the removed legislators, "at least until there's a special election."
As with the arrests, the removal plan does not appear to be a particularly swift remedy.
"It's definitely not a fast process, although we're trying to figure out a way to fast-track it so that we can get an answer sooner rather than later," said Paxton. "Otherwise, it's just a waiting game."
"In the end, we know how it's going to turn out," added Paxton, "because Governor Abbott is not going to back down, and he'll just keep calling them back until they show up."
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Abbott orders arrests of 'derelict' Democrats after they flout his deadline
Repeating a strategy from their 2021 playbook, scores of Texas House Democrats fled the Lone Star State on Sunday — a decision they may come to regret.
The last time that they abandoned their posts en masse, Texas House Democrats were attempting to prevent the passage of legislation that would improve election integrity. This time around, the legislators are desperately trying to block a redistricting plan that would help the GOP gain five more congressional pickup opportunities ahead of the midterm elections.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) indicated that unless the "derelict Democrat House members" returned to Texas and showed up when the House reconvened at 3:00 p.m. on Monday, they would be removed from office.
Abbott noted further that the absentee legislators could face felony charges if they sought and/or took money to avoid the vote and pay down their $500-per-day fine for breaking the quorum.
Now that the deadline has passed and Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows (R) announced Monday afternoon that a "quorum is not present," Abbott quickly made clear that there would be real consequences.
The eponymous host of BlazeTV's "Sara Gonzales Unfiltered" told Blaze News, "Governor Abbott must hold these lawless Democrats accountable. Our leadership cannot allow Democrats to dictate the direction of the state when the Texans voted for a clear Republican majority."
RELATED: Gov. Abbott threatens to remove from office 'derelict' Democrats who abdicated their duties
"Governor Abbott and Speaker of the House Dustin Burrows face what may be the most defining moment of their careers today," continued Gonzales. "Vacate the seats, issue arrest warrants, and charge those soliciting donations to evade fines with felonies. Set a precedent that this can never happen again."
"It is imperative that Texas leads on this," added the BlazeTV host.
Blaze Media co-founder Glenn Beck noted that he hopes, "if a court approves it, that Governor Abbott replaces every one of them."
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When making his threat on Sunday, Abbott referred to an August 2021 advisory opinion from Attorney General Ken Paxton, which states that "through a quo warranto action, a district court may determine that a legislator has forfeited his or her office due to abandonment and can remove the legislator from office, thereby creating a vacancy."
While uncertain about the speediness and workability of the removal proposal, Paxton appeared confident on Monday that state Republicans would ultimately prevail with the help of Abbott's resolve, Democrat arrests, and time.
RELATED: Democrat offers bizarre spin on imploding support for his party — and he's getting amazing backlash
"Now that they've let them out of the state, it's going to take a little longer," Paxton told Benny Johnson, "but I am very optimistic if the governor — and I believe the governor will have resolve — if keeps calling them back, it's going to be a challenge for all 51 of them to stay out of the state for the rest of their lives."
After the Monday deadline, Paxton stated, "Instead of showing up to work and doing the jobs they were elected to do, House Democrat members have fled the state in a cowardly desertion of their responsibilities as elected officials. These jet-setting runaways abandoned Texas, abdicated their duties in the House, and sacrificed their constituents for a publicity stunt."
"I am prepared to do everything in my power to hold them accountable because these liberal lawmakers are not above the law," continued Paxton. "It's imperative that they be swiftly arrested, punished, and face the full force of the law for turning their backs on the people of Texas."
The Texas House passed a motion Monday to issue arrest warrants for the Democrats who abandoned their posts.
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House Democrats who broke quorum can be dragged into the state legislature thanks to a 2021 Texas Supreme Court ruling.
After the House issued warrants to compel members back to the chamber, Abbott announced that he had ordered the Texas Department of Public Safety to "locate, arrest, and return to the House chamber any member who has abandoned their duty to Texans."
"This order will remain in effect until all missing Democrat House members are accounted for and brought to the Texas Capitol," added the governor.
Aaron Reitz, a Republican candidate for Texas attorney general and former Trump Department of Justice official, told Blaze News, "Governor Abbott has made clear what needs to happen. Democrats should return to work and accept that Texas will have these maps — whether the Left likes it or not. Their resistance is futile."
Reitz took aim at the Democrat legislators' rhetoric surrounding their collective abdication of duty, noting, "Democrats are accusing Republicans of anti-democratic behavior to distract from their own. This isn’t a power-grab — these new districts more accurately reflect the political preferences and geographic realities of Texas voters and comply with current court rulings."
"The real issue for Democrats is that these maps ruin their plan to seize a House majority in 2026," continued Reitz. "That’s why they’re resorting to political stunts instead of doing their jobs."
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