Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has scored a major courtroom victory against failed Senate and presidential candidate Robert Francis “Beto” O’Rourke and his far-left political machine, Powered by People.
The Gateway Pundit reported earlier that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a bombshell lawsuit against Beto O’Rourke and his activist group Powered by People, accusing them of running an unlawful, deceptive fundraising operation designed to bankroll Texas House Democrats who fled the state to break quorum, all while pocketing donations for personal luxuries.
“Democrat runaways are likely accepting Beto Bribes to underwrite their jet-setting sideshow in far-flung places and misleadingly raising political funds to pay for personal expenses,” said Attorney General Paxton.
“This out-of-state, cowardly cabal is abandoning their constitutional duties. I will not allow failed political has-beens to buy off Texas elected officials. I’ll see you in court, Beto.”
On Thursday, a Texas district court issued a temporary restraining order against O’Rourke and Powered by People, stopping all unlawful fundraising and expenditures while Paxton’s lawsuit moves forward.
According to the order, the court found the conduct amounted to “false, misleading, or deceptive acts” under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act and violated multiple state laws, including the Texas Penal Code and Election Code.
The judge noted that Texas consumers were misled into donating to what they believed was a political cause, only for their money to fund hotels, dining, and travel for absentee lawmakers shirking their constitutional duties.
The TRO specifically bars O’Rourke and Powered by People from:
- Using political funds to pay for out-of-state travel, hotels, or meals for unexcused legislators during a special session.
- Paying fines levied against absent lawmakers.
- Raising funds for any non-political purposes through ActBlue or similar platforms.
- Offering travel, lodging, or meals to induce legislators to violate their duties.
- Removing funds or property from Texas during the lawsuit.
According to the press release:
Attorney General Ken Paxton secured a major victory against Robert Francis O’Rourke and his radical organization, Powered by People, by stopping continued unlawful fundraising activity, including potentially operating a misleading financial-influence scheme to fund runaway Democrats who fled Texas to break quorum.
A Texas district court has granted a temporary restraining order, halting all unlawful expenditures and fundraising while the litigation continues. This victory comes just a few hours after filing the initial lawsuit.
“The Beto Bribe buyouts that were bankrolling the runaway Democrats have been officially stopped,” said Attorney General Paxton. “People like Robert 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.”
Earlier today, Attorney General Paxton sued O’Rourke and Powered by People for intentionally misleading donors to fund runaway Democrats’ personal expenses, despite advertising it as political fundraising. By knowingly blurring the distinction, O’Rourke and Powered by People sought to take advantage of uninformed donors by directing them to explicitly political fundraising platforms, all while intending to use the funds for purposes they understood to be constituted as personal expenditures. Texas law prohibits organizations from engaging in false, misleading, and deceptive acts, such as the fundraising scheme operated by O’Rourke and Powered by People.
In addition to successfully stopping the “Beto Bribes,” Attorney General Paxton filed a historic lawsuit against 13 of the runaway Democrats, asking the Texas Supreme Court to hold that they vacated their offices by abandoning Texas. Further, he has opened an investigation into a Soros-funded group for also underwriting the quorum break and moves to enforce the Quorum Warrants in Illinois.
To read the restraining order, click here.
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