Governor Greg Abbott (R) ordered Texas Rangers to begin an investigation into the House Democrats who fled the state to break quorum over the proposed congressional redistricting. He ordered the state’s top law enforcement agency to investigate “potential violations of Texas law.”
“Any Democrat who solicited or accepted funds to break quorum may have violated bribery laws,” Abbott wrote in a post on social media. “Texas Rangers must quickly send any findings to the appropriate prosecutors.”
“Today, I ordered the Texas Rangers to immediately investigate fleeing Texas House Democrats for potential bribery and any other potential legal violations connected to their refusal to appear for a quorum, conduct business, and cast votes,” Governor Abbott said in a statement provided to Breitbart. “That investigation should extend to anyone who aided or abetted such potential crimes.”
The governor’s office stated that “many absentee Texas House Democrats have solicited or received funds to evade conducting legislative business and casting votes. Under the Texas Penal Code, any of those Democrats who solicit, accept, or agree to accept such funds to assist in the violation of legislative duties or for purposes of skipping a vote may have violated bribery laws.”
“Also, it could be a bribery violation for any other person who offers, provides, or agrees to provide such funds to fleeing Democrat House members,” Abbott’s office stated.
Texas Penal Code 36.02 states:
Sec. 36.02. BRIBERY. (a) A person commits an offense if he intentionally or knowingly offers, confers, or agrees to confer on another, or solicits, accepts, or agrees to accept from another:
(1) any benefit as consideration for the recipient’s decision, opinion, recommendation, vote, or other exercise of discretion as a public servant, party official, or voter;
(2) any benefit as consideration for the recipient’s decision, vote, recommendation, or other exercise of official discretion in a judicial or administrative proceeding;
(3) any benefit as consideration for a violation of a duty imposed by law on a public servant or party official; or
(4) any benefit that is a political contribution as defined by Title 15, Election Code, or that is an expenditure made and reported in accordance with Chapter 305, Government Code, if the benefit was offered, conferred, solicited, accepted, or agreed to pursuant to an express agreement to take or withhold a specific exercise of official discretion if such exercise of official discretion would not have been taken or withheld but for the benefit; notwithstanding any rule of evidence or jury instruction allowing factual inferences in the absence of certain evidence, direct evidence of the express agreement shall be required in any prosecution under this subdivision.
Chairman Wu appears to have made just such a solicitation Sunday night when he posted on X, “Please support our efforts. Donate to @TexasHDC!”
“It seems to me that the only way some of the fleeing Democrats can avoid bribery charges is to not break quorum,” Abbott wrote in a social media post on Sunday.
On Monday, Abbott ordered the Texas Rangers to “quickly complete the investigation and to prepare the paperwork to be sent to the appropriate prosecutors.”
Bob Price is the Breitbart Texas-Border team’s associate editor and senior news contributor. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 Houston’s What’s Your Point? Sunday morning talk show. He is a U.S. Air Force veteran and serves as president of Blue Wonder Gun Care Products.
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