Judge blocks Beto O'Rourke from fundraising for Texas Dems who fled state amid redistricting effort

A Texas district judge has issued a temporary restraining order blocking Robert Francis "Beto" O’Rourke from fundraising for the Texas Democrats who fled the state in order to stall a vote on a new congressional district map in the state. 

The Friday evening order from Tarrant County District Judge Megan Fahey stated, "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: (1) Texas Penal Code,§ 36.01(3); (2) Texas Elections Code, § 253.035; (3) Rule 5, § 3 of the House Rules of Procedure; and ( 4) Tex. Pen. Code §§ 36.08, 36.10."

"Consumers 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," the order continued. 

Fahey stated in the order that the fundraising "constitutes false, misleading, or deceptive acts under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, Tex. Bus. & Com. Code §§ 17.46(a), (b)(2), (b)(5), (b)(7), and (b)(24) because Defendants are raising and utilizing political contributions from Texas consumers to pay for the personal expenses of Texas legislators, in violation of Texas law."

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton had sued O’Rourke and his organization, Powered by People, earlier in the day, alleging "unlawful fundraising activity, including potentially operating a misleading financial-influence scheme to fund runaway Democrats who fled Texas to break quorum," per a press release.

Paxton said at the time, "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. 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."

Paxton said that O’Rourke and his organization had "intentionally misled" donors into funding the Texas Democrats who fled the state’s 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," the press release stated. 

In response to the order, Paxton said, "The Beto Bribe buyouts that were bankrolling the runaway Democrats have been officially stopped. 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."