Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) over the weekend that his office secured a temporary restraining order against former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D) and his organization, Powered by People.
The restraining order prevents what Attorney General Paxton described as “unlawful fundraising activity” in connection with Democratic legislators who left Texas to block a quorum. A Texas district court granted the order just hours after the attorney general filed suit, pausing all disputed fundraising and expenditures while litigation proceeds.
“The Beto Bribe buyouts that were bankrolling the runaway Democrats have been officially stopped,” Attorney General Paxton said in a statement, referring to the Texas Democrat by Robert, his birth name, instead of his nickname “Beto.”
“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,” he added.
According to the lawsuit, Rep. O’Rourke and Powered by People allegedly misled donors by advertising contributions as political fundraising while intending to use the money for personal expenses of Democratic lawmakers who fled the state in 2021 to deny a quorum during a special legislative session.
Attorney General Paxton’s office claims the group “knowingly blurred the distinction” between political and personal uses of funds, which he argues violates Texas laws against false, misleading, and deceptive acts.
Rep. O’Rourke has responded to the legal ordeal, writing on social media that “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.”
The Texas Democrat highlighted that Powered by People has worked on behalf of Texans, and “now Paxton’s filed a restraining order to try to take us out of the fight.”
“He wants to stop us from fighting Trump’s attempt to steal the five congressional seats he needs to hang on to power. But I’m not going anywhere,” he vowed.
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