00:00Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton wants Illinois to honor arrest warrants for the more than 50 Democrats who fled the state.
00:07He's also opening an investigation into two progressive political groups he claims could be funding the Democrats' stay in Chicago.
00:15This all comes as Texas Republicans try to get a 100-person quorum in the House of Representatives so they can vote on a newly drawn congressional map.
00:24Here are the details.
00:25The Texas House voted to issue civil arrest warrants for the Democrats who fled.
00:32Paxton argued in a court briefing that Illinois has a duty to respect the warrants under the Full Faith and Credit Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
00:40As per the investigation, Paxton is targeting the Texas Majority PAC, a political action committee that receives donations from George Soros,
00:48and powered by People, which was founded by Democrat Beto O'Rourke, who served in Congress and ran for U.S. Senate and governor.
00:56Paxton issued a request to examine, which demands the groups hand over communications and other documents regarding the Democrats' quorum break.
01:04Paxton claims the lawmakers and the political groups may have broken state laws, including campaign finance, coercion of a public servant, and abuse of office.
01:14Paxton said in a statement, quote,
01:16Getting financial payouts under the table to abandon your legislative duties is bribery.
01:21The investigations appear to have been prompted by a report in the Texas Tribune that stated O'Rourke's group is funding travel and the Texas Majority PAC is playing a coordinating role.
01:32O'Rourke told the Texas Tribune,
01:34The guy impeached for bribery is going after the folks trying to stop the theft of five congressional seats.
01:41If the Democrats are arrested, they would be brought back to the state capitol in Austin and compelled to participate in the legislative session.
01:48Republicans have the numbers to approve the map against Democrats' wishes, but they need the 100-lawmaker quorum for the vote to be valid.
Be the first to comment