Ken Paxton Moves To Hold Beto O’Rourke In Contempt For Redistricting Stunt

Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Tuesday that he is moving to hold former Democratic Texas Rep. Robert “Beto” O’Rourke in contempt for alleged “unlawful fundraising activity.”

Paxton claimed in a press release announcing the move that O’Rourke is violating a judge’s temporary restraining order prohibiting him from fundraising for Democrats who left Texas amid the GOP’s redistricting push in the state. The attorney general claimed that O’Rourke, a two-time failed statewide candidate, “blatantly violated” the temporary restraining order “by continuing to fundraise and pay for the personal expenses of runaway Democrat legislators.”

Paxton on Friday sued the former lawmaker and his organization, Powered by People, alleging it ran a “misleading financial-influence scheme” to bribe Democrats who broke quorum in response to Texas Republicans’ efforts to redraw the state’s congressional maps. A Tarrant County District Judge granted Paxton’s request for a temporary restraining order on Friday, halting O’Rourke and Powered by People from fundraising for the Democrats just hours after Paxton’s office filed the petition, ABC13 reported.