A judge wrote that former Rep. Beto O’Rourke’s organization cannot send money out of the state.
A judge on Saturday ruled to expand a restraining order against former congressman Robert Francis “Beto” O’Rourke (D-Texas) and his political organization over its fundraising efforts for Democratic lawmakers who left Texas amid a state House battle over redistricting.
In the order, Judge Megan Fahey wrote that O‘Rourke, also a presidential candidate in the 2020 election, cannot send money out of Texas. She ruled in favor of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican, after Paxton sought to remove the charter of Powered by People, the organization headed by O’Rourke.
The judge said that there is “imminent” harm to the state of Texas and that “if the Court does not issue this order, the State will be irreparably injured.”
“Specifically, Defendants’ fundraising conduct constitutes false, misleading, or deceptive acts under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, 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,” her order states.
Fundraising platforms and other financial organizations cannot transfer donations from Powered by People “outside of Texas in support of the unlawful scheme,” she wrote.
In a post on X last week, O’Rourke said that his organization had donated more than $1 million to Texas Democrats during the special legislative session.
“He wants to silence me and stop me from leading this organization,” O”Rourke told NBC News earlier this month about the lawsuit filed by Paxton. “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.”
In a statement over the weekend, Paxton hailed the judge’s order and said that O’Rourke’s funding efforts are unlawful.
“His fraudulent attempt to pad the pockets of the rogue cowards abandoning Texas has been stopped, and now the court has rightly frozen his ability to continue to send money outside of Texas,” Paxton said in a statement. “The cabal of Democrats who have colluded together to scam Texans and derail our Legislature will face the full force of the law, starting with Robert Francis O’Rourke.”
