GOP Sen. Cornyn says FBI will help locate Texas Democratic lawmakers
Sen. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, said Thursday that the FBI had granted his request for the agency to assist Texas law enforcement in locating Democratic state lawmakers who have left the state to stall a Trump-backed effort to redraw the state’s congressional map.
Cornyn wrote to FBI Director Kash Patel on Tuesday requesting that the agency “take any appropriate steps to aid in Texas state law enforcement efforts to locate or arrest potential lawbreakers who have fled the state.”
Members of the Texas state House have been staying in the West suburbs to avoid a vote on a controversial Republican redistricting proposal that could hand the GOP five more seats in Congress.
It was not immediately clear early Thursday what if any specific plans federal agents had to engage in the situation. Asked about Cornyn’s comments, the FBI declined to comment.
“I am proud to announce that Director Kash Patel has approved my request for the FBI to assist state and local law enforcement in locating runaway Texas House Democrats,” Cornyn said in a statement. Cornyn faces a primary challenge from state Attorney General Ken Paxton (R), who has also threatened legal action to punish the Democratic lawmakers who have left the state.
When asked for comment, a spokesman for the Texas state House Democrats pointed to a Tuesday statement that criticized Cornyn’s actions and accused him of trying “to prove his extremist credentials” to the Republican base.
Cornyn also said in his letter to the FBI that he was “concerned that legislators who solicited or accepted funds to aid in their efforts to avoid their legislative duties may be guilty of bribery or other public corruption offenses.”
Texas Democratic lawmakers have defended their ability to fundraise from their supporters and said they weren’t violating any laws. Some legal experts have questioned the bribery allegations.
“As a general matter, what we mean by bribery is secretly taking property or money, putting it in your closet, hiding it from the public and most importantly, not paying taxes on it,” said Seth Tillman, an American law professor at Maynooth University in Ireland. By contrast, Texas House Democratic Caucus Chair Gene Wu and other Democrats are open about what they’re doing, he added.