Judge Expands Restraining Order Against Beto O’Rourke Over Alleged ‘Beto Bribes’

A Texas judge has tightened the legal vise on former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke, slapping him and his political group, Powered by People, with an expanded restraining order that also ropes in ActBlue and any banks handling their funds.

The move came Saturday after Attorney General Ken Paxton filed an urgent motion a day earlier, accusing O’Rourke’s outfit of funneling cash to Democrats who fled the state to derail redistricting votes.

Eight days ago, a district court first barred O’Rourke’s group from raising or distributing money to the runaway lawmakers. But the Democrat firebrand thumbed his nose at the order – holding rallies, posting fundraising videos online, and defiantly declaring, “Still here, still raising and rallying to stop the steal of 5 congressional seats in Texas.”

That open defiance pushed Paxton to seek contempt charges. In an amended filing, he demanded Powered by People’s charter be revoked, blasting O’Rourke for “deceptively fundraising and handing out ‘Beto Bribes’” to lawmakers in exchange for abandoning their posts.

O’Rourke and Powered by People “have deceived donors, bought off Texas politicians, and unlawfully assisted runaway Democrats in avoiding arrest,” Paxton charged, adding that the court should “throw Beto behind bars” and shut the group down, Just the News reports.

The AG’s complaint went further – accusing the organization of steering donations into luxury perks like private jets, swanky hotels, and fine dining “disconnected from any legitimate legislative purpose.”

According to the amended complaint, “O’Rourke and Powered by People are directing consumers to political fundraising platforms, such as ActBlue, for the express political purpose of ‘fight[ing]’ Republicans and protecting Democratic seats from ‘corrupt republicans,’ meanwhile the funds are actually being used for lavish personal expenditures (i.e. travel on private jets, luxury hotel accommodations, and fine dining that is disconnected from, and has no legitimate purpose relating to, their legislative positions).”

Judge Megan Fahey agreed the state faced “imminent harm,” expanding the order through Sept. 5 and setting a Sept. 2 hearing on a possible injunction. She ruled the fundraising violated Texas consumer protection laws, saying it “harms Texas consumers” and that freezing the cash flow was in the public interest.

Paxton wasted no time in declaring victory: “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. 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.”

Still, O’Rourke showed no signs of backing down. On Saturday he headlined another rally in Austin, thanking supporters “in this fight for Texas” and boasting that more than $1 million had already been donated to the Texas Legislative Black Caucus, the Texas House Democratic Caucus, and the Mexican American Legislative Caucus during the special session.