Ken Paxton's legal crusade against Beto O'Rourke is faltering before an all-Republican appeals court

Ken Paxton’s legal crusade against Beto O’Rourke is faltering before an all-Republican appeals court
The court, appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott, recently allowed O’Rourke to continue raising and dispersing donations, and cast doubt on Paxton’s main arguments.

By Eleanor Klibanoff
Sept. 17, 2025
5 AM Central


(Texas Tribune) In early August, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed an explosive lawsuit, accusing Beto O’Rourke of bribery, fraud and campaign finance violations for supporting Texas Democrats who left the state to protest new GOP congressional maps.

Six weeks, four courts, two counties, dueling rulings and hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal expenses later, Paxton’s case against the former El Paso congressman seems on the brink of collapse.

Last week, the all-Republican 15th Court of Appeals undid the temporary restraining order that prevented O’Rourke and his organization from fundraising and distributing donations, ruling it an unconstitutional violation of free speech protections.

While acknowledging the case raises "unusual questions" about whether political funds can be used to help lawmakers leave the state, the court said it is an improper chilling of free speech to preemptively block an organization from spending its money.

“The question today is not whether such activities can be punished after the fact … but whether they can be prohibited before they occur based on a suspicion that they might,” the justices wrote in their unanimous ruling. “At this stage, where little evidence has been offered, the latter would constitute an unconstitutional prior restraint of political activity that may or may not prove to be lawful.” .........................(more)

https://www.texastribune.org/2025/09/17/ken-paxton-beto-orourke-texas-democrats-quorum-break-15th-court/