ALLEGATIONS AGAINST SPEAKER BONNEN CONTINUE TO ROCK CAPITOL
What had been a relatively quiet summer at the Capitol changed dramatically last month and the impact will likely be felt through the next legislative session and beyond.
The controversy involves a June 12 meeting between House Speaker Dennis Bonnen and ultra conservative activist Michael Quinn Sullivan. The group headed by Sullivan, Empower Texas, had long funded opponents to Republicans they deemed to be insufficiently conservative and Sullivan had complained publicly about Speaker Bonnen’s actions during the recent legislative session.
A few weeks after the meeting, Sullivan went public with the allegation that Bonnen and Republican Caucus Chair Rep. Dustin Burrows (R-Lubbock) had offered his organization press credentials for the House floor in exchange for helping knock off a list of ten Republican legislators in the primary.
After Bonnen vehemently denied the story, Sullivan revealed that he had recorded the conversation. He has allowed several legislators to listen to the recording and they mainly verify his account of events. But he refuses to release the full tape to the public.
The Texas Rangers have been called in to investigate whether anything criminal occurred. Sullivan said that he has turned the tape over to them.
However this story turns, it is likely this upheaval will distract legislators as they prepare for the 2021 Legislative Session. It is also likely there will be another Speaker’s race heading into that session—the second one in two years.