LUBBOCK, Texas — On Monday, the Texas Tribune reported the Texas House General Investigating Committee voted to request that the Texas Rangers look into allegations against House Speaker Dennis Bonnen and Representative Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock.
The allegations stem from a June 12 meeting between the two lawmakers and conservative activist Michael Quinn Sullivan, CEO of Empower Texans.
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In this meeting, Sullivan claimed he was offered media credentials for his organization, Empower Texans, in exchange for targeting a list of GOP members with media coverage in the 2020 primaries. And, he said he secretly took a full recording of the meeting.
Even after calls for its release, the recording has not been made public.
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While Bonnen has not admitted to Sullivan’s accounting of the meeting, he did send an email to all members of the Texas House on August 6 to apologize for saying “terrible things that are embarrassing to the members, to the House, and to me personally.”
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Following the announcement from the committee on Monday, the Texas Tribune wrote that a spokesperson for Bonnen said the speaker “fully supports the committee’s decision and has complete faith in the House rules and committee process working as they are intended.”
Meanwhile, in a statement made available to EverythingLubbock.com, Sullivan said he is disappointed Bonnen and Burrows chose this path, but he is glad it seems the committee is pursuing the truth.
Continuing to defend his decision to record the meeting, Sullivan reiterated that he recorded the meeting as way to protect himself.
The following is the full statement made available to EverythingLubbock.com:
“While I am disappointed Speaker Dennis Bonnen and State Rep. Dustin Burrows chose the course they did to deceive the public about our June 12 meeting, I’m glad the Texas House General Investigating Committee appears to be searching for the truth. I recorded the meeting to protect myself from Speaker Bonnen’s proven practice of using lies to attack his adversaries. It is abundantly obvious my decision to record our meeting was the correct one. I remain hopeful Mr. Bonnen will recant his false claims about me and the facts surrounding our meeting.” – Michael Quinn Sullivan
EverythingLubbock.com reached out to Burrows for comment on the situation. An update will be provided if Burrows chooses to comment.
