Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is launching a high-stakes investigation into Robert “Beto” O’Rourke’s political group, Powered by People, over possible illegal payments to Texas House Democrats who fled the state to block a redistricting vote. If prosecutors can prove that the group paid lawmakers to abandon their duty, bribery charges may be next.

Paxton made no effort to soften the blow in his Wednesday announcement. “Any Democrat coward breaking the law by taking a Beto bribe will be held accountable,” he declared. “Texas cannot be bought.”

The AG’s office is now demanding internal documents and communications from Powered by People under a legal “request to examine” statute. The move follows reports from the Texas Tribune that O’Rourke’s group played a leading financial role in helping over 50 House Democrats escape to states like Illinois and New York—an effort designed to prevent the Texas House from reaching quorum and voting on the GOP’s proposed redistricting map.

That map is expected to hand Republicans up to five additional congressional seats ahead of the 2026 midterms, which Democrats say amounts to election rigging. State Rep. John Bucy III went so far as to accuse Trump and Gov. Abbott of “trying to steal the election” with the new district lines.

But while Democrats claim they’re standing up for democracy, Republicans are accusing them of lawlessness and dereliction of duty—and now, possibly bribery.

According to the Tribune, Beto’s group wasn’t acting alone. A Soros-backed outfit known as the Texas Majority PAC is said to have helped coordinate donations from deep-pocketed national donors. Who those donors are remains unknown, and the investigation will likely attempt to uncover their identities.

Governor Greg Abbott is also turning up the pressure. He’s ordered the Texas Rangers to conduct a parallel criminal probe into the fleeing lawmakers and those who may have funded their exit. “Texas House Democrats abandoned their duty to Texans,” Abbott said, adding that they “are holding hostage critical legislation to aid flood victims and advance property tax relief.”

Abbott also filed a lawsuit directly with the Texas Supreme Court this week to begin the process of vacating the seats of the absent legislators. The lead target of that lawsuit? State Rep. Gene Wu, who the governor called the “ringleader of the derelict Democrats.”

If Wu and his colleagues don’t return by Friday, Abbott and Paxton have made clear they will seek to strip them of their offices entirely.

“Any Democrat who solicited or accepted funds to break quorum may have violated bribery laws,” Abbott warned on social media. “Texas Rangers must quickly send any findings to the appropriate prosecutors.”

The Texas Supreme Court has given Wu until Friday, August 8, at 5 p.m. to respond to Abbott’s emergency petition. That petition cites the state constitution and precedent for the governor’s right to pursue the removal of lawmakers who abandon their duties during a special session.

The legal implications for Beto O’Rourke’s group could be massive. If Powered by People is found to have paid lawmakers to skip votes on redistricting, that could open the door to felony charges, donor investigations, and further scrutiny of progressive money networks operating in Texas.

Paxton summed it up bluntly: “These jet-setting runaways have already lost public trust. Texans deserve to know if they received illegal bribes to do it.” And if they did, it won’t just be political careers at stake—it could be criminal convictions.