(The Center Square) – U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, has requested Attorney General Pam Bondi to have the Department of Justice investigate Texas House Democrats, Political Action Committees and special interest groups for potential violations of federal public corruption and election law.

Ten days ago, more than 50 House Democrats fled Texas to deny the Texas House a quorum, halting legislative business during a special session. Multiple lawsuits have been filed against House members to have them removed from office. Several cases are before the Texas Supreme Court and courts in California and Illinois.

Cornyn is requesting the FBI to investigate former U.S. Rep. Robert (Beto) O’Rourke’s PAC, Powered By People, as well as “special interest groups, and individuals who are providing funding and assistance to members of the Texas House of Representatives who fled the state to stall the legislative process.”

This is Cornyn’s second request for an FBI investigation in a week. The first one was granted last week to assist with locating and potentially arresting absconding Democrats in other states, The Center Square reported.

“On August 3, 2025, over 50 Texas legislators fled the State with the express purpose of preventing a quorum from meeting during the current special session, thus precluding the House from taking any legislative activity. The legislation which these irresponsible members knowingly blocked includes assistance to victims of the Kerr County floods. The special session will end in a matter of days, at which point, assistance to flood victims and other needed measures will go unaddressed. The absconding House members’ dereliction of duty is truly shameful,” Cornyn wrote in a letter to Bondi.

He says the Democrats who fled didn’t “randomly” leave on August 3. Their flight “was pre-planned months in advance and coordinated with outside individuals, special interest groups, and politicians from other states. Their devious and deceitful plan to derail the special session included coordinating funding drives giving, at an absolute minimum, the appearance that a sinister quid pro quo was reached between the fleeing House members and outside interest groups.”

Cornyn says a “large number” of Democrats traveled “in luxurious private jets paid for by Beto O’Rourke’s Political Action Committee. And since their arrivals in other states, not only have the House members’ lavish food, lodging, and other expenses been covered by these special interest groups, but the groups are also paying the fines which House members are liable for under Texas House rules for ignoring their required duties and skipping the special session.”

He asked the FBI to investigate “the entities funding this charade,” citing news reports of PACs tying O’Rourke and megadonors like George Soros to funding their efforts.

The PACs and outside groups “appear to be acting in violation of federal public corruption and election laws. For example, if money, gifts, or other assistance which the absconding House members were not entitled to—such as flights, meals, and hotel lodgings—were accepted in return for the members using their official positions to prevent a quorum from meeting, then the legislators may have committed honest services fraud,” Cornyn said.

The laws he claims they may have broken include “18 U.S.C. § 1346, Hobbs Act extortion under color of official right, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1951,” and the federal Travel Act.

Because state lawmakers crossed state lines, “if they did so with the intent to break either federal or state laws, they may have violated the Interstate and Foreign Travel in Aid of Racketeering Enterprises statute, also known as the Travel Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1952,” he said.

He also reiterated a claim made by Gov. Greg Abbott that the lawmakers who are fundraising to thwart legislative activity likely broke Texas state bribery and corruption laws. Abbott directed the Texas Rangers to investigate potential bribery violations. He also included bribery concerns in his petition to remove Rep. Gene Wu, D-Houston, from office.

Wu refutes the allegation, The Center Square reported.

Cornyn says Democrats “who accepted benefits such as travel, food, and lodging expenses in return for absconding,” and “the funders who provided these corrupt funds” likely violated state penal codes. If they did, they are “subject to the provisions of the Travel Act,” Cornyn said.

If absconding Democrats only violated federal law, then individuals, PACs and special interest groups “assisting their criminal acts still may face liability since they either aided and abetted the criminal activity, 18 U.S.C. § 2, or are co-conspirators to it, e.g., 18 U.S.C. § 371,” he said.

Cornyn also notes that if PAC funds were used to pay for personal expenses unrelated to elections or campaigns, the entities funding absconding Democrats may have violated campaign finance laws. He asked the DOJ to work with the Federal Election Commission to investigate this as well.

Democrats deny the allegations. O’Rourke is currently challenging a lawsuit filed against him by the state. In this case, a judge issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting him from fundraising, which he has refused to do, The Center Square reported.