Texas Democratic nominee for governor Beto O’Rourke has chosen to stand by his statements about illegal profits made by energy companies during the 2021 power outages in the state.
O’Rourke’s comments led billionaire oil executive Kelcy Warren to file a $1 million defamation lawsuit against the politician. O’Rourke responded to the lawsuit in a legal filing on March 21, one day short of the deadline.
The paperwork, filed by the law firm representing O’Rourke, denied the allegations of slander but did not seek a dismissal of the charges. O’Rourke says he welcomes the opportunity to discuss the matter in public.
“Defendant denies each and every, all and singular, the allegations asserted by Plaintiff in his Original Petition and demand strict proof thereof by a preponderance of the evidence as required by the laws and Constitution of the State of Texas,” said lawyers for O’Rourke in the suit.
“I am ready for this fight,” O’Rourke told The Dallas Morning News. “Warren’s frivolous lawsuit makes the case for why we need new leadership in this state — leadership that will look out for families instead of corporations, leadership that can keep the lights on and the people of Texas safe.”
Warren, the current chairman and former CEO of Energy Transfer Partners, filed the defamation lawsuit on February 18 in San Saba County.
The lawsuit claims O’Rourke deliberately defamed the energy executive on Facebook, Twitter, and during public speaking engagements.
Warren took offense at O’Rourke’s suggestion that energy companies profited from Texas’ catastrophic power failures. Reports made by Bloomberg stated that Warren’s company made $2.4 billion during the storms.
The lawsuit also suggests that O’Rourke seeks to prevent people from donating to Governor Abbott’s political campaign. O’Rourke is currently campaigning to take over Abbott’s (R-Texas) seat as governor.
The Democratic candidate has mentioned on campaign stops and social media posts that Warren made a $1 million donation to Governor Abbott’s and other energy executives’ political campaigns. He referred to the $1 million donation as a bribe.
“Mr. Warren is not interested in barring Mr. O’Rourke from talking about the winter storm,” said Energy Transfer in a statement. “That is the right of every Texan and every American. Stop the irresponsible, defamatory, and highly offensive statements by Mr. O’Rourke related to [Mr. Warren’s] donation to Governor Abbott’s campaign. This is also the right of every Texan and every American to contribute to the campaigns of candidates they support without being defamed in the process.”
No energy companies have faced charges from profiteering or other illegal activities related to the election campaigns or the power outages.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is still conducting investigations into energy companies’ actions during the 2021 winter storm to determine if any manipulation of the market for profits occurred during the emergency event.
Can you specifically show where he referred to the campaign donation as a bribe?