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Anticipation, possible fallout with upcoming release of Bonnen recording


FILE - In this May 15, 2015, file photo, Texas Rep. Dennis Bonnen, R-Angleton, talks to the media at the Texas Capitol in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)
FILE - In this May 15, 2015, file photo, Texas Rep. Dennis Bonnen, R-Angleton, talks to the media at the Texas Capitol in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)
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One political expert says Republicans could face fallout once a conservative activist releases the recording of his meeting with Texas House Speaker Dennis Bonnen, R-Angleton, where he allegedly promising access in exchange for targeting fellow Republicans in the upcoming primary election.

This stems from a June meeting of Bonnen, state Rep. Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, and Michael Quinn Sullivan, the CEO of Empower Texans. In July, Sullivan announced he secretly recorded this meeting, where Bonnen and Burrows promised his publication media credentials in exchange for his political action committee targeting a list of 10 Republicans in the 2020 Primary election.

Texas Politics Project Director James Henson says this could not come at a worse time for the party in Texas. "Republicans are probably in the most defensive position they've been in, in this century. To air this internal conflict and dirty laundry going into an election year is a real setback," Henson said.

In a Facebook post Thursday, Sullivan wrote the following:

As has been widely reported, Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, and Republican Party of Texas Chairman James Dickey have all requested that the recording of my meeting with House Speaker Dennis Bonnen be released despite not listening to it themselves. This is the meeting in which Bonnen made a quid pro quo offer he hoped I couldn’t refuse.
By way of recap, the recording was made for my personal protection against Speaker Bonnen’s wild temper and publicly demonstrated propensity to lie. Certain statements by Speaker Bonnen could cause harm or embarrassment to individuals and their families, while other statements he made could be used by Democrats to undermine the GOP.
But because these Republican leaders continue to call for the recording to be made public and I have been given the green-light to do so by my legal team, later today I will announce that the audio will be released next week.

The release of this recording could come before the meeting of the Republican Caucus next Friday, October 18. Currently, the Texas Rangers are still conducting a criminal investigation into this meeting.

Henson says the timing of the release of this recording is important. "If there are no criminal charges coming out of that, the value of the tape as a political hammer goes down," Henson said.

CBS Austin reached out to both Bonnen and Burrows, but neither provided a statement.

Since the announcement of this recording, Burrows has resigned as Chair of the House Republican Caucus.

When the House General Investigation Committee voted to have the Texas Rangers Public Integrity Unit conduct an investigation in August, Bonnen's office released the following statement:

Speaker Bonnen fully supports the committee’s decision and has complete faith in the House Rules and committee process working as they are intended.

CBS Austin also reached out to Travis County GOP Chairman Matt Mackowiak, asking about the release of the recording. He provided the following statement:

I think it's positive. Transparency is always best.

Henson says if the recording has everything Sullivan says it has, this could affect Republicans long-term, and may even be a boost to Democrats in upcoming elections. "There's going to be a lot of talk of corruption and abuse of power at the national level. This has the potential to burden Republicans with something that looks too much like what's going on in the national level with the general election, and make corruption and abuse of power not just a national level, but a state one as well," Henson said.

Sullivan has not yet said when exactly he will release the recording.

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