He Fought Trump's Texas Power Grab. Now He's Defending Himself in Court.

"It was part of a larger struggle over control of Congress in next year's midterm elections, but now the conflict has broadened: to California, where Gavin Newsom's Democrats are trying to squeeze more Democratic seats out of their map; to Indiana, where Republicans are hoping to repeat what they did in Texas on a smaller scale; and to other states across the country."

"For months, O'Rourke and his group Powered by People have been under attack from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. (Paxton is most generously described as a character. Less generously, but accurately, he can be described as one of just a few Texas statewide officials in history who have been both impeached by their own party and indicted on felony charges while in office. Nevertheless, he is also a primary candidate for the U.S. Senate.)"

"The case nominally centers on Powered by People's actions during the redistricting battle, when it made no-strings-attached financial contributions to state lawmakers as they fled Texas in a bid to bring more national attention to the issue. Paxton accused O'Rourke's group of paying "Beto bribes," and for weeks, across social media and in press releases, the state attorney general mustered all of his name-calling bravado, claiming that he would put Beto behind bars and shut down his "radical left-wing" organization."

Republicans in Texas, encouraged by Donald Trump, redrew the state's electoral map to secure more GOP seats, as part of a larger fight over control of Congress in next year's midterms. The redistricting struggle spread to California, Indiana, and other states. Beto O'Rourke and his group Powered by People faced legal attacks from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a statewide official who has been impeached and indicted and who is a U.S. Senate primary candidate. The legal case focuses on the group's no-strings financial contributions to fleeing lawmakers. Paxton labeled the payments "Beto bribes" and threatened criminal and organizational consequences.

Read at Slate Magazine