U.S. Sen. John Cornyn wants the FBI to help "locate and arrest" Texas Democrats who left the state to block a GOP-led effort to redraw congressional voting maps.
In a letter sent to FBI Director Kash Patel on Tuesday, Cornyn called this a "time-sensitive manner" since lawmakers are only scheduled to be meeting for another two weeks.
The Democrats absconded to blue states like California, Illinois and New York. While the House has issued arrest warrants for their absence, and Gov. Greg Abbott has directed state troopers to arrest them on site, their jurisdiction applies only in Texas.
"I request the FBI's assistance, as federal resources are necessary to locate the out-of-state Texas legislators who are potentially acting in violation of the law," he said. "The FBI has tools to aid state law enforcement when parties cross state lines, including to avoid testifying or fleeing a scene of a crime."
Cornyn then echoed one of the more serious threats Abbott lobbed at the lawmakers, accusing them of taking bribes by accepting monetary support to flee the state or pay fines associated with their absence.
"Specifically, I am concerned that legislators who solicited or accepted funds to aid in their efforts to avoid their legislative duties may be guilty of bribery or other public corruption offenses," he said.
Abbott has said paying for the fines using campaign funds could amount to bribery. On Monday, he asked the Texas Rangers to investigate this as well as "potential legal violations connected to their refusal to appear for a quorum, conduct business, and cast votes."
Legal experts told The Texas Newsroom that getting bribery charges to stick is especially difficult because the prosecutor has to prove there was intent to commit a crime.
The FBI and Abbott did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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