Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) “frequently blocks out his daily schedule for eight hours of fund-raising calls,” the New York Times reports.
Abbott Has Raised More Money Than Any Governor Ever
“As governor of Texas, Republican Greg Abbott doesn’t flash the White House ambitions of his predecessors or their big personalities. But in just five years he has quietly built his own distinction: Taking in more cash from donors than any governor in U.S. history,” the AP reports.
“Few others even come close. Since first running in 2013, Abbott has accepted more than $120 million in political contributions… He has been showered with big-donor money on a scale that is prohibited in most states and far beyond limits for members of Congress — more than 200 times receiving contributions of $100,000 or more.”
Trump Donated to Attorneys General Who Dropped Case
The AP reports that then-Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott (R) opened a civil investigation of “possibly deceptive trade practices” into Trump University but the probe “was quietly dropped” in 2010 when the school “agreed to end its operations in Texas. Trump subsequently donated $35,000 to Abbott’s successful gubernatorial campaign.”
In addition, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi (R) briefly considered joining “in a multi-state suit against Trump University. Three days after Bondi’s spokeswoman was quoted in local media reports as saying the office was reviewing the New York lawsuit, the Donald J. Trump Foundation made a $25,000 contribution to a political fundraising committee supporting Bondi’s re-election campaign. Bondi soon dropped her investigation, citing insufficient grounds to proceed.”
Bonus Quote of the Day
“It’s not like none of the above is a potential option.”
— Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R), quoted by Politico, on backing Donald Trump for president.
Abbott Wants Power to Nullify U.S. Laws
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) “wants to dramatically curtail the U.S. Supreme Court’s power and slash federal oversight of states through a national convention to amend the U.S. Constitution,” the Houston Chronicle reports.
“Convening such a national gathering is allowed under the U.S. Constitution, but would be a difficult proposition. It would require approval by 34 states — including Texas through its Legislature. Abbott is not calling for a special legislative session in Texas, leaving the issue to the 2017 legislative session.”
Dallas Morning News: “Along with the speech, Abbott released a nearly 70-page plan – part American civics lesson, part anti-Obama diatribe – detailing nine proposed constitutional amendments that he said would unravel the federal government’s decades-long power grab and restore authority over economic regulation and other matters to the states.”
GOP Lawmaker Warns Refugees Could Buy Guns
Texas state Rep. Tony Dale (R) said we cannot allow Syrian refugees into the country because it’s too easy for them to buy guns, Fox 7 Austin reports.
Wrote Dale to Gov. Greg Abbott (R): “While the Paris attackers used suicide vests and grenades, it is clear that firearms also killed a large number of innocent victims. Can you imagine a scenario were [sic] a refugee [sic] is admitted to the United States, is provided with federal cash payments and other assistance, obtains a drivers license and purchases a weapon and executes an attack?”
Pentagon Denies Plot to Take Over Texas
Defense officials dismissed as “wild speculation” an Internet-fueled claim that a massive summertime exercise called Jade Helm 15 for special operations commandos is a covert operation by President Obama to take over Texas, McClatchy reports.
That claim was given legitimacy by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s (R) order last week for the Texas State Guard to monitor the exercises.
Abbott Orders Monitoring of Federal Troops
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) has “ordered members of the Texas Military to monitor federal troops in an upcoming two-month training exercise planned for the Lone Star State,” the Houston Chronicle reports.
“Operation Jade Helm will bring the U.S. military’s most elite soldiers, including the Green Berets and Navy SEALS, to Texas for simulated special operations in a hostile territory. But plans for the exercise have roused fears in many Texans of a federal occupation.”
