Texas House Speaker Dennis Bonnen's Hometown Prosecutor Joins Secret Meeting Investigation

This is a developing story. Check back in for updates. AUSTIN -- The top prosecutor in House Speaker Dennis Bonnen's home district has joined the probe into Bonnen's secret meeting with a conservative political activist, in which the activist alleges he was offered an illegal quid pro quo. Brazoria County District Attorney Jeri Yenne said on Tuesday that she had asked the Texas Rangers Public Integrity Unit to conduct an investigation into the meeting on Aug. 13, one day after the House General Investigating Committee made the same request. "Upon completion of the investigation by Public Integrity Unit, the investigation will be expeditiously reviewed to determine whether any laws were violated," Yenne said. Yenne is the top prosecutor in Bonnen's county of residence so the investigation would have ultimately been referred to her for review, under a new law passed in 2015. Bonnen's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In late July, Sullivan alleged that Bonnen and Rep. Dustin Burrows of Lubbock offered during a June 12 meeting in Bonnen's Capitol office to provide writers for his website, Texas Scorecard, media credentials if he and his affiliated political group, Empower Texans, refrained from criticizing the just-finished session and targeted a group of 10 Republican incumbents in next year's primaries.   Continue reading...