Texas courtroom dismisses GOP donor’s defamation lawsuit in opposition to Beto O’Rourke

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A Texas appeals courtroom on Friday dismissed a billionaire’s defamation lawsuit in opposition to Democrat Beto O’Rouke that was introduced after O’Rourke criticized a $1 million marketing campaign contribution to Republican Gov. Greg Abbott.

The ruling by the Third Court of Appeals in Austin comes greater than a yr after O’Rourke repeatedly made essential remarks concerning the donation throughout a failed run for governor, at one level saying that it “looks like a bribe to me.”

The contribution got here from Kelcy Warren, chairman of pipeline firm Energy Transfer, which reported about $2.4 billion in earnings associated to the catastrophic February 2021 winter storm that despatched pure fuel costs hovering in Texas.

Warren, a significant Republican donor, accused O’Rourke of making an attempt to humiliate him and discourage different Abbott supporters from making marketing campaign donations.

In the courtroom’s opinion, Chief Justice Darlene Byrne wrote {that a} cheap particular person would view O’Rourke’s statements as “the type of rhetorical hyperbole that is commonplace in political campaigns.”

Dean Pamphilis, an lawyer for Warrren, mentioned the choice could be appealed to the Texas Supreme Court.