Ethics agency ends lawsuit seeking 'dark money' subpoenas against conservative powerbroker
AUSTIN — The Texas Ethics Commission is backing off a long-running battle to force conservative powerbroker Michael Quinn Sullivan to comply with subpoenas as part of an investigation into his nonprofit's political activity.
Attorney General Ken Paxton's office, which is representing the commission, told a state district judge in Travis County on Tuesday that the campaign finance regulator is no longer seeking the court's backing to enforce subpoenas against Sullivan or his 501(c)4 nonprofit, Empower Texans.
The subpoenas are part of a "dark money" investigation launched in 2012 by the ethics commission into the campaign finance activity of Empower Texans. The group is allowed to make independent expenditures without having to disclose donors.
State regulators are investigating whether the nonprofit has coordinated with donors to accept or spend money to influence a state election and if it should have to register as a political action committee, which is required to release donor names.
Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/politics/texas_legislature/article/Ethics-agency-ends-lawsuit-seeking-dark-money-9207891.php
