DALLAS — Beto O’Rourke said Monday that he’s being sued for defamation by Dallas billionaire Kelcy Warren in what the Democratic gubernatorial nominee describes as an effort to silence him from criticizing energy companies that he says made illegal profits from last year’s winter storm that left millions without power.
Warren is the chairman and CEO of Energy Transfer Partners.
“All I have done today and all I’ve done over the course of the campaign is to share these facts with the electorate that will decide the outcome of this next election,” O’Rourke said during a news conference in Dallas. “I want to make sure that there is justice for those who were killed effectively by this governor. I’ll make sure that there’s justice for the ratepayer who is now forced to foot the bill for these illegal windfall profits made by the gas companies and Energy Transfer Partners and others here in the state of Texas.”
O’Rourke said the lawsuit was filed in a district court in San Saba County. He said he has not been served yet.
The Democratic nominee for governor against incumbent Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has made the winter storm and its fallout his core campaign issue.
On Monday, O’Rourke said Warren’s lawsuit is frivolous.
“He is going to try to take me to court, use his billions of dollars to try to shut me down and shut us up from telling the story of what happened to the people of Texas,” O’Rourke said. “He’s trying to stop me from fighting for the people of Texas. And just as we did before, we are not backing down right now.”
The Dallas Morning News is seeking comment from Warren.
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