AUSTIN, Texas _ Michael Quinn Sullivan, the political activist behind the secret recording that has rocked Texas politics since July, said Thursday morning he will release the surreptitiously obtained audio of his meeting with House Speaker Dennis Bonnen, in which Sullivan alleges he was offered an illegal quid pro quo.
In a tweet Thursday morning, Sullivan said he had "been given the green-light by my legal team to do so" and "will release the audio next week."
He did not specify which day of the week he would publicly release the recording or how he would do so, but if the audio surfaces early next week it will do so ahead of the long-planned House Republican Caucus retreat in Austin next Thursday and Friday, at which several members of the caucus have called for a discussion on the alleged meeting between Bonnen, Sullivan and the former caucus leader, Lubbock Rep. Dustin Burrows.
In July, Sullivan alleged that Bonnen had invited him to a meeting at his capitol office where Bonnen and Burrows offered writers for Sullivan's website, Texas Scorecard, press credentials for the next legislative session if his affiliated political group, Empower Texans, refrained from criticizing the legislative session and went after 10 Republican House members in next year's primaries.
Bonnen and Burrows have denied they provided Sullivan with a "target list," but Republican lawmakers and activists who have heard the secret recording have said it substantiates Sullivan's allegation.
Sullivan's allegations has resulted in discord in the House Republican Caucus and forced Burrows' resignation as caucus chairman. Some politicians and activists have also called for Bonnen to resign as House speaker, but that call has not gained traction with the members of the Republican caucus.
Bonnen and Burrows have denied wrongdoing and called for the full release of the recording, as have Democratic lawmakers.
Sullivan's claim has also led to a lawsuit by the Texas Democratic Party, which alleges that the offers made during the meeting amounted to the creation of an unregistered political action committee. On Tuesday, the Democrats asked a Travis County judge to order Sullivan to produce the tape in three days.
The Texas Rangers are also investigation allegations of wrongdoing from the June meeting and Sullivan has said he gave their investigators a copy of the recording.
In his announcement, Sullivan faulted Gov. Greg Abbot, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Texas Republican Party chairman James Dickey for calling for the recording without having listened to it, saying some of the comments on the recording could cause the party damage if made public.
