AUSTIN, Texas, Oct. 21 (UPI) -- A state district judge froze the corporate accounts of the Associated Republicans of Texas just two weeks before the Nov. 2 election.
State District Judge Paul Davis Jr. Wednesday ordered the political action committee to stop paying its overhead through corporate fundraising until after a Nov. 3 hearing on whether it should be raising and spending corporate funds at all, the Austin American-Statesman reported Thursday.
The PAC does not stand accused of donating corporate funds to candidates, nor is any candidate accused of wrongdoing in the case.
"This was a major first step in preserving the Texas electoral system from the corrosive effect of corporate cash," said Austin lawyer Cris Feldman, who represents two Democrats running for the state Legislature.
ART raised $150,000 in corporate donations this year.
