An Austin-based court of appeals dismissed a defamation lawsuit against Democratic politician Beto O’Rourke on Friday.
O’Rourke was sued during his unsuccessful Texas gubernatorial campaign after repeatedly criticizing a $1 million contribution to the campaign of his opponent Gov. Greg Abbott.
“Looks like a bribe to me,” said O’Rourke of the contribution, per AP News.
The donation in question was made by Kelcy Warren, who serves as executive chairman of the Dallas-based pipeline company Energy Transfer.
After O’Rourke’s comments, Warren filed a $1 million lawsuit against him for defamation, slander, and libel.
Warren alleged that O’Rourke made a “relentless and malicious attack” against him, per The Texas Tribune.
Abbott’s campaign said last year that it “is in no way involved” with Warren’s lawsuit.
The lawsuit was dismissed on Friday by the Third Court of Appeals in Austin as a three-judge panel ruled “that an examination of the statements and their context from the position of a reasonable person shows they are non-actionable opinions and fall within the bounds of protected speech,” per The Texas Tribune.
The court held that the district court judge had erred in denying O’Rourke’s motion to dismiss in July 2022.
O’Rourke’s use of words like “bribery” and “corruption” were “consistent with the sharp language used in political campaigns,” according to the appellate court.
Chief Justice Darlene Byrne said most people would recognize O’Rourke’s comments as “the type of rhetorical hyperbole that is commonplace in political campaigns,” per AP News.
However, Dean Pamphilis, an attorney for Warren, released a statement that read, “We … respectfully disagree with the Austin Court of Appeals decision,” per The Texas Tribune.
Pamphilis argued that “the trial court was correct in upholding Mr. Warren’s defamation claims” and said he plans to appeal the decision to the Texas Supreme Court.
O’Rourke’s gubernatorial campaign ended last year when he lost to Abbott in one of the most expensive races of 2022, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
Over the past five years, the Democrat has run for United States senator, president of the United States, and Texas governor. All three of these campaigns were unsuccessful.
