Editor’s note: This story was updated to include details of the letter the Cornyn Lonestar Victory Fund sent to the Federal Election Commission in response to its inquiry.
Last year, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn’s reelection campaign weaponized a federal inquiry into the financial filings of his Republican primary rival, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Now, a political action committee (PAC) tied to the Texas incumbent is now facing questions of his own.
The Federal Election Commission (FEC) last week sent a letter to the Cornyn Lonestar Victory Fund asking why it didn’t disclose “one or more” contributions from the Energy Transfer Employee Management Company PAC in its fourth-quarter financial filing.
Salvatore Purpura, treasurer for the Cornyn Lonestar Victory Fund, responded to the FEC the same day, confirming that it had received a $5,000 donation from the PAC. In the letter, he stated that the fund had disclosed the contribution in its 2025 yearend report but added that the PAC had failed to do so in its corresponding filing. The PAC plans to amend its filing to reflect the contribution, he added.
Dallas-based Energy Transfer LP, one of the nation’s largest oil- and gas-pipeline operators, is a major donor to Republican political candidates. During the 2024 election cycle alone, the firm’s employees and affiliates dumped more than $19 million into federal races, data from nonpartisan campaign spending watchdog Open Secrets shows.
Open Secrets also lists Energy Transfer as the 20th-largest donor to Cornyn’s campaigns from 2019-2024, having backed him to the tune of nearly $34,000 over that period.
The FEC letter gives the the Austin-headquartered Cornyn Lonestar Victory Fund until May 6 to dispute whether it received funds from the donor or amend its report to reflect the contribution. The document notes that federal authorities won’t consider giving the PAC additional time to respond and that failure to comply could “result in an enforcement action against the committee.”
While FEC inquiries aren’t uncommon and seldom result in punitive actions, political campaigns have been known to use them to depict opponents as sloppy or dishonest. For example, Cornyn last summer launched online ads suggesting a letter the FEC sent to Paxton’s campaign asking it to explain $658,000 in potentially illegal contributions shows the Texas AG’s propensity for playing fast and loose.
Indeed, since the start of this year, the FEC has sent at least two additional inquiries to Paxton’s campaign asking it to explain what appeared to be illegal contributions listed in its filings. One from last month flags nearly $100,000 in donations that appear to run afoul of federal law, while a document from January seeks more information on $125,000 in questionable contributions.
Sign Up for SA Current newsletters.
Follow us: Apple News | Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Or sign up for our RSS Feed
