July 24, 2014 12:59 PM

PAAT calls MQS ruling a landmark decision

“…a complaint filed with a county attorney could result in prosecution, using the Commission's interpretation in this case as a baseline for their investigation.”

In a message to members of the lobby group for Texas lobbyists, the Professional Advocacy Association of Texas' president Jack Gullahorn said that this week's ruling by the Texas Ethics Commission in the case of Michael Quinn Sullivan was "a landmark decision."

The ruling, which will be appealed by Sullivan and his organization Empower Texans, found that not only is Sullivan a professional lobbyist who has failed to register - a charge he denies - but he also either lost or destroyed thousands of emails that were requested under a lawful subpoena. He has denied that as well on television, but not under oath.

That aspect of the case could open up criminal liability for Sullivan, as QR has reported. The commission fined Sullivan the maximum amount they were able to in the case, which is $10,000. Sullivan, by the way, is also accused of running a political action committee without making legally required disclosures but the TEC has yet to address that.

By Scott Braddock