Updated at 4:45 p.m. with details and reaction.

AUSTIN — In a newly released recording of a secret meeting, House Speaker Dennis Bonnen uses foul language to disparage fellow lawmakers, mockingly questions the sexual orientation of a Democratic lawmaker and tells a conservative activist that “we’d love it if you fought” to defeat certain Republicans in the 2020 primaries.

Michael Quinn Sullivan released the approximately hourlong recording of him, Bonnen and Rep. Dustin Burrows of Lubbock on Tuesday morning after months of controversy following Sullivan’s allegations that the lawmakers offered him a quid pro quo at the Capitol in June.

Sullivan alleges that Bonnen and Burrows offered writers for his website media credentials for the next legislative session if he and his affiliated political action group, Empower Texans, refrained from criticizing this year’s legislative session and opposed 10 Republican incumbents in next year’s primary elections. Sullivan’s website, Texas Scorecard, has filed a federal lawsuit over being denied credentials in previous sessions.

“You need to hear what I want to do,” Bonnen said on the recording. “We can make this work. I’ll put your guys on the floor next session.”

The Dallas Morning News could not verify the authenticity of the recording, which was released on Sullivan’s website and on Chris Salcedo’s radio show on WBAP-AM (820).

In a court hearing in Austin on Thursday afternoon, Chad Dunn, a lawyer for the Texas Democratic Party, asked the judge to order Sullivan to turn over the recording to him so he could certify that it was complete and unedited.

The recording reveals that Bonnen and Burrows were interested in meeting with Sullivan to protect favored members, while offering sacrificial lambs from their party.

“I’m trying to win in 2020,” Bonnen told Sullivan at the beginning of the conversation. “Let’s not spend millions of dollars fighting the primaries, when we need to spend millions of dollars trying to win November.”

Following the recording’s release, Bonnen denied wrongdoing.

“I have repeatedly called for the recording to be released because it will be immediately clear that no laws were broken,” he said in a prepared statement. "This was nothing more than a political discussion — the problem is that I had it with that guy. My colleagues have always deserved the facts and context this recording provides, and with clear evidence now disproving allegations of criminal wrongdoing, the House can finally move on.”

But the recording belies Bonnen’s previous statements that no list was exchanged during the meeting, and several lawmakers from both parties have called for his resignation.

Burrows has said their intentions were only to protect the Republican majority in 2020 from Sullivan, who habitually targets moderate Republicans. He was forced to resign as the leader of the House Republican Caucus following Sullivan’s allegations.

“I’m glad the audio has been released, as it should have been months ago,” Burrows said in a statement to the Texas Tribune. “I now intend on focusing on what is important: passing conservative legislation for future generations and the needs of West Texans.”

The audio’s release comes after pressure from politicians of both parties; lawyers for the Texas Democratic Party, which is suing Sullivan; and an investigation by the Texas Rangers and the district attorney in Brazoria County, where Bonnen lives.

It could compel answers about Bonnen’s future from lawmakers who have avoided the controversy by saying they had not heard the recording. The first big test of its impact will be Thursday during the House Republican Caucus’ annual retreat in Austin.

“This is a week when the Republican caucus is going to finally meet, and we’ll let this be a topic of discussion for them,” Sullivan said Tuesday. “They’re the ones who unanimously selected Dennis Bonnen to be their nominee as speaker. It’s now up to the Republican caucus how to clean up this mess he’s created for them.”

Sullivan had threatened to release the recording publicly multiple times since first making his allegations July 25, but he said he wasn’t going to because some of the comments made could hurt the Republican Party in next year’s crucial elections.

In emails and social media statements to supporters before releasing the audio, Sullivan said inaction by Republican leaders like Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Republican Party of Texas Chairman James Dickey forced him to release it. By 4:30 p.m., neither Abbott nor Dickey had made a statement about the latest revelations.

Patrick did not condemn or condone the statements in the recording.

“I previously asked for the tape to be released so everyone could hear it,” he said in a prepared statement. “The issue remains in the hands of the Texas Rangers and the Brazoria County District Attorney’s Office.”

But fellow Republican Matt Schaefer of Tyler did not mince words.

“The behavior we tolerate becomes the standard we set,” he said in an email. “The transcript released today confirms that a serious breach of integrity has been committed on multiple levels. Speaker Bonnen should resign. We do not need a legal and ethical cloud hanging over House Republicans as we ask Texans to trust us with their vote in 2020.”

Rep. Chris Turner of Grand Prairie, the leader of the House Democratic Caucus, said Bonnen’s comments are “disgraceful and unbefitting of the high office he holds" and corroborate the allegations of a quid pro quo.

“Sadly, this recording confirms Speaker Bonnen has clearly betrayed the trust of many members of the House, which is the most important commodity for any speaker to safeguard,” Turner said. “He has made deeply personal and hurtful insults about several members and is bragging about recruiting opponents against others, just days after admonishing members to stay out of other people’s races. And he clearly offered official House media credentials if he and Sullivan reached an ‘understanding’ about the 2020 elections.”

Turner said the Democratic caucus will discuss the recording Wednesday during a previously scheduled meeting, but he added: “Speaking only for myself, I personally believe these revelations are incompatible with Mr. Bonnen serving another term as speaker.”

The list of Republicans

At the beginning of the recording, Bonnen tells Sullivan: “If you need some primaries to fight in, I will leave, and Dustin will tell you some that we’d love it if you fought in.”

Bonnen makes clear to Sullivan that he will not defend some Republican incumbents and that neither will Texans for Lawsuit Reform, a powerful PAC that backs Republican candidates.

“We have some folks if you want to go pop, they’re going to have to find their own money. I may give them a pittance here or there. But I ain’t going to do what [former House Speaker] Joe Straus did,” Bonnen said. "If Phil Stephenson is finding himself in a hell of a primary, he’s not going to get $150,000 out of me. … They’re left to find their own funding. So they’re in a pretty tough spot.”

Later, Bonnen steps out and Burrows reviews the list of Republicans who voted against a bill to ban cities and counties from paying lobbyists to advocate for them at the state Legislature, a priority for Bonnen, Burrows and other allies, as well as Sullivan and his acolytes.

Burrows vouches for some representatives who voted against the bill, saying that Doc Anderson of Waco will “come around” and that Keith Bell of Forney is “just a dumb freshman.” Rep. Angie Chen Button of Richardson is “good for her district,” which covers parts of northeastern Dallas County. It’s an area where Bonnen said voter backlash against President Donald Trump is “killing” Republican lawmakers, providing an opening for Democrats to take the seat.

Sullivan begins to write down the lawmakers Burrows says can’t be convinced: Reps. Tan Parker of Flower Mound, Steve Allison of San Antonio, Trent Ashby of Lufkin, Ernest Bailes of Shepherd, Drew Darby of San Angelo, Kyle Kacal and John Raney of College Station, Stan Lambert of Abilene, Stephenson of Wharton and Travis Clardy of Nacogdoches.

Derision for Democrats

Bonnen also made derogatory statements about North Texas Democratic Reps. Ana-Maria Ramos and Michelle Beckley and Houston Rep. Jon Rosenthal during the meeting.

He said that Rosenthal is a “piece of [expletive],” and that Bonnen’s chief of staff, Gavin Massingill, said, “His wife is going to be really pissed when she learns he’s gay.” He calls Beckley “vile” and Ramos “awful.”

After hearing the recording, Beckley called for a bipartisan special session to elect a new speaker, “the sooner the better.”

“That’s proof that he has not been telling the truth," she said. “We were all told to not do those things that he did. If our speaker is doing the things he told us not to do, how can we trust him?”

Rosenthal issued a statement saying it appears Bonnen was prepared to trade an official act in exchange for targeting his political opponents in the next election. He did not address Bonnen’s comments about his sexuality.

“At the end of the day, if you’re not making the lives of everyday people better — then you don’t deserve to be in office,” Rosenthal said.

Ahead of the release, Brian Roark, Bonnen’s attorney, told the Austin American-Statesman that no laws were broken. He said that the Rangers interviewed Bonnen for four hours last month and that he was told the investigation is to be completed this week. After that, the district attorney in Bonnen’s home district, Jeri Yenne, will decide whether to take the case to a grand jury.

Sullivan and Empower Texans have been highly critical of House Republicans over the decade, criticizing them as insufficiently conservative and funding challengers to many GOP incumbents. They spent about $10 million in Republican primaries over the last decade and were a constant thorn in Straus’ side. In last year’s elections, Empower Texans spent $4 million, including $100,000 on Bonnen’s primary opponent.

In the June meeting, Bonnen asked Sullivan not to fund his challengers in next year’s election.

Bonnen also said he hopes Sullivan “won’t fund about 90% of any others that show up in a Republican primary this time," but adds that Burrows would give him a list of candidates whose opponents Empower Texans should fund.

“So we’re clear, the money’s the issue,” Bonnen said. “And just back down on the rhetoric. You follow me?”

“Anything that we do with money, I’ll make sure an appropriate conversation is had,” Sullivan responds.

Source of full transcript: Texas Scorecard