March 10, 2020      3:11 PM

In radio interview, Bonnen says some "gentlemen" asked him to meet with MQ Sullivan to broker peace deal in the GOP

Bonnen also said his deepest apology goes to Rep. Dustin Burrows, “I pulled him into the meeting at last minute to be a witness."

Retiring Texas House Speaker Dennis Bonnen on Tuesday said that some “gentlemen,” who he did not name, had asked him to meet with Empower Texans spokesman Michael Quinn Sullivan prior to their fateful meeting last year.

After reviewing his past public statements, this seems to be the first time Bonnen has said publicly there was a third party involved that urged the meeting that led to the speaker’s downfall.

Bonnen appeared on the Chad Hasty show on KFYO radio in Lubbock this after Hasty had tweeted over the weekend that “Bonnen needs to stop” in response to this op-ed in the speaker’s hometown newspaper. “Also, he says reporters ‘lapped up’ the accusations," Hasty said of Bonnen on Sunday. "That isn't true at all. In fact, most in the statewide press were weary of believing Sullivan at all.”

While maintaining that the meeting in his Texas Capitol office was also sparked by a chance encounter with Sullivan at Hobby Airport in Houston, Bonnen told Hasty during a half-hour interview that these “gentlemen” asked him to meet with Sullivan to broker a peace deal within the GOP if a chance arose to do so.

By Scott Braddock

Copyright March 10, 2020, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved