Anti-abortion Texas Republican denies funding “several abortions” in affair

Sign up for The Brief The Texas Tribune s daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the preponderance essential Texas news Three days after state Rep Giovanni Capriglione reported he was dropping his reelection bid the conservative news site Current Revolt published an interview with a former exotic dancer who alleges she had a -year affair with the Southlake Republican The woman Alex Grace alleges that Capriglione paid her for meetups and funded several abortions for his own personal gain She declined to provide additional details on the alleged abortions in the interview saying you re just going to have to go with my word Her interview with Current Revolt was captured in a -minute video published Friday In a report Capriglione admitted he d had an affair years ago but disclosed the other assertions are categorically false and easily disproven He added that he had never nor would I ever pay for an abortion Capriglione still has another year and a half left in his seventh term representing his North Texas district The Legislature is now in the first week of a -day special session in which lawmakers are considering flood relief redistricting and other conservative priorities Capriglione was not on the House floor Thursday In his report Capriglione reported he would fight for the people I represent the principles we share and the things that make Texas great until I walk out the door of the legislature for the last time in January of Shortly after the story was published GOP Rep Briscoe Cain of Deer Park called for Capriglione to resign and urged the House General Analyzing Committee to look into the matter House Speaker Dustin Burrows R-Lubbock did not respond to a request for comment Capriglione has emerged as the chamber s leading voice on technology-related bills including chairing the Innovation and Tool Caucus and authoring the Details Privacy and Prevention Act of This session he chaired the Delivery of Authorities Efficiency Committee modeled after Elon Musk s federal cost- and service-cutting committee and helped establish a Texas Cyber Command one of Gov Greg Abbott s emergency priorities In Capriglione carried the trigger ban that allowed Texas to ban nearly all abortions after the U S Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade As a upshot of that bill performing an abortion in Texas is punishable by up to life in prison Other laws supported by Capriglione made it a civil offense to aid and abet in a prohibited abortion including paying for someone to terminate their pregnancy in Texas Capriglione attributed the accusations to his work holding the wealthy the powerful the corporate elites and the Austin insiders to account He pointed to a DOGE committee hearing in which Superior HealthPlan one of the state s Medicaid providers indicated that it had used private investigators to perform surveillance and gather confidential information on lawmakers journalists and other Texans After a three-month assessment the Office of the Attorney General concluded that the company had not violated state law Grace alleged that when she was years old with a young child at home she started working as an exotic dancer to make money In she disclosed Capriglione came into the club where she was working and stood out as a very straight-laced businessman He came in every meager weeks and they developed a relationship We became close friends she mentioned He was magnetizing He was outwardly genuine and kind He was the one who reminded me to keep my head up He was the one that encouraged me He pushed me to succeed more in life They began to meet up at his office in Southlake and then at hotels and eventually at his home once while his wife and kids were out of town she reported He stated her that his wife was aware of the relationship and even encouraged him to go to the Red Light District in Amsterdam every year but he communicated with a burner email and would often get spooked and cancel on her she mentioned In his report Capriglione acknowledged that he had years ago selfishly had an affair although he did not confirm that it was with Grace He mentioned his wife and family forgave him We moved past it and have the strong marriage we do this day he mentioned Their grace and God s is something for which I am grateful every day I m a different man than I was because of it He denied ever going to Amsterdam Grace revealed Capriglione gave her gifts including cash payments On one occasion she announced Capriglione gave her an address to meet up but when she got there it was a Chuck E Cheese He advised me to go to the back of the building and next to the dumpster there would be a rubber mat Look under it she recalls him telling her And under this rubber mat was an envelope with money Grace explained that as Capriglione moved into politics he was elected to the House in they began to drift apart and she began to see him more clearly She explained in or they had one phone call where she expressed her anger at his political stances and encouraged him to stick to who you are He hung up cut all their lines of communication and they never spoke again Grace declared She explained she sent an email to his legislative email address expressing her frustrations that same night but never heard back I required him to stand for what he truly considered she commented in the interview If you are using abortions for your personal gain if you are using women for your personal gain why announce to the world that this isn t who you are Capriglione reported he was not above scrutiny but threatened legal action seemingly against Current Revolt as well as Grace for what he characterized as lying and defaming me The lineup for The Texas Tribune Festival continues to grow Be there when all-star leaders innovators and newsmakers take the stage in downtown Austin Nov The newest additions include comedian actor and writer John Mulaney Dallas mayor Eric Johnson U S Sen Amy Klobuchar D-Minnesota New York Media Editor-at-Large Kara Swisher and U S Rep Veronica Escobar D-El Paso Get your tickets nowadays TribFest is presented by JPMorganChase This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https www texastribune org giovanni-capriglione-affair-texas-house-republican The Texas Tribune is a member-supported nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and procedures Learn more at texastribune org The post Anti-abortion Texas Republican denies funding several abortions in affair appeared first on Salon com