Texas state senator accused of forcing beverage commission to drop probe into her bar

A Texas state senator is accused of obstructing justice by influencing the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) to drop an investigation into the bar she and her husband partly owned, The Austin American-Statesman reported Friday.

Marcus Stokke, a former TABC sergeant who oversaw the regulatory body’s enforcement in two dozen counties, filed a lawsuit this week accusing the agency of improperly ousting him after he reported allegations against state Sen. Joan Huffman (R).

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Stokke claims TABC officials were influenced by Huffman and ordered him to drop investigations into the Graham Central Station bar in the city of Longview, in eastern Texas.

Huffman and her husband, Keith Lawyer, were part owners of the bar, but the establishment has since apparently closed, the newspaper reported.

TABC was investigating alleged violations at the spot, including a report that alcohol was served to a patron who sexually assaulted a female customer in or near the establishment.

The lawsuit also claims the agency was investigating 11 other “breaches of peace” at Graham Central Station, typically a reference to fights.

“(Stokke) was actually told to dismiss, and delete from the commission’s records … digital or paper documentation of the suspected violations,” the lawsuit alleges.

Huffman denied the allegations on Friday, The Statesman reported.

“These claims are false and have no merit, and are not deserving of any further comment,” she said

A spokesperson for the TABC declined to comment to The Statesman on the pending litigation. 

Stokke claims that he was fired after he reported Huffman’s “public corruption and obstruction of justice” to federal investigators and the FBI in May 2017.

His lawsuit asserts that the reasons given for his firing in October 2017 — including inadequate performance —  “were false.”

Stokke wants his job reinstated at the agency and is seeking $200,000 in damages.

Huffman is chairwoman of the Senate State Affairs Committee. She was recently named vice chairwoman to the new Select Committee on Violence in Schools. 

Huffman secured the Republican primary for District 17 in March. She will face Democrat Rita Lucido and Libertarian Lauren LaCount during the general election in November.