the following is a cnn special report. >> wealthy people spend a lot of money to get policy made the way they want it, and they get it. >> now to sign the law. >> the average voter doesn't know what's happening behind the scenes. >> a texas bill targeting lgbtq plus children. >> they want to cope it secret. >> the texas law banning abortions. >> they really believe that they've been given a mandate by god. >> he has set us free from the law. >> they want to destroy the public school system. >> we are not contending against flesh and blood. >> the money is all tied back to the same people.

>> follow the money. >> i am not comfortable with the transgenders. >> more than 90% of your financing came from billionaires. >> i don't think he would have any comment. >> we're going to go inside and see if he'll talk to us. >> is it about control? >> senator ted cruz. >> and power. >> it is a russian style oligarchy, pure and simple. ♪ >> it's election day. we're in the city of sherman, texas, which is right on the

texas/oklahoma border. this is a ruby red area of texas, and the republican primary is essentially the election that matters here. come november in the general election, whoever the republican is that comes out of the primaries will very likely win whatever seat they're running for here in sherman. >> i thought i need to run because the people that are running here claim to be conservative, but aren't as conservative as they should be. >> i am not comfortable with the transgenders, the kids that they brought in my classroom when they said that this kid is transgendering into a different sex, that i couldn't have kids laugh at them. >> people outside of texas who look and say texas is one of the most conservative states in the country, you're trying to make it even more conservative. >> we still have kids that, you know, can have gender mutilation. we just want to make sure that

we keep our conservative values. >> welcome to another exciting night of texas high school football. >> your experience as a school board member seems to have opened up your eyes to the world of texas politics. >> it did. i felt like i could do more for the community, and school board felt like a good place to try and do that. while i was serving. >> i'm running for state representative in district 60. >> we had a new member join the texas house. he voted against the interests of the public schools multiple times. >> christian values, they're under attack in the schools with lgbt. >> that is what really got me thinking why? >> i think you find in a lot of texas towns the school district is kind of the heart of the

community, right? so it was kind of strange. >> so what did you start doing? >> well, i started pulling the money. i'm going in and i'm pulling mike lang. it was outrageous when you started looking at the pie chart seeing how big a section was coming from the same donor or just a handful of donors. >> they'll write massive checks to individual candidates and then write massive checks to all these pacs which write massive checks to individual candidates. >> and a lot of people don't have any idea. they don't know. >> i'm shelly luther, this is what i think about chinese communist drones flying over my property. >> you ran for texas state senate in 2020? >> yes. >> i did. >> you lost that election. >> i did. >> when we look through the

campaign finance report back in 2020, more than 90% of your financing came from two west texas billionaires, farris wilks and tim dunn. in this election it's over 80%. what do those men mean for this campaign? >> without them i couldn't have even run. they're great men, they're great people. >> you've been a columnist in fort worth for how long? >> oh, my gosh, i tell people since the last century. i've followed 18 sessions of the texas legislature. >> sb 8 has virtually shut down all abortions in texas. people can now carry handguns in public without any kind of license or training. >> do you think texas can get more conservative that has it is right now? >> texas could very much get more conservative. but i don't think regular texans are as conservative as their elected officials. i don't think people realize

that there are only a handful of millionaires who really control a large number of the members of the texas house. >> who are the people that you think have the biggest sway and control of the republican party in texas? >> tim dunn in midland. >> i'm going to talk a little bit about my background. i grew up in big spring. i worked at koz den refinery in the surveillancmmers. >> he has been the leader of this midland oil team. >> i've ended up making more money than i ever thought possible. sfwr the >> and then you have the wilks brothers. >> this is where i lived the first six years of my life. >> you've come a long way. >> yeah, we have. >> they used to be in the fracking business and they made billions. >> we didn't expect a lot of the good things that did happen.

>> i can hear the critics already saying you can't expect me to believe there's a handful of billionaires that can have this kind of influence of an entire state of nearly 30 million people. >> i don't think anybody can identify any other reason that that money is what's pushing texas to the far right. these texas districts are so big and sprawling, it's impossible to find somebody that everybody knows. so you have the west texas money that comes in, hand picks a candidate that nobody's ever heard of, and they put $2 million into a campaign and they beat all the local candidates. there is a difference between these millionaires. they've got a faith in values component to them too. >> there are forces in america

today that are trying to shame marriage. marriage was an honorable thing, and it's trying to shame marriage, shame men. >> male on male or female on female is against nature, so this lifestyle is a predatory lifestyle and they need your children and straight people having kids to fulfill their sexual habits. they want your children. >> for people who don't know farris wilks and tim dunn, what are they like? >> mr. dunn is super down to earth, jeans and a -- like a button up flannel shirt kind of guy. i did go to west texas and talk to them because they wanted to see what i was all about. >> do you get put through the gauntlet of questions? >> absolutely. they want to make sure aim who i say i am, and i do have my christian values. they ask me about my childhood

and what my morals are and what i believe in. >> all right, your mark, get set. >> go! >> i like to do swimming, k karate, and i used to play soccer. >> what do you want people who are passing these bills to know about transgender kids? >> we're just normal kids that want and need normal lives. >> with the last bill in texas that passed, hb 25, she's unable to play sports at her school. >> a texas bill targeting lgbtq plus children. >> the bill will ban transgender youth from participating on the sports team of the gender to which they identify. >> at this age, this is a time where kids are trying to figure out what sports do i really enjoy playing and which sports am i really good at, and it promotes a healthy lifestyle, and she doesn't have that

ability. >> you've heard of these texas billionaires, tim dunn, farris wilks. >> yes. >> the bill's author and primary sponsor representative valerie swanson received campaign funding from wilkes, dunn, and the organizations they fund in her 2016 campaign. how involved do you think they are in these issues? >> money always talks, and if these legislators are getting their funding from them and their funding could potentially stop if they're not doing what these donors are asking them to do, then i think that speaks for itself. >> you're a senator here in the dallas area. >> senator bob hall is ranked as the top conservative in the texas senate. >> received nearly half of his 2018 campaign funding from the wilks and dunn network.

when we return -- >> a friend of mine called me, she said, dorothyi, please don' do that interview. >> former employee of tim dunn. >> you were kept under lock and key. >> and conservative texas lawmakers. >> you can take an unqualified person and make them look like a legitimate office holder. >> speak out for the first time on camera. >> is this about being conservative or st about being in control? >> it's about control. being conservative is not good enough. they dance to whatever tune tim dunn wants to play. learns, adaps and anticipates your every need. with intelligence... that feels anything but artificial.

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different is that it's usually on the forefront of pushing that legislation, and even conservative republicans here in texas will tell you that this isn't all just about political ideology. there's something else happening here. >> no matter what rules you grew up with, none of them are enforceable in god's kingdom. >> this is the private school that tim dunn founded back in 1998. >> this is midland bible church. tim dunn has preached here many times. >> he has set us free from the law. there's no condemnation for those who walk according to the spirit. >> we're here in midland, texas, it's part of your own district. it's also home to tim dunn.

>> your voting record is just as conservative as many of the people who might be supported by these west texas billionaire. you voted for the abortion bill. you voted for the no permit gun carry bill. >> mm-hmm. >> and the bill that limits the discussion of race and gender in classrooms, you voted for that as well. >> mm-hmm. >> so why haven't the tim dunns and the farris wilks supported you. seems like you're doing stuff they would agree with. >> my voting record is very conservative. is it 100% conservative? you're either owned or you're not owned. >> in 2006 dunn actually donated $500 to your senate campaign? and since then dunn has donated to texas politicians and political action committees across the state, none of that money has gone to you.

>> i met him in my first campaign and we talked, and i told him i would be open minded towards what was his sole issue in 2004, which was taking public money and giving it to private school s. once i looked at the legislation there, i couldn't support it, and so i guess that was alienating. >> we went back and looked at some of your campaign donation numbers, and what stood out was if you look over your entire political career as a state senator, your largest donor accounted for about 4% of your total campaign funding. does that make you a different kind of public servant? >> i would like to think so. you want to make sure people know that it's about them, not about money. >> so the way you describe this, it almost sounds like senator joe smith, if they've got a ton of money coming from these west texas billionaires, those billionaires are really the

elected official. >> it is a russian style oligarchy pure and simple, really, really wealthy people who are willing to spend a lot of money to get policy made the way they want it, and they get it. >> the corner stones of our government are crumbling and starting to come apart. and it's because of the lack of morality, the lack of belief in our heavenly father. >> for more than a decade, you were winning elections out here in east texas. >> mm-hmm. >> i looked at myself more as a reagan conservative, someone that was interested in good government and policy. >> in all of your time in the texas senate, you never received any money from tim dunn, farris wilks, any of the pacs that they represent? >> no. >> and someone who says, look, i

have a hard time believing that a couple of guys who are donating to candidates across the state can really have this much influence. i just don't buy it. >> i had one senator literally open a book and said i think i can vote for that because i haven't really voted against them on anything so far. what kind of public policy, i'm not going to name him. someone that's still there. >> that's what governing has become in texas right now. >> the score card voters. that's what we used to call them, the score card voters. they don't look at the merits of an issue. >> what is the score card? >> you have the dunns and the wilks, they're going to put up a big money challenger against anybody who doesn't vote the way they want. and so the republicans in texas, they're watching their score card. am i conservative enough. you know, oh, my gosh, are the wilks brothers going to send an opponent up against me.

>> they let everybody know before a vote, this is going to be a score card vote. records are going to be kept on how you voted on this. >> they hand pick those bills. they publish a list on who's the most conservative based on their score card. >> that score card still exists? >> they do it every election, every cycle. >> we're driving through downtown cisco. >> i call it the heart of texas. austin's about three and a half hours southwest of us. this is the texans for fiscal responsibility website where the score card, if you will, is published. this is my former boss mike lang, 2017 session he got an a plus, 2019 he got an a minus. >> this is a score card that's going to show up in republican primary voter mailboxes come

primary season. >> right. so this is senate -- this is whenever i was still in the house. so jonathan stickland there you gorks top 98. >> he's no longer a lawmaker. >> now he is the treasurer of the pac that farris wilks and tim dunn primarily funded with millions of dollars. >> defend texas liberty. >> yes, defend texas liberty pac. >> it's no coincidence that he has one of the highest ratings on this website for that particular year and thousand he works for them. former representative mike lang, he got campaign money from farris wilks and his pacs. you were his former campaign manager? >> yes. >> and then his chief of staff. >> correct. >> bf efore you went to work fo mike lang, you used to work for empower texans, tim dunn's organization. >> i have to be very careful with what i say because i'm underneath a nondisclosure agreement myself.

>> the wilk's family is from cisco. did you know about them when you were growing up here? >> yeah. we go way back town with of my,. t farris and his side of the family, and that's more the political side of the family, and then you've got dan and his wife stacy, you know, they're more philanthropic, a little less on the political side. i think they kind of got into their public expenditures, it's pretty obvious that they share a lot of the same beliefs and they share a lot of the same organizations that they fund. >> coming up. >> they really believe that they've been given a mandate by god to take dominion over

society. >> you heard farris wilks talk like that? >> yes, they really believe that. if maga republicans get their way, abortion will be banned nationwide, with no exceptions. medicare and social security will end in five years, with no replacement. elections will be decided by politicians, if maga republicans get back in power, your rights, benefits and freedoms will be in danger. democrats will protect your rights. and the only way to stop

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former representative mike lang, do you think he could have won without the money that he got from farris wilks and his -- >> absolutely not, there's no way. it takes money to run a campaign, and as you can see from mike's donor list, it's not going to get you very far. >> what kind of influence did farris wilks have over mike

lang? >> whenever he called, he answered. there was a lot of control. >> farris wilks and his people expected mike lang to vote the way they wanted him to vote every time? you're his chief of staff. how would that work? >> a lot of time the reps are controlled through other arms, so, for example, texas right to life. they put out these vote recomme recommendations. of course, they tell you, oh, they're just recommendations. they're just how we feel. i'm not telling you you have to vote this way, but if you don't. >> so the tentacles of this political operation are long and can squeeze very tightly? >> yes. >> we're coming up on the

assembly of yaway, farris's church. >> we are not contending against flesh and blood but against this present darkness. >> you got to be you. you start changing one time for people, and it's over. >> i went to seminary after being on city council for my fourth term. it's almost like hallowed ground here. after i graduated in 2013, founded an organization christians in public servants to help train public servant leaders who are christians how to serve god's way. had nothing to do with government. i'm just speaking around the country, training, teaching. >> from a conservative theological viewpoint. >> i didn't know anything else. >> you get invited to speak at the christian values summit.

>> i became one of the speakers. i was on the circuit from 2015 through 2016. the pastor who was sponsoring, my brother-in-law supports it. i didn't know where the brother-in-law was. turning out had his brother-in-law was farris wilks. they speak and they speak on liberty and freedom and chris chris christianity. we were all christian s. we wouldn't be the country we are today if it wasn't for the involvement of the church. farris is always there, very quiet man, very nice man. you would look at him and you would never think that he was a billionaire. >> what made you want to break away from the christian values summit? >> when i began to put it all together, being theologically trained and having been in politics for so long, in texas,

i'm going to say this because i don't know how else to say it, we know shit from sugar in texas. they really believe that they've been given a mandate by god to take dominion over society and run all these areas. and they call it the seven mountains or the seven pillars. government, religion, education, the family, business, media, and arts and entertainment. they believe that they have been kb given that mandate by god in genesis 128 when god says i give you dominion over the earth to have dominion over the fish and the sea and the birds in the air. >> and by dominion you mean. >> take control. >> establish the rules by which we live and play. >> yes, that's dominionism. >> and you heard farris wilks

talk like that? >> yes, yes. they'd really believe that. if i had not known theology better, i would have believed it too. but that's not what god meant. that's not what god said. dominion is not domination. he said take dominion, which means actually caretaker, manager, not overtake and dominate. it's a theological error, but it's one that they operate from, and one that they really, really believe. >> our families are under attack and our place as men and leaders and our home is under attack. >> dominion has a much broader agenda than christian nationalism. >> what is christian

nationalism? >> christian nationalism is a religious and political ideology that believes that america's founders intended for the united states to be an explicitly christian nation governed and guided by biblical christian principles, that the nation has departed from those principles and that it should become a christian nation again. >> america chose god as king over a tyrant. today the choice is still before us. >> tim dunn, farris wilks, is it fair to say that they're christian nationalists? >> those sermons suggest that they hold certain christian nationalist beliefs, and they're putting their money to support christian nationalism. >> we're seeing a trend in our nation that will force us in the christian community to be sure of what our values are going

forward. because i think that we will be persecuted, and so it's time that we stand up. >> when you say christian nation, i take that to mean you don't believe in separation of church and state? >> some christian nationalists say church, state separation is a myth. rafael cruz. >> separation of church and state is not in the constitution. it's not in the declaration. >> the pastor, father of u.s. senator ted cruz talked about separation of church and state as being a one-way wall of separation, that is it's meant to keep the government out of religion but not to keep religion out of government. >> the word of god tells us we should be having an influence upon government, every area of life. it is about time that we draw a line in the sand and we say no more. we will take it no more. >> that's not church state separation. that is christian domination.

>> coming up -- >> they want to destroy the public school system as we know it. >> had you ever been targeted like that in your education? >> never, never. >> and later -- >> do you think that their vision is to take their political vision beyond texas? >> god isn't done with america yet. >> absolutely.

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be the shepherds are not teaching the truth. >> every school i've been a principal i've been the first black principal. those kids are amazing. this is that heritage. this is the ptsa had an ice cream social, like meet the new principal. >> you were the first black principal of colleyville heritage high school. do you think about what that means? >> i didn't really think about it. while i knew there's so much to the job, it was just like hit the ground running. >> when did it all turn? >> over the kcourse of the last school year, that's when things changed. >> in the summer a former board candidate accused whitfield of advocating for critical race theory. whitfield was placed on leave after the accusations. >> the school board voted to not renew whitfield's contract meaning he's officially out as principal at colleyville

heritage. >> whitfield says this all started back in the summer of 2020 when he penned a heartfelt note to the school community after george floyd's murder. >> can you read some of the letter for us? >> dear family, i trust this message finds you safe and well as i type these words, it's 4:30 in the morning, and i can't sleep. i encourage us all to not grow weary in the battle against systemic racism, commit to being antiracist. while there are great obstacles to face, please know that i am with you on this journey towards conciliation of our nation. sincerely, james. >> had you ever been targeted like that in your education career? >> never, never. never had any issues, any concerns. my time in the district was great up until that july 26th school board meeting. >> i was first made aware of mr.

whitfield's extreme views on race when a concerned friend of mine shared with me a letter. >> stetson clark school board candidate was the first person to call for you to be fired? >> right. >> because of this extreme views i ask that a full review of mr. whitfield's tenure be examined and that his contract be terminated effective immediately. >> he described systemic racism as a conspiracy theory. >> encouraging all members of our community to become revolutionaries by becoming antiracist, he is encouraging the disruption and destruction of our districts. >> you want that kind of person who lacks that level of understanding to be responsible for making decisions that are in the best interests of kids and educators on a daily basis?

>> i wanted to read this other letter. there's this group called the texas public policy foundation, and they wrote a letter on november 8th of 2021, and the vice chairman has been tim dunn. it's a right wing think tank, and i wanted to read part of it to you. it says education freedom setting the captives free would break the woke strangle hold of critical race theory, queer theory, sexual anarchy and hate america curricula, bad education will lose funding and that means the indoctrination will not survive. when you hear that kind of language about texas public schools, what's your reaction? >> it really has nothing to do with critical race theory. it has nothing to do with a lot of the things that they're spewing they want to disrupt and destroy public schools because they would much rather have schools that are faith-based. >> the bible is a book mainly about politics.

but the most important thing to do is don't surrender. it doesn't matter what they tell us if we stand and we are vigilant, we will win. >> before our children we must be sure they know how to follow toward teaching rather than social conscience. when the bible teaches one thing and our culture teaches another, what do our children need to know what to do. >> good afternoon, i'm mike lang, house representative from hd 60. oil and gas is great for our school districts. >> did farris wilks ever direct former state representative mike lang on how to vote on any specific legislation regarding public schools, for example? >> farris would make sure that mike's towing the line, make sure this he's supporting specific legislation. anything that was in any sort of way propping up the current system of public school was not an okay stance to have.

>> what'd you do in school? >> the goal is to -- >> the goal is to knock the legs out of the from under it 100%. he has gotten direct phone calls saying, hey, you know, just want to make sure you're all on the right path from farris. >> when we return -- >> do you think the average voter in this state understands the magnitude of what this political movement is pushing? >> no, they don't. >> clearly you knew then you were a target? >> that's the law of the jungle now in texas.

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there are more than 17 million registered voters in texas, but less than 2 million people voted in the 2022 republican primary. >> do you vote in primaries? >> i voted early voting. >> have you ever heard of tim dunn and farris wilks? >> no. >> and if i told you that they are west texas billionaires who donate millions of dollars to candidates all over the state, would that surprise you? >> no. >> does it bother you in any way? >> yes. >> how so? >> can you help the little people? >> can you talk about the influence that those two men

have on the state's republican politics? zb . >> i think what you're getting at is what do they want for this money? yeah, nothing. he wants me to do what i say that i represent. >> did you vote for shelly luther? >> i did. >> wilks and dunn have donated the lion's share of the campaign financing for shelly luther's campaign. i'm wondering does that bother you in any way? >> i knew more about them possibly if it was bad, but no, because i think all of them get money from somewhere. >> do you just get inundated with these flyers in the mail all the time? >> i've gotten i don't know how many fliers in the mail and emails on my phone. >> so the texas score card scores candidates on who's the most conservative 100% and they kind of g dowo down the line. did you know it was a west texas billionaire behind that score card? >> no, i did not. >> does that make you question

it at all? >> now that i know it might, yeah. it probably would affect me more. i should have found that out i guess. >> i don't mean to make you feel -- >> no, i don't because like i said, i did all the information gathering i could. >> this is the texas house of representative, 150 members from all over the state come in to make the laws we all live under for 30 million people. >> how long have you covered texas politics? >> about 20 years. they don't have to win the election to have moved the needle in texas. let's say you're a republican representative in the texas house and you get a well-funded

challenger, and that challenger is funded by some of these west texas billionaires and therefore you have a tough race. you'll adopt some positions that you might not otherwise have adopted. >> they force republicans to the right, whether they win or lose. >> that's right! when bob hall runs against you in 2014, did you know much about him? >> well, we did our research, but basically money from outside the district, all this west texas money made him into a viable kcandidate. >> bob bob dool turned his back on life and onto disabled patients. proudly paid for by texas right to life. >> texas right to life spent over $150,000 on mailers on bob hall who beat you back in 2014. >> pro-life issue is very important to r.n.s epublicans, all of a sudden one of the older

established pro-life groups is saying i'm not pro-life, which is ridiculous. >> i just want to be clear of how conservative of a senator you were. you co-authored an abortion bill in 2013 that was considered among the strictest in the country. the bill became law. i think it closed 22 of 41 abortion clinics in texas at the time. in 2016 the supreme court said your provision in particular was so restrictive it was actually unconstitutional. i'm not bringing that up to -- >> that's fine. >> i'm not bringing that up to debate the merits of the bill or any policy. it's just to ask why would a group called texas right to life then turn around and try to knock you out as a legislator? >> because i didn't do what they wanted me to do on the end of life issue. >> what was it about your end of life bill that caused you so many problems? >> they wanted no matter what the patient's condition is, if the family said treat them, even though it might be very cruel to the patient to do so. >> that was too extreme? >> yeah. i'm pro-life, but one or two issues and they turn on you.

>> that 2014 election, you end up losing about 300 votes. >> 300 votes, yeah. >> and the year after your loss, wilks gave texas right to life pac 80% of their money. you had two close elections, both against michael cannon, the second was in 2018, and cannon received more than half of his money from wilks and dunn, and you won that by about 15,000 votes to almost push you into primary runoff there. >> right. >> clearly you knew then you were a target. >> it was no mystery and no surprise. that's the law of the jungle now in texas. and that's why a lot of republican house members, the majority of republican senate members just dance to whatever tune tim dunn wants to play.

>> when ted cruz ran for president in 2016, farris wilks and his brother dan gave $15 million. cruz only had $23 million in his super pac at that time. do you think that their vision is to take their political agenda beyond texas? >> absolutely. i think they're starting to push more local and try to build up. >> school board races, city council races, county commissioner races, they're not as sexy as the statewide senate race or a presidential campaign. >> no. >> but those are the offices that have far more influence on people's lives. >> do you want your own cards or are you going to be on my team?

don't look at my cards. >> i have no idea why people don't understand that i'm just a girl, an 11-year-old girl living in texas with amazing hair. [ laughter ] >> in december of 2021 on a website called texas score card, and this is an organization tim dunn launched several years ago, and he remains on the board of directors. there's this article titled cowards in the pulpit, and in the last section the author writes, quote, this is a time that requires physical boldness, not spiritualized coward ice. we need strong pastors, shepherds in the pulpits willing to kill the wolves literally. >> it was one of tim dunn's top political advisers that wrote that. what do you think kill the wolves literally means? >> i'm scared to even hypothesize. >> it makes me think of the crusades and the dark ages. >> i imagine from where you sit, maybe someone views you as the wolves. >> sounds like it.

>> sounds like it. it's strange to think that. it really is. >> do you worry that it's just an escalation of the rhetoric, it's an escalation of the anger in our politics and all the matlm -- ultimately that could mean something bad for you guys. >> when you use inflammatory speech like that, it riles the base. having an enemy is a strong way to unite people, and it seems like that's what they're trying to do. >> we have been trying to reach farris wilks and tim dunn for weeks. we're calling farris wilks' office here in cisco, texas. >> i don't think he would have any comment anyway, but thank you for reaching out.

>> this is crown quest operating, tim dunn's business. and we're going to go inside and see if we can track him down to talk to us. they took my name and number down. they're going to get the message to the assistant.

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good morning, we begin tonight with exclusive new reporting about one of the most alarming mysteries, what happened to secret service text messages around january 6th, or the attempt on president reagan's life. >> in the building, hold. >> we need to move now. >> copy. >> if we lose any more time, we may have -- we may lose the ability to leave. >> did agents text each other afterwards about what they went through? were they texting before the fact about their concerns for what might happen that day or about what the president was saying or doing?