U.S. Judge Backs Paxton in Subpoena Dodge
as AG Blasts Media in Cahoots with Radicals

Capitol Inside
September 27, 2022

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton declared victory on Tuesday after a federal judge invalidated a subpoena that sparked high drama in his driveway with his wife who's a state senator as a key supporting character when a process server attempted to deliver it to their home the previous day.

Judge Robert Pitman - a Barack Obama nominee who serves on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas - granted Paxton's bid to quash the subpoena that had been issued in connection with a lawsuit by abortion providers trying to head off prosecutions of cases performed before the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade.

Paxton argued in the motion that the server had behaved suspiciously and posed a "serious security risk" to his family while he "loitered" outside the attorney general's home for more than a hour while shouting repeatedly at him. Paxton portrayed the incident as a "made-up controversy" and "shameless stunt" that was perpetuated by political enemies and exacerbated by the press.

Paxton, who's facing Democrat Rochelle Garza at the ballot box this fall, suggested that it could have been worse.

"Given that this suspicious and erratic man charged me on my private property, he is lucky this situation did not escalate further or necessitate force," the attorney general said in a Twitter post on Tuesday afternoon. "As leaders across America, from elected officials to Supreme Court Justices, face unprecedent threats of politically motivated violence, I believe this type of behavior utilized by radical activists is thoroughly disgusting and should be met with swift condemnation - not championed in the media."

But unleashed a blistering round of criticism at the media for what he apparently perceived to be unflattering coverage of the dust up and successful subpoena ducking.

“This is a ridiculous waste of time and the media should be ashamed of themselves,” Paxton tweeted. “All across the country, conservatives have faced threats to their safety – many threats that received scant coverage or condemnation from the mainstream media.”

Paxton did not elaborate on what he found so offensive about the reporting on a story that the media would have been derelict to ignore. But he repeated the persecution warning in another tweet.

"It’s clear that the media wants to drum up another controversy involving my work as Attorney General, so they’re attacking me for having the audacity to avoid a stranger lingering outside my home and showing concern about the safety and well-being of my family,” Paxton contended.

The same basic story emerged in the mainstream media. The process server parked outside the Paxton house, approached the front door, rang the doorbell and prepared to hand the subpoena to the AG when a woman answered the doorbell and identified herself as Angela. That would be GOP State Senator Angela Paxton of McKinney.

According to court documents that were filed by the plaintiffs in the suit related to the abortion ban, the server Ernesto Martin Herrera told Paxton's wife he would wait for her husband outside. More than an hour passed before he saw Paxton leaving through the garage en route to a truck that his spouse had backed into the driveway.

more to come ...

 

 

 

 

 

GOP Favored DEM Favored
   
1 Texas Governor - GOP
Greg Abbott (R-Inc) vs Beto O'Rourke (D)
2 Texas Lieutenant Governor - GOP
Dan Patrick (R-Inc) vs Mike Collier (D)
3 Texas Attorney General - GOP
Ken Paxton (R-Inc) vs Rochelle Garza (D)
4 Texas Agriculture Commissioner - GOP
Sid Miller (R-Inc) vs Susan Hays (D)
5 Texas Land Commissioner - GOP
Dawn Buckingham (R) vs Jay Kleberg (D)
6 Texas Comptroller - GOP
Glenn Hegar (R-Inc) vs Janet Dudding (D)
7 Texas Railroad Commissioner - GOP
Wayne Christian (R-Inc) vs Luke Warford (D)
   
1 Congressional District 15 - DEM
Michelle Vallejo (D) vs Monica De la Cruz (R)
2 Congressional District 34 - DEM
Vicente Gonzalez (Inc) (D-Inc) vs Mayra Flores (R-Inc)
3 Congressional District 28 - DEM
Henry Cuellar (D-Inc) vs Cassy Garcia (R)
4 Congressional District 28 - DEM
Beth Van Duyne (R-Inc) vs Jan McDowell (D)
   
1 Texas Senate District 27 - DEM
Morgan LaMantia (D) vs Adam Hinojosa (R)
2 Texas Senate District 24 - GOP
Pete Flores (R) vs Kathy Jones-Hospod(D)
3 Texas Senate District 19 - DEM
Roland Gutierrez (D-Inc) vs Robert Garza (R)
4 Texas Senate District 12 - GOP
Tan Parker (R) vs Francine Ly (D)
5 Texas Senate District 10 - DEM
Beverly Powell (D-Inc) vs Phil King (R)
   
1 Texas House District 37 - DEM
Luis Villarreal Jr. (D) vs Janie Lopez (R)
2 Texas House District 118 - GOP
John Lujan (R-Inc) vs Frank Ramirez (D)
3 Texas House District 74 - DEM
Eddie Morales Jr. (D-Inc) vs Katherine Parker (R)
4 Texas House District 70 - GOP
Jamee Jolly (R) vs Mihaela Plesa (D)
5 Texas House District 108 - GOP
Morgan Meyer (R-Inc) vs Elizabeth Ginsberg (D)
6 Texas House District 112 - GOP
Angie Chen Button (R-Inc) vs Elva Curl (D)
7 Texas House District 121 - GOP
Steve Allison (R-Inc) vs Becca Moyer DeFelice (D)
8 Texas House District 52 - DEM
Luis Echegaray (D) vs Caroline Harris (R)
9 Texas House District 133 - GOP
Mano DeAyala (R) vs Mohamad Maarouf (D)
10 Texas House District 54 - DEM
Brad Buckley (R-Inc) vs Jonathan Hildner (D)
11 Texas House District 61 - GOP
Frederick Frazier (R) vs Sheena King (R)
12 Texas House District 66 - GOP
Matt Shaheen (R-Inc) vs Jesse Ringness (D)
13 Texas House District 65 - GOP
Kronda Thimesch (R) vs Brittney Verdell (D)
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Jeff Leach (R-Inc) vs Kevin Morris (D)
15 Texas House District 63 - GOP
Ben Bumgarner (R) vs Denise Wooten (D)
16 Texas House District 122 - GOP
Mark Dorazio (R) vs Angi Aramburu (D)
17 Texas House District 55 - GOP
Hugh Shine (R-Inc) vs Tristian T.D. Sanders (D)
18 Texas House District 115 - DEM
Julie Johnson (D-Inc) vs Melisa Denis (R)
19 Texas House District 34 - DEM
Abel Herrero (D-Inc) vs Carolyn Vaughn (R)
20 Texas House District 138 - GOP
Lacy Hull (R-Inc) vs Stephanie Morales (D)
   

 

 

 

 

 

 

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