Yesterday, the attorney general of Texas—the top law enforcement officer in the state—made an idiot of himself trying to avoid a process server who was delivering a subpoena for a federal court hearing today. Ernesto Martin Herrera, the process server, tells the story. Be sure to read to the end.
When Herrera arrived at Ken Paxton’s home in McKinney on Monday morning, he told a woman who identified herself as Angela that he was trying to deliver legal documents to the attorney general. She told him that Paxton was on the phone and unable to come to the door. Herrera said he would wait.
Nearly an hour later, a black Chevrolet Tahoe pulled into the driveway, and 20 minutes after that, Ken Paxton exited the house.
“I walked up the driveway approaching Mr. Paxton and called him by his name. As soon as he saw me and heard me call his name out, he turned around and RAN back inside the house through the same door in the garage,” Herrera wrote in the sworn affidavit.
Angela Paxton then exited the house, got inside a Chevrolet truck in the driveway, started it and opened the doors. “A few minutes later I saw Mr. Paxton RAN from the door inside the garage towards the rear door behind the driver side,” Herrera wrote. “I approached the truck, and loudly called him by his name and stated that I had court documents for him. Mr. Paxton ignored me and kept heading for the truck.”
....On Twitter, the attorney general said his sudden departure was motivated by concerns for his family's safety. “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,” he wrote in a tweet.
The fact that Paxton ran from a process server is unremarkable. Lots of crooks run from process servers, and Paxton has been under indictment for securities fraud since 2015. Paxton probably thought that Herrera was trying to deliver documents related to that, and accepting them might actually cause his trial to finally start after years of delays.
Or they might have been documents related to whistleblower complaints of improper influence, abuse of office, bribery and other crimes.
Or it might have been related to a different complaint from some of the whistleblowers, who claim that Paxton fired them in retaliation for blowing the whistle on him.
In other words, there are lots and lots of crimes these documents might have been about. How was Paxton to know that they were just innocent subpoenas to testify in a case about abortion law? Of course he ran.
Oh, and about that final paragraph of the Texas Tribune story. Gotta love it, right? It's as good as Trump himself could have pulled off.
Hey, Ken, if you're worried about strangers, why don't you just go get your gun? I mean, you've heard of the Castle Doctrine, right? Just shoot the guy!
Yeah, Paxton forgets to say the guy could obviously have been carrying any kind of weapon or even a bomb and he's lucky no one shot him before he got too close, because, you know, stand your ground.
Ken Paxton shooting the Messican process server would boost his rating in Texas. Even among other Messicans.
Would be revenge for what that jackboot thug Janet Reno did in Waco, & Miami. #freeelian
I couldn't tell you whether this counts or not. It seems to me that it does.
"He shouted at me" probably doesn't have much rebuttal power. Paxton's defense (against a charge of contempt for ignoring a subpoena) is "I didn't know he was trying to serve me". I don't think it's reasonable given the testimony of Herrera that he didn't understand that.
You sure that is not a script of a Southpark episode or somthing?
Fearing for his family's safety, he sends his wife out to get the car!
Ted Cruz treated his dog better.
So, when he saw a stranger in his driveway and feared for his safety he ran into his house and sent his wife out to face the danger. Yep, sounds just like the way a real Texas “man” would react.
And, if the guy had insulted his wife I suppose he would have groveled and begged for forgiveness like that other Texas “man” Ted Cruz.
Nah, he just wants to assure his place as the winner of this year’s Golden Pussy award.
Something Kevin should start awarding. With an image of a cowering, golden cat.
And this is why process servers need body cams.
Pathetic. He probably thought he was being clever.
For what it is worth...this should be a good service. Interestingly, when there is a contempt hearing for nonappearance, Paxton can be served then, in the courtroom.
I've seen it done, fun and games.
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