Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has been mocked online following reports he fled being issued a subpoena in a vehicle driven by his wife, state senator Angela Paxton.
Paxton, 59, was being issued a subpoena at his home for a court hearing on Tuesday in relation to a lawsuit from non-profit groups seeking to fund out-of-state abortions for Texans.
According to an affidavit filed in federal court, Ernesto Martin Herrera, a process server, arrived at the attorney general's home to serve the subpoena and was greeted by state Sen. Paxton, The Texas Tribune reported.
Herrera said Angela Paxton told him her husband was busy on the phone and he "was in a hurry to leave."
Herrera said he went back to his car to wait for Ken Paxton, and then saw him exiting the garage. "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.
"Angela came out and opened the driver side and rearside door behind the driver of the truck. She then got inside the truck and started it, leaving the rear door behind the driver side open. A few minutes later, I saw Mr. Paxton ran from the door inside the garage towards the rear door behind the driver side.
"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," Herrera added.
Herrera said, after determining that Paxton was not going to take the subpoenas from his hand, he stated that he was serving him with legal documents and left them on the ground.
In tweets replying to The Texas Tribune article, Paxton criticized the coverage as a "ridiculous waste of time" and that his actions were motivated over concerns for his and his family's safety.
"All across the country, conservatives have faced threats to their safety — many threats that received scant coverage or condemnation from the mainstream media," Paxton tweeted.
"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."
In response, a number of social-media users have mocked Paxton's safety-concern defense, noting that it was his wife he went out the house first to start the vehicle while Herrera was waiting outside.
Rochelle Garza, a Democrat who is running against Paxton for Texas Attorney General in November's midterms, tweeted: "Run, Ken, run!
"Ken Paxton is a coward. He is running away from his felony indictments, his FBI investigation and now, nonprofits. And his wife is driving the getaway car.
"My name is Rochelle Garza and I'm running to uphold the rule of law –– not run away from it."
Daily Kos reporter Jennifer Hayden tweeted: "You were so afraid of the 'stranger' you sent your wife out to get the car?"
Texas-based journalist Christopher Hooks wrote on Twitter: "He was afraid for his safety so he had his wife deal with it. I love him.
"Subpoena wife guy. Been too long since we had a new wife guy."
Newsweek has contacted Paxton's office for comment.
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Ewan Palmer is a Newsweek News Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on US politics, domestic policy ... Read more
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