Judge rules that Texas AG who ran away from being served a subpoena won't have to testify in abortion lawsuit
- Texas AG Ken Paxton ran away from being served a subpoena for an abortion access lawsuit.
- On Tuesday, a judge ruled that Paxton did not have to show up for a hearing on that lawsuit, CNN reported.
A judge has ruled that Attorney General Ken Paxton doesn't have to appear at a hearing on the abortion access lawsuit that he reportedly tried to run away from being served a subpoena for, CNN reported.
According to an affidavit that was first obtained by the Texas Tribune, Ernesto Martin Herrera, a process server arrived at Paxton's home to serve him the subpoena but Paxton escaped in a truck driven by his wife, Texas state Sen. Angela Paxton.
CNN reported that Paxton's office asked a judge to void the subpoenas arguing they were not proper and were not effectively served.
"Top executive officials should not be called to testify absent extraordinary circumstances," the motion from Judge Robert Pitman said, CNN reported.
The subpoenas required Paxton to testify at a hearing on Tuesday on a lawsuit filed by abortion rights groups. The groups are seeking protection against legal threats for helping women access abortions in other states after Texas enacted tough restrictions on abortion after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
In a tweet, Paxton said he fled being served the subpoena out of concern for his family after seeing a "stranger lingering outside my home."
"All across the country, conservatives have faced threats to their safety — many threats that received scant coverage or condemnation from the mainstream media," Paxton said.
In the motion, Pitman said Paxton feared for his safety and refused to engage with the process server and that the "plaintiff's actions have caused a serious security risk and that Herrera "loitered at the Attorney General's home for over an hour, repeatedly shouted at him, and accosted both the Attorney General and his wife, a Senator in the Texas legislature," CNN reported.