'Repugnant political attack': Texas AG gets blistering takedown for taking aim at charity
Texas Attorney General and Donald Trump ally Ken Paxton came under attack Tuesday after an attempt to shut down shelters run by a Catholic charity were shot down in court.
Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-TX) hammered him after he tried to close a network of migrant shelters run by the Catholic charity Annunciation House, El Paso Matters reported.
Judge Francisco Dominguez knocked down Paxton's efforts to shut down the charity and went further, saying the state was harassing its employees and guests.
Paxton alleged that the group was operating a "stash house" and, as such, the Annunciation House must be shut down. He went on to accuse the group of "systemic criminal conduct" in a release.
But the judge said the move was “unenforceable."
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“The record before this court makes clear that the Texas Attorney General’s use of the request to examine documents from Annunciation House was a pretext to justify its harassment of Annunciation House employees and the persons seeking refuge. This court previously expressed its concern that the Attorney General did not identify what laws he believed were being violated from the outset,” Dominguez wrote in an order.
With it, he granted the Annunciation House’s filing to block Paxton’s demand for the group to turn over records.
Escobar cheered the ruling, calling the group and its volunteers "important partners to the federal government."
She explained that the group helps "provide temporary shelter to migrants released" by the Customs and Border Protection.
"I’m relieved Ken Paxton’s repugnant political attack, which wasted state and local resources, was struck down by the court," she posted on X.
Writing in the National Catholic Reporter, Pauline Hovey, a volunteer for the Annunciation House, called Paxton's attack on the group "plain wrong."
Hovey recalled marveling at the "horrific journeys and the deep faith of the people ICE brought to us."
She explained that the group "treated them with kindness, and often they told us we'd given them back their dignity."