California GOP recall candidate given subpoena in middle of debate

A Republican candidate running to replace California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) in the upcoming recall election was served with court documents in the middle of a debate.

As The Los Angeles Times reports, GOP candidate John Cox was served court documents by a private investigator Tuesday, who threw them onto the debate stage before being asked to leave.

WATCH: CA Republican gubernatorial candidate in recall served subpoena during debate pic.twitter.com/jUue7ozmTh

— Melody Gutierrez (@MelodyGutierrez) August 18, 2021

The documents apparently stem from a ruling made by San Diego Superior Court Judge Daniel Link earlier this year for Cox’s campaign to pay a GOP political firm around $55,000 for political ads and another $43,000 for attorney’s costs. These fees were racked up during Cox’s unsuccessful 2018 gubernatorial campaign.

The Times reports that Cox was dismissive of the incident, continuing with his opening remarks and referring to it as “a garbage thing.”

“It’s one creditor who didn’t get paid from the 2018 campaign because he didn’t deserve to be,” he said.

Jim Innocenzi, founder of the Virginia-based firm claiming unpaid fees, told the Times that he had paid the California cast and crew out of his own pocket and had never been reimbursed. Link had ruled that Cox, a multimillionaire, should pay the outstanding balance.

Cox is currently facing off against around 40 other candidates in the recall election against Newsom, including talk radio host Larry Elder, former San Diego mayor Kevin Faulconer and reality television star Caitlyn Jenner. The California Republican Party voted this month to not endorse any of the GOP candidates.