Texas governor Rick Perry indicted for abuse of power allegations

The Texas governor Rick Perry has been indicted for abuse of power after carrying out a threat to veto funding for state public corruption prosecutors.The potential Republican candidate for president in 2016 is accused of abusing his official powers by publicly promising to veto $7.5m for the state public integrity unit at the Travis County district attorney’s office.He was indicted by an Austin grand jury on Friday on felony counts of abuse of official capacity and coercion of a public servant. Maximum punishment on the first charge is five to 99 years in prison. The second is two to 10 years.

Perry said he would veto the funding if the district attorney, Rosemary Lehmberg, didn’t resign. Lehmberg had been convicted of drunken driving. Lehmberg refused and Perry carried out his veto.

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The case stems from Perry’s vetoing the $7.5 million biennial funding for the Travis County Public Integrity Unit last year. He threatened to withhold the money unless District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg resigned.

In announcing the indictment, special prosecutor Michael McCrum of San Antonio said he felt confident of the charges brought against the governor and was “ready to go forward.” Mary Anne Wiley, general counsel for the governor, said that Perry is being charged for exercising his rights and power as governor.“The veto in question was made in accordance with the veto authority afforded to every governor under the Texas Constitution. We will continue to aggressively defend the governor’s lawful and constitutional action, and believe we will ultimately prevail,” Wiley said.

Abuse of official capacity is a first-degree felony with punishment ranging from five to 99 years in prison, and coercion of a public servant is a third-degree felony with a penalty of two to 10 years.The indictment immediately fueled partisan fighting. Perry is a conservative Republican indicted by a grand jury in a Democratic county. Regardless, the charges could cripple any chance of a second presidential campaign, which had been gathering some momentum in recent months. In announcing the indictment, McCrum said that he weighed the duty he had in looking at a sitting governor.

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No one disputes that Perry is allowed to veto measures approved by the legislature, including part or all of the state budget. But the left-leaning Texans for Public Justice government watchdog group filed an ethics complaint accusing the governor of coercion because he threatened to use his veto before actually doing so in an attempt to put pressure on Lehmberg to quit.“I took into account the fact that we’re talking about a governor of a state and a governor of the state of Texas, which we all love,” said Michael McCrum, the San Antonio-based special prosecutor. “Obviously that carries a lot of importance. But when it gets down to it, the law is the law.”In office since 2000 and already the longest-serving governor in Texas history, Perry is not seeking re-election in November. But the criminal investigation could mar his political prospects as he considers another run at the White House, after his 2012 presidential bid failed.

Lehmberg oversees the office’s public integrity unit, which investigates statewide allegations of corruption and political wrongdoing. Perry said he would not allow Texas to fund the unit while Lehmberg remained in charge.Perry said Lehmberg, who is based in Austin, should resign after she was arrested and pleaded guilty to drunken driving in April 2013. A video recording made at the jail showed Lehmberg shouting at staffers to call the sheriff, kicking the door of her cell and sticking her tongue out.