Rick Perry indicted on two felony coercion charges
I have to admit I had no idea Rick Perry was being investigated until I read the headline that he had been indicted for coercion by a grand jury. This all stems from an incident where Rick Perry allegedly threatened to veto a funding bill for a unit which investigates political corruption unless the head of that unit, District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg, stepped down.
This is the same unit which investigated Tom DeLay for money laundering, which led to his resignation as House Majority Leader and eventual conviction and overturn.
With that in mind Rick Perry probably took a little bit of pleasure in calling for the resignation Rosemary Lehmberg after she was convicted of drunk driving. He was right to ask for her resignation and in my opinion she should have resigned, however she did not.
The irony of a person who is in charge of investigating the cases of integrity of public officials being convicted of a crime and still holding onto her position is just too rich to ignore, and it takes away from the credibility of the unit.
Rick Perry then allegedly thought he saw an opportunity to force her resignation; he would veto funding for her unit unless she resigned:
A special prosecutor spent months calling witnesses and presenting evidence that Perry broke the law when he promised publicly to nix $7.5 million over two years for the public integrity unit run by the office of Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg. Lehmberg, a Democrat, was convicted of drunken driving, but refused Perry’s calls to resign.
This is what Rick Perry’s defense team had to say:
“The veto in question was made in accordance with the veto authority afforded to every governor under the Texas Constitution,”
“This clearly represents political abuse of the court system and there is no legal basis in this decision,” Botsford said in a statement. “Today’s action, which violates the separation of powers outlined in the Texas Constitution, is nothing more than an effort to weaken the constitutional authority granted to the office of Texas governor, and sets a dangerous precedent by allowing a grand jury to punish the exercise of a lawful and constitutional authority afforded to the Texas governor.”
And that is where we stand today. Rick Perry’s lawyers may be right about this being a case of the abuse of the court system but if Rick Perry did indeed threaten a veto unless an official resigned, even if the resignation was justified, it was not a smart move and it could cost him big time.
America's Watchtower 
Reblogged this on BLOGGING BAD w/Gunny G ~ "CLINGERS of AMERICA!".
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Thank you.
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I have always assumed any politician who got to a high office plots and plans every move, and if not, an aid does. I like Perry, but how did he not see this as a possible outcome?
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hat is what I want to know as well; it seems he should be smart enough to know that if he holds funds hostage until somebody resigns that it might cause him problems, even if the resignation is justified.
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I live here in TX and frankly I had no idea Perry was under investigation either. And while it may have been an impolitic decision, it was absolutely the correct thing to do. His stance was that he would veto funding for the Public Integrity Unit as long as that DA was still in charge of it….the DA that ultimately spent time in jail for DWI. You also have to keep in mind that Austin may be the most liberal city in TX, and her unit is apparently ultra liberal. So it’s really not surprising that they went after Perry. From what I’ve read so far the indictment will go nowhere, and Perry’s actions, while potentially politically unpopular, were justified and legal.
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Thank for that info and now I don’t feel so bad that I didn’t know about this! I thought I read this morning that she had actually gone to jail but when I wrote the post I couldn’t find the article which mentioned it. I think she should resign and I can understand what he was doing but it is sure to cause him problems, if not legally then perhaps if he runs for president.
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This is exactly what they did to that Senator from Alaska who thus lost the seat in a tight election and then was ultimately the verdict was overturned. But thanks to the process, gave the Dems control of the Senate.
Good heads up on this one. I hadn’t read about it.
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I can’t think of that Senator’s name but I remember that story, in the end the outcome of the indictment really doesn’t matter to them because they have tarnished him when he runs for president.
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Another case of the ends justify the means?
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It sure seems that way, doesn’t it? Even if nothing comes from this they have tarnished him.
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