Lion Heart 15,041 Posted August 16, 2014 Share Posted August 16, 2014 AUSTIN, Tex.  A grand jury indicted Gov. Rick Perry on two felony counts on Friday, charging that he abused his power last year when he attempted to pressure the district attorney here, a Democrat, to step down by threatening to cut off state financing to her office. The indictment left Mr. Perry, a Republican, the first Texas governor in nearly 100 years to face criminal charges and presented a major roadblock to his presidential ambitions at the very time that he had been showing signs of making a comeback. Grand jurors in Travis County charged Mr. Perry with abusing his official capacity and coercing a public servant, according to Michael McCrum, the special prosecutor assigned to the case. The long-simmering case has centered on Mr. Perry’s veto power as governor. His critics asserted that he used that power as leverage to try to get an elected official  Rosemary Lehmberg, the district attorney in Travis County  to step down after her arrest on a drunken-driving charge last year. Ms. Lehmberg is Austin’s top prosecutor and oversees a powerful public corruption unit that investigates state, local and federal officials; its work led to the 2005 indictment of a former Republican congressman, Tom DeLay, on charges of violating campaign finance laws. Following Ms. Lehmberg’s arrest, Mr. Perry and his aides threatened to veto $7.5 million in state funding for the public corruption unit in her office unless she resigned. The governor followed through on his threat, vetoing the money by stating that he could not support “continued state funding for an office with statewide jurisdiction at a time when the person charged with ultimate responsibility of that unit has lost the public’s confidence.†Mr. Perry’s detractors said that his moves crossed the line from hardball politics to criminal acts that violated state laws. His aides denied that he did anything wrong and said that he acted in accordance with the veto power granted to every governor under the Texas Constitution. Ms. Lehmberg did not resign and remains in office. The criminal indictment of the state’s chief executive shocked the Texas political world. Mr. Perry will be arraigned at a later date at the county criminal courthouse a few blocks from the governor’s mansion. Mr. McCrum said it was a matter of procedure that anyone charged with a felony “will have to be booked in,†including the governor. Asked if Mr. Perry would have to have a mug shot taken and be fingerprinted, he added, “I imagine that’s included in that.†The charge of abuse of official capacity carries a prison sentence of five to 99 years, and the charge of coercion of a public servant charge carries a two-to-10-year prison sentence. Mr. Perry did not testify before the grand jury. Mary Anne Wiley, Mr. Perry’s general counsel, defended Mr. Perry’s actions in a statement on Friday. “We will continue to aggressively defend the governor’s lawful and constitutional action, and believe we will ultimately prevail,†she said. Mr. Perry has announced he is not seeking re-election and will leave office in January. He is considering a second run for president and has been crisscrossing the country and traveling abroad in recent months to raise his political profile and to show he has fully recovered from his unsuccessful 2012 campaign, which for a time turned him into a national punch line. Lately he seems to have rebounded, making numerous appearances on national talk shows to discuss his plan to deploy 1,000 National Guard troops to the border to combat crime and illegal immigration and receiving high praise from conservatives on his recent trip to Iowa. Read the full story: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/16/us/gov-rick-perry-of-texas-is-indicted-over-veto-of-funds-for-das-office.html?_r=0 ▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Computer 10,980 Posted August 16, 2014 Share Posted August 16, 2014 Those Perrys 💚💛💕❣⭕💢💢 | ⓜⓔⓡⓡⓨ ©ⓗⓡⓘⓢⓣⓜⓐⓢ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Logan 20,827 Posted August 16, 2014 Share Posted August 16, 2014 He just has that Republican face Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disregard 50 Posted August 16, 2014 Share Posted August 16, 2014 the first Texas governor in nearly 100 years to face criminal charges That's the real kiii right there. You really have to be a **** up for Texas to be like "nah sis." Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
No Angel 128 Posted August 16, 2014 Share Posted August 16, 2014 He seriously looks like a villain from Gotham city. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edu 3,973 Posted August 16, 2014 Share Posted August 16, 2014 Those Perrys 🌹 free britney 🌹 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morphine Prince 109,653 Posted August 16, 2014 Share Posted August 16, 2014 Thank God. His chances of running for president are now zero! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
calmar 22,768 Posted August 16, 2014 Share Posted August 16, 2014 Yes! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunk96 2,526 Posted August 16, 2014 Share Posted August 16, 2014 Thank God. His chances of running for president are now zero! Yes! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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