A grand jury indicted Texas Gov. Rick Perry on two counts late Friday, alleging that he abused his office and used a veto threat to coerce an elected district attorney to resign.
The grand jury in Travis County began considering charges against Perry last year after an ethics complaint was filed, alleging that the governor abused his veto power when he cut funding for the state's anti-corruption unit, which is part of the Travis County district attorney's office.
Perry had called on Rosemary Lehmberg, the district attorney for Travis County, to step down after she was arrested in April 2013 for drunken driving. Lehmberg, a Democrat, pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated -- an open bottle of vodka was found in her car -- and was sentenced to 45 days in jail.
Perry, a Republican, threatened to veto $7.5 million in state funding for her office unless Lehmberg resigned.
Other officials also called for her to quit after a video recording made at the jail showed Lehmberg shouting at staff members to call the sheriff, kicking the door of her cell and sticking her tongue out. Her blood-alcohol level was nearly three times the legal limit for driving.
She refused to resign, and Perry followed through on his veto threat, saying that he could not provide the money "when the person charged with ultimate responsibility of that unit has lost the public's confidence."
Perry's general counsel strongly defended his actions.
"The veto in question was made in accordance with the veto authority afforded to every governor under the Texas Constitution," Mary Anne Wiley, general counsel for Perry, said Friday. "We will continue to aggressively defend the governor's lawful and constitutional action, and believe we will ultimately prevail."
David Botsford, Perry's defense attorney, whose $450-per-hour fees are being paid for by state funds, said he was upset by the indictment.
"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."
Several top aides to Perry appeared before grand jurors, including his deputy chief of staff, legislative director and general counsel. Perry did not testify, though.
Abuse of official capacity is a first-degree felony with potential punishments of five to 99 years in prison. Coercion of a public servant is a third-degree felony that carries a punishment of two to 10 years.
The indictment comes as Perry, who is stepping down at the end of his term after 14 years in office, considers another presidential campaign. Perry ran an unsuccessful campaign for president in 2012.
Political observers say the indictment may not immediately hurt his standing with Republican primary voters -- but Democrats didn't miss a chance to gloat Friday.
"Texans deserve real leadership and this is unbecoming of our governor," Texas Democratic Party Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa said in a statement. He demanded that Perry immediately resign.
No one disputes that Perry is allowed to veto measures approved by the Legislature. 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 pressure Lehmberg to quit.
"We're pleased that the grand jury determined that the governor's bullying crossed the line into illegal behavior," said Craig McDonald, executive director of Texans for Public Justice. "The complaint had merit; serious laws were potentially broken."
Michael McCrum, the San Antonio-based special prosecutor, said he "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."
"Obviously that carries a lot of importance," McCrum said. "But when it gets down to it, the law is the law."
McCrum said he'll meet with Botsford on Monday to discuss when he will go to the courthouse to be arraigned. McCrum said he doesn't know when Perry will be booked.
The indictment of Perry is the first of its kind in Texas since 1917, when Gov. James "Pa" Ferguson was indicted on charges stemming from his veto of state funding to the University of Texas in an effort to unseat faculty and staff members he objected to. Ferguson was eventually impeached, then resigned before being convicted.
Information for this article was contributed by Mark Berman, Sean Sullivan and Karen Tumulty of The Washington Post and by Paul J. Weber, Will Weissert and Jim Vertuno of The Associated Press.
A Section on 08/16/2014
