Judge declines to issue Perry warrant

Instead of arrest, Texas governor to receive summons on 2-count indictment

Gov. Rick Perry makes a statement in Austin, Texas on Saturday, Aug. 16, 2014 concerning the indictment on charges of coercion of a public servant and abuse of his official capacity. Perry is the first Texas governor since 1917 to be indicted. (AP Photo/Michael Thomas)
Gov. Rick Perry makes a statement in Austin, Texas on Saturday, Aug. 16, 2014 concerning the indictment on charges of coercion of a public servant and abuse of his official capacity. Perry is the first Texas governor since 1917 to be indicted. (AP Photo/Michael Thomas)

AUSTIN, Texas -- A judge isn't issuing an arrest warrant for Texas Gov. Rick Perry, a court official said Monday, and the Republican is planning to continue traveling around the country to gear up for a possible 2016 presidential run -- despite being indicted on two felony counts of abuse of power back home.

Perry on Friday became the first Texas governor since 1917 to be indicted and is facing charges that carry a maximum sentence of 109 years in prison for carrying out a threat to veto $7.5 million in funding for the state's public integrity unit after Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg, a Democrat, refused to resign after a drunken driving arrest. The ethics watchdog unit is housed under Lehmberg's office.

Perry has emphatically denied all wrongdoing.

"This is nothing more than banana republic politics," Tony Buzbee, a Houston-based defense attorney who will lead a cadre of four lawyers from Texas and Washington defending Perry, said at a news conference.

"The charges lobbed against the governor are a really nasty attack not only on the rule of law but on the Constitution of the United States, the state of Texas and also the fundamental constitutional protections that we all enjoy."

Linda Estrada, a Travis County grand jury clerk, said that the judge overseeing the case, Bert Richardson, decided against issuing an arrest warrant.

A summons was being prepared to hold Perry's arraignment -- a court appearance to answer the charges -- at 9 a.m. Aug. 29, according to the Travis County District Clerk's Office.

But Perry spokesman Felix Browne said Monday evening that the date had not been confirmed.

No one disputes that Perry has the power to veto measures approved by the Legislature, but the veto vow prompted a complaint from a left-leaning watchdog group.

Richardson, a Republican, assigned a special prosecutor to lead the case against Perry, who has been charged with abuse of official capacity and coercion of a public servant.

Word that his attorneys were negotiating a court appearance raised some questions about favoritism, but legal observers said forgoing an arrest warrant is common in white-collar cases.

Former U.S. Attorney Matt Orwig said that insisting on an arrest warrant for Perry would have been "grandstanding."

"He's obviously not a flight risk or danger to the community," Orwig said. "That doesn't mean there's still not the indignities of booking."

The public integrity unit also led the case against former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, a fellow Texas Republican who was convicted in 2010 on campaign finance charges, but eventually had them overturned on appeal.

Dick DeGuerin, a Houston attorney who defended DeLay, said the congressman was originally issued a summons -- and it wasn't until DeLay's legal team had some of the indictments against him thrown out that prosecutors sought an arrest warrant.

Perry has dismissed the case against him as a political ploy.

Still, a booking photo may not be the message Perry wants to send as he tries to rebuild a national image tarnished when he stumbled during his short-lived 2012 White House run.

Aides said Perry planned to maintain his public schedule, which includes visits to the key presidential battleground states of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina in the next two weeks. Perry has a Thursday speech on immigration at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, and then a visit to New Hampshire next weekend.

Potential 2016 presidential rivals such as former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and Sen. Ted Cruz have denounced the indictment.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, the chairman of the Republican Governors Association, went to Perry's defense Monday, praising his "honesty and integrity."

"I have complete faith and confidence in Governor Perry's honesty and integrity," Christie said in a statement released through the association. "And I'm sure that will be confirmed over time."

Christie's administration remains under its own legal cloud. The U.S. attorney for New Jersey is investigating allegations Christie's staff members shut down access lanes to a busy bridge connecting New Jersey and New York in an apparent act of political payback against Fort Lee's Democratic mayor, who didn't endorse Christie for re-election.

Christie has not been linked directly to the scheme and has denied knowing about it.

Republicans have said the facts of the Texas case could prompt conservatives to rally behind Perry.

"Nobody wants to get indicted, but the basis of the indictment is so preposterous that ultimately it could be a political benefit," said Phil Musser, a former executive director of the Republican Governors Association.

Conservatives also note that a video recording made at the jail showed Lehmberg shouting at staff members, kicking the door of her cell and sticking her tongue out at deputies.

"A public official getting drunk and arrested is something we have experienced in South Carolina and the base voters will award Perry for standing firm," said Katon Dawson, a Perry ally and former South Carolina GOP chairman.

Information for this article was contributed by Ken Thomas and Jill Colvin of The Associated Press.

A Section on 08/19/2014

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