Tx Governor Rick Perry Indicted!

[TNT]

http://www.kvue.com/story/news/state/2014/08/15/governor-perry-indictment/14111115/

AUSTIN -- A grand jury has chosen to indict Texas Gov. Rick Perry following an investigation into whether the governor abused his power by vetoing state funds for the Travis County District Attorney's Office last year.

Gov. Rick Perry is charged with the following:

Gov. Perry is charged with one count of abuse of official capacity, a first-degree felony.
Gov. Perry is charged with one count of coercion of a public servant, a third-degree felony.
Perry vetoed state funds for the office after District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg refused to resign following a DWI conviction.

After the veto, Perry said he could not give money to Lehmberg's office because she had lost the public's confidence after her arrest in April 2013. Lehmberg pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 45 days in jail. She served 21 days.

Upon his indictment, Perry must turn himself in to the Travis County Jail, where he will be booked, fingerprinted and have his mug shot taken. A pre-trial hearing will be arranged within the next few weeks.

Defense attorneys could file a motion to have the indictment thrown out, which would delay a trial, or seek to have a trial within the next 90 days.

Perry can continue to serve as governor while under indictment. He can also continue as governor if convicted, but he could be stripped of office through a separate legislative removal process.

Perry could be charged with coercion of a public servant, punishable by up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine, abuse of official capacity, punishable by up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine, and bribery, punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Last year, Lehmberg was allowed to keep her job following a civil trial based on a lawsuit filed by an Austin lawyer citing a Texas constitutional code states an elected official can be removed for intoxication on or off duty.

A complaint by watchdog group Texas for Justice alleged Perry violated state laws concerning bribery, coercion and abuse of authority.

The veto meant that the Public Integrity Unit, which investigates ethics complaints against politicians statewide and is housed in Lehmberg's office, was left without a $7.5 million two-year allocation. Travis County commissioners later agreed to partially fund the operation, but two employees lost their jobs.

A Perry spokesperson said that the governor broke no laws and exercised his constitutional veto authority through line-item vetoes in the budget.

A Texas judge called for special prosecutor Michael McCrum to look into Perry's actions last year. A grand jury spent four months looking at evidence in the case and hearing testimony from members of the governor's staff, all of whom testified before the grand jury.

This case is the last open investigation related to Lehmberg's DWI arrest.

The Texas Democratic Party immediately called for Perry to step down following the indictment Friday afternoon.

"Governor Rick Perry has brought dishonor to his office, his family and the state of Texas. Texans deserve to have leaders that stand up for what is right and work to help families across Texas. The indictment today shows a failure of Governor Perry to follow the law," said Texas Democratic Party Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa in a statement. "[...]We call on Governor Perry to immediately step down from office. Texans deserve real leadership and this is unbecoming of our Governor."

KEY PLAYERS IN THE PERRY CASE

Craig McDonald, complainant and director of Texans for Public Justice

Filed criminal complaint against Perry days after veto
Complaint alleged Perry broke several misdemeanor and felony state laws
Complaint was initially sent to State District Judge Julie Kocurek in Travis County
Kocurek recused herself, and a special judge and prosecutor were appointed to handle the matter
Michael McCrum, special prosecutor

San Antonio native
Appointed by State District Judge Bert Richardson in August 2013 to handle Perry inquiry
Former federal prosecutor hired during President George H.W. Bush administration
Selected by President Barack Obama for a U.S. attorney position in Texas, but withdrew his name from consideration
Currently works primarily in San Antonio criminal defense practice, specializes in white collar crimes
Bert Richardson, state district judge

​San Antonio native
Appointed in July 2013 by State District Judge Billy Ray Stubblefield to handle Perry inquiry; Stubblefield is presiding judge for region
25 years of trial experience as a lawyer and a judge
Current Republican candidate for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
David Botsford, Perry defense attorney

Hired by Perry for $450 an hour at taxpayer expense in April
Has successfully represented doctors, lawyers, oil executives and other notable clients
Has said Perry veto was "carried out in both the spirit and the letter of the law"

There goes his chance to run for President in 2016.

[Feoric]

At 8/15/14 07:26 PM, TNT wrote: There goes his chance to run for President in 2016.

Well, let's be honest, he was never going to win anyway.

[TNT]

At 8/15/14 08:24 PM, Feoric wrote:

At 8/15/14 07:26 PM, TNT wrote: There goes his chance to run for President in 2016.

Well, let's be honest, he was never going to win anyway.

Yeah no doubt, but these charges decreases his chance of winning from 0% to -100%.

[Light]

At 8/15/14 08:24 PM, Feoric wrote:

At 8/15/14 07:26 PM, TNT wrote: There goes his chance to run for President in 2016.

Well, let's be honest, he was never going to win anyway.

Yeah, but it's always nice to see Republican slimeballs get what they deserve when they fuck up—And Perry has obviously fucked up. Badly.

[Feoric]

At 8/16/14 02:11 AM, Light wrote: Yeah, but it's always nice to see Republican slimeballs get what they deserve when they fuck up—And Perry has obviously fucked up. Badly.

Agreed, Perry is pretty scummy.

He's off to Travis County Jail for booking, mugshots and fingerprints. I can't wait to see what the attack ads featuring him in handcuffs and his migshots are going to look like.

[Light]

At 8/16/14 02:20 AM, Feoric wrote:

At 8/16/14 02:11 AM, Light wrote: Yeah, but it's always nice to see Republican slimeballs get what they deserve when they fuck up—And Perry has obviously fucked up. Badly.

Agreed, Perry is pretty scummy.

He's off to Travis County Jail for booking, mugshots and fingerprints. I can't wait to see what the attack ads featuring him in handcuffs and his migshots are going to look like.

Um, wow. Didn't know that he'll have his mugshot taken and everything.

Those attack ads will be brutal. Then again, the mere accusation of attempting to conceal corruption is usually enough to destroy a politician's chances of winning his party's nomination, let alone the presidency.

[Profanity]

A corrupt and abusive Republican whose supporters are more worried about his bid for higher office than his rapport? No way!

List of current United States governors
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It's almost like the GOP is full of ignorant morons! Wow!

[X-Gary-Gigax-X]

This is exactly why third party competition will be a good thing.

[Warforger]

Um I'm kind of in agreement with Rick Perry here. Lehmberg was convicted of drunk driving, while that doesn't affect how she'll do her job public servants have a responsibility to uphold moral standards because they're looked up to. I mean at any job if your boss found out you were drunk driving they'd fire you on the spot. It doesn't seem like he was doing anything particularly significant; withholding funds is a common tactic by executives.

At 8/16/14 09:13 AM, X-Gary-Gigax-X wrote: This is exactly why third party competition will be a good thing.

Actually no, there was another election where a 3rd Party candidate got pretty far but ended up siphoning votes to let a bad Texas governor get elected, that man was known as Ralph Nader and he got Bush elected.

[TNT]

At 8/16/14 11:00 AM, Warforger wrote: Um I'm kind of in agreement with Rick Perry here. Lehmberg was convicted of drunk driving, while that doesn't affect how she'll do her job public servants have a responsibility to uphold moral standards because they're looked up to. I mean at any job if your boss found out you were drunk driving they'd fire you on the spot. It doesn't seem like he was doing anything particularly significant; withholding funds is a common tactic by executives.

Rick Perry used funding as a threat to make her resign from office. That's coercion. Lehmberg refused to resign from the DA office, plead guilty to the DWI charges, served her time, and now back in office. The fact that Perry carried out his threat, and withheld money from the DA office shows he did it for that reason, and more than likely for that reason alone.

Not only that, other people lost their jobs at the DA office because of Perry. I think the indictment in this case is justified, and we'll hear Perry's side of the story during and/or after the trial. Bottom line, I don't think this should be taken lightly.

[NekoMika]

About time he got booted anyways.

[Feoric]

At 8/16/14 12:03 PM, TNT wrote: Rick Perry used funding as a threat to make her resign from office. That's coercion. Lehmberg refused to resign from the DA office, plead guilty to the DWI charges, served her time, and now back in office. The fact that Perry carried out his threat, and withheld money from the DA office shows he did it for that reason, and more than likely for that reason alone.

Not only that, other people lost their jobs at the DA office because of Perry. I think the indictment in this case is justified, and we'll hear Perry's side of the story during and/or after the trial. Bottom line, I don't think this should be taken lightly.

Yeah that's the gist of it. To be clear the issue isn't the fact that he threatened her, but rather that he zeroed out the funding for her department after she refused to resign. Here's the indictment.

It basically says he misused government property (in this case her organization's funding) and then he also tried to influence her with this misuse. If he's found guilty he's looking at a minimum of 5 years in prison. At the end of the day it doesn't really matter though because the appellate courts in Texas are all elected positions and are ridiculously partisan so I'm fully expecting a judge to somehow find a loophole in order to toss it on appeal.

[LazyDrunk]

At 8/15/14 07:26 PM, TNT wrote: AUSTIN -- A grand jury has chosen to indict Texas Gov. Rick Perry following an investigation into whether the governor abused his power by vetoing state funds for the Travis County District Attorney's Office last year.

He vetoed the funds for a department who could damage him politically, so they did.

The veto meant that the Public Integrity Unit, which investigates ethics complaints against politicians statewide and is housed in Lehmberg's office, was left without a $7.5 million two-year allocation. Travis County commissioners later agreed to partially fund the operation, but two employees lost their jobs.

So the head of the ethics department gets arrested for DWI, refuses to step down, and the unit suffers. Was Perry's allegation that the public doesn't have faith in the public integrity unit's head valid?

I think so.

Count the democratic shills.

[Feoric]

At 8/16/14 03:21 PM, LazyDrunk wrote: Was Perry's allegation that the public doesn't have faith in the public integrity unit's head valid?

I think so.

I do, too, but the issue is with the misuse of government property and the fact that he was using that as leverage, not the DUI.

[RydiaLockheart]

At 8/16/14 11:00 AM, Warforger wrote:

At 8/16/14 09:13 AM, X-Gary-Gigax-X wrote: This is exactly why third party competition will be a good thing.

Actually no, there was another election where a 3rd Party candidate got pretty far but ended up siphoning votes to let a bad Texas governor get elected, that man was known as Ralph Nader and he got Bush elected.

Ross Perot also got Clinton elected. Don't count out 3rd party candidates if they get really popular. If Rand Paul decides to run and goes 3rd party, this could spell disaster for the major parties.

[Light]

At 8/16/14 04:36 PM, RydiaLockheart wrote:

At 8/16/14 11:00 AM, Warforger wrote:

At 8/16/14 09:13 AM, X-Gary-Gigax-X wrote: This is exactly why third party competition will be a good thing.

Actually no, there was another election where a 3rd Party candidate got pretty far but ended up siphoning votes to let a bad Texas governor get elected, that man was known as Ralph Nader and he got Bush elected.

Ross Perot also got Clinton elected. Don't count out 3rd party candidates if they get really popular. If Rand Paul decides to run and goes 3rd party, this could spell disaster for the major parties.

In the unlikely event that Rand Paul decides to run as a 3rd party candidate, it will most likely be harmful to the Republican Party's chances of winning the presidency only. I don't think there are many democrats who'd choose Paul over their party's nominee, but there are definitely quite a few Republicans who'd vote for Paul over their party's nominee.

[Warforger]

At 8/16/14 04:36 PM, RydiaLockheart wrote: Ross Perot also got Clinton elected. Don't count out 3rd party candidates if they get really popular. If Rand Paul decides to run and goes 3rd party, this could spell disaster for the major parties.

IIRC Ross Perot didn't throw the election in either's favor; he largely siphoned an even amount of votes from both candidates. I think a poll taken afterwards of Perot voters found that a equal percentage would've voted for Clinton as well as Bush.

[Korriken]

If convicted and impeached, he'll be the 4th Republican governor forcefully removed from office and the 9th one total.

In case anyone was wondering, 5 Democrat governors have been removed from office. Of course, 2 of those republicans were before the civil rights movement when parties basically swapped names, as people love to mention when it's politically convenient.

http://uspolitics.about.com/od/electionissues/tp/governors_impeached.htm

Either way, a criminal is a criminal. It doesn't matter which letter is by their name.

As far as what he did? I'm split on it. To me, a DWI should be a serious crime, given how many people are killed each year by assholes who are stupid and selfish enough to get drunk, then pilot a ton of steel at high speed in a public area.

On the other hand, Perry could have found a better way to handle the situation.

[Light]

At 8/17/14 10:31 AM, Korriken wrote: If convicted and impeached, he'll be the 4th Republican governor forcefully removed from office and the 9th one total.

In case anyone was wondering, 5 Democrat governors have been removed from office. Of course, 2 of those republicans were before the civil rights movement when parties basically swapped names, as people love to mention when it's politically convenient.

http://uspolitics.about.com/od/electionissues/tp/governors_impeached.htm

Aaaaaaaand 3 of those Democratic governors were from Southern states before the 1960s, which means that they'd probably be considered conservative Republicans today, lol

Either way, a criminal is a criminal. It doesn't matter which letter is by their name.

Agreed.

On the other hand, Perry could have found a better way to handle the situation.

When it comes to controversial decisions like this, it really is best to consult a lawyer before proceeding and I get the feeling that he didn't do that.

Then again, Perry never really struck me(Or perhaps anyone else, for that matter) as an intelligent politician, so I shouldn't be surprised. It's also not surprising that Chris Christie got embroiled in the bridgegate scandal since his alleged involvement is very consistent with his character, which is to be a vindictive bully towards those who he perceives has crossed him.

To be honest, and I think most will agree here, the character of the politician has more predictive power than their party affiliation in regards to whether or not they'll create or engage in a scandal.

[Korriken]

At 8/17/14 04:16 PM, Light wrote:

Aaaaaaaand 3 of those Democratic governors were from Southern states before the 1960s, which means that they'd probably be considered conservative Republicans today, lol

Someone is paying attention. Very good.

When it comes to controversial decisions like this, it really is best to consult a lawyer before proceeding and I get the feeling that he didn't do that.

Either that or he thought he was safe, being in Texas and all (which is surprisingly liberal, despite popular belief)

Then again, Perry never really struck me(Or perhaps anyone else, for that matter) as an intelligent politician, so I shouldn't be surprised. It's also not surprising that Chris Christie got embroiled in the bridgegate scandal since his alleged involvement is very consistent with his character, which is to be a vindictive bully towards those who he perceives has crossed him.

Politicians tend to be trained in law. They tend to be "smart" but foolish as hell, often with an ego that clouds their judgment. They often believe they know what is best, even when they have no clue what in the hell is going on. Politicians are like poorly disciplined 2 year olds. They don't want to listen to what you have to say, and the harder you try to make them listen, the more they kick and scream.

To be honest, and I think most will agree here, the character of the politician has more predictive power than their party affiliation in regards to whether or not they'll create or engage in a scandal.

Many factors go into that. For example, ego and how safe they feel. For example, Richard Nixon felt pretty safe... Until his henchmen botched things up. Then he did his damnedest to cover up his involvement, and of course, we know what happened after that.

Of course, when a scandal pops up, it's always the same story.

Party against the accused: We demand justice!
Party of the accused: Witch hunt!!

[TNT]

Going off-topic for a bit. I'm just outside of Travis County, and I'm getting ready for their physical exam because I would like to work for their Sheriffs Department. Maybe if Rick Perry's in jail, I say hi for all of you. :P

Anyway... back to the topic at hand: Rick Perry made a response to his indictment.

"This indictment amounts to nothing more than an abuse of power and I cannot, and will not, allow that to happen. I intend to fight against those who would erode our state's constitution and laws purely for political purposes, and I intend to win. I will explore every legal avenue to expedite this matter and bring it to a swift conclusion. I am confident we will ultimately prevail, that this farce of a prosecution will be revealed for what it is, and that those responsible will be held to account," said Gov. Perry.

You can get the full story here.

[Camarohusky]

At 8/17/14 10:35 PM, TNT wrote: "This indictment amounts to nothing more than an abuse of power"

Talk about the pot calling the kettle black...

[TNT]

Rick Perry's arraignment has been set; on my birthday.

[Camarohusky]

At 8/19/14 11:54 AM, TNT wrote: Rick Perry's arraignment has been set; on my birthday.

Somebody's giving you a special present.

[Feoric]

Here's the money shot. Not quite as good as Tom DeLay, but at least he was trying.

[X-Gary-Gigax-X]

So, does anyone know what he was charged with?

[Malachy]

At 8/19/14 10:33 PM, X-Gary-Gigax-X wrote: So, does anyone know what he was charged with?

Yes, we all do thanks to the OP including it in his opening post as well as linking to the article he was quoting from it.

Take your 2 day time out to consider reading threads before hitting "post reply"

[Camarohusky]

At 8/19/14 10:33 PM, X-Gary-Gigax-X wrote: So, does anyone know what he was charged with?

Texas Penal Code 39.01

[Feoric]

At 8/19/14 11:34 PM, Camarohusky wrote: Texas Penal Code 39.01

Technically it's 39.02 :P

And 36.03.

Considering the levels of proof involved I really think there's no way in hell he'll serve time. Honestly I'd be surprised if the case isn't just thrown out entirely. Proving corruption in a court of law is insanely difficult.

[TNT]

At 8/20/14 12:55 AM, Feoric wrote:

Considering the levels of proof involved I really think there's no way in hell he'll serve time. Honestly I'd be surprised if the case isn't just thrown out entirely. Proving corruption in a court of law is insanely difficult.

I think what's more important is that the case will jeopardize any chance of becoming President of the United States (if he had any at all). Plus, the Texas Democrats will certainly remember this, and can use that as fuel against the GOP. You're probably right that he won't be charged with anything in the end, but in the long term he'll be affected badly.