Perry vows to fight indictment
AUSTIN, Texas — A defiant Texas Gov. Rick Perry on Saturday went on the offensive one day after being indicted for allegedly abusing his power with a controversial veto, denouncing the charges as “outrageous” political theatrics and predicting that he will ultimately prevail over “those who would erode our state’s constitution and laws purely for political purposes.”
“I wholeheartedly and unequivocally stand behind my veto and will continue to defend this lawful action of my executive authority as governor,” Perry told reporters at the state capitol.
“We don’t settle political differences with indictments in this country.”
The indictment by a Travis County grand jury threw uncertainty over his potential presidential candidacy in 2016 and triggered state and national repercussions that Democrats hope will spill into this year’s gubernatorial race to choose his successor.
Democrats at the state and national level escalated their demands for Perry to resign, but the state’s longest serving governor effectively served notice that he plans to stay in office until the end of his term. Perry chose against running for an unprecedented fourth four-year term as he prepares for a possible second run for the Republican presidential nomination.
Perry defended his threats to veto appropriations for the Travis County District Attorney’s Office in an attempt to force the resignation of District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg after she was arrested for drunken driving. Perry ultimately vetoed a $7.5 million appropriation to a division of the office charged with fighting official corruption.
Perry said Lehmberg, who remains in office, behaved in “an incredibly inappropriate way” following her arrest, was “abusive to law enforcement” and had to be restrained. Lehmburg, who was shown in a video kicking the door of her cell and sticking her tongue out, had a blood alcohol level of almost three times the legal limit, Perry said.
“Americans and Texans who have seen this agree with me that that is not an individual who is heading up an office that we can afford to fund,” Perry said. “Given that information, and given that choice again, that is exactly what I would do.”
The indictment stemmed from a complaint by Texans for Public Justice, a liberal-leaning public watchdog group that charged that Perry’s veto threat to force the resignation of a public official constituted an abuse of power. The grand jury indicted Perry on felony counts of abuse of official capacity and coercion of a public servant.
His news conference signaled that Perry intends a head-on PR offensive against the charges, a strategy that will continue on Sunday with an appearance on Fox News Sunday.
But he is expected to face a less friendly venue later in the week when he goes to the Travis County courthouse to be booked in and presumably fingerprinted on the charges.
Many Republicans predicted that Perry would survive what they described as a weak legal case and echoed his view that the charges were politically motivated.
But Texas Democrats pounced on the accusations and vowed to use the charges against Perry in the Texas governor’s race to bolster their political attack on the Republican leadership that has dominated Texas politics for more than two decades.