So Texas Governor Rick Perry has just been indicted and the left wing is elated. But how did this happen and what are the facts?
The Associated Press:
A grand jury indicted Texas Gov. Rick Perry on Friday for abusing the powers of his office by carrying out a threat to veto funding for state prosecutors investigating public corruption — making the possible 2016 presidential hopeful his state’s first indicted governor in nearly a century.
A special prosecutor spent months calling witnesses and presenting evidence that Perry broke the law when he promised publicly to nix $7.5 million over two years for the public integrity unit, which is run by Travis County District Rosemary Lehmberg’s office.
From the Texas Observer:
Like many schemes, it started with vodka. Rosemary Lehmberg had been serving as Travis County DA for a little more than four years when, late on the night of April 12, 2013, she was pulled over near Lake Travis, west of Austin. Police found an open vodka bottle in the car and arrested her. She verbally berated the arresting officers, and she didn’t stop the verbal abuse when she got to jail. Lehmberg was strapped into a restraining chair. Hours after her arrest, she blew a .239, almost three times the legal limit.
Lehmberg’s jailers starting filming her, as they sometimes do with uncooperative detainees. That footage quickly found its way into the hands of media outlets. It’s incredibly embarrassing stuff—from Lehmberg’s thinly veiled threats against sheriff’s deputies, to her repeated requests to call Travis County Sheriff Greg Hamilton (“He’s not going to let me sit in jail all night”) to the placement of a hood, commonly known as a “spit mask,” on Lehmberg’s head.
She ultimately pleaded guilty and served about half of a 45-day jail term. Calls for Lehmberg to resign started circulating immediately. She didn’t.Why didn’t Lehmberg resign?
In a word, politics. Lehmberg is a Democrat, and if she stepped down, Rick Perry would be the one to appoint a replacement. Moreover, the Travis County DA—as the prosecutor in the state’s capital—has special responsibilities over a variety of statewide legal issues. Foremost among these powers is the DA’s control of the Public Integrity Unit, which investigates the ethical breaches of state politicians, among a number of other charges.
So Governor Rick Perry threatened use his line item veto power to de-fund Travis County DA Rosemary Lehmberg’s budget. so the DA decided to go to a grand jury and indict Perry for abuse of Power.
Interestingly Democrats call this kind of thing a political stunt when the Speaker of the House filed a lawsuit against Obama for abuse of executive power. Amazingly, the left is ablaze with chatter at how appropriate this indictment is against Perry but of course it is Totally inappropriate to sue Obama over executive orders.
Twitter Responds about Rick Perry Indictment:
I see why they waited until Friday news dump time to announce DA Drunky McDrunkerson's bullshit indictment of Perry.
— SteveK (@stephenkruiser) August 15, 2014
"@TPCarney: Rick Perry indicted for….?" Pissing off a Dem DA with a rubber stamp grand jury.
— Instapundit.com (@instapundit) August 15, 2014
Perry lawyer: “The veto in question was made in accordance with the veto authority afforded to every governor under the Texas Constitution."
— Zeke Miller (@ZekeJMiller) August 15, 2014
anyone want to be the media covers the fake Rick Perry indictment 10x as much as the real Andrew Cuomo political corruption scandal?
— iLoveScienceSexually (@AceofSpadesHQ) August 15, 2014
How dare Rick Perry veto funding for a drunk driving DA who refuses to resign after 2 weeks in jail! Arrest that man!
— Stephen Gutowski (@StephenGutowski) August 15, 2014
Video: Travis County DA Rosemary Lehmberg DUI/DWI booking video