Perry was indicted by a grand jury in Austin last Friday over his veto of $7.5m (£4.5m) in funding to a public integrity unit headed by Rosemary Lehmberg, the district attorney for Travis County. Perry called for her resignation after she was convicted of drunk-driving in April last year and carried out the veto when she refused to step down.
Gesturing with arms aloft and speaking slowly and firmly, the governor delivered a speech in front of the entrance in which he said he would "fight this injustice with every fibre of my being" and prevail. "I'm here today because I believe in the rule of law. I'm here today because I did the right thing. I'm going to enter this courthouse with my head held high knowing the actions I took were not only lawful and legal but right," he said.
Mr Perry is a bit of a longstanding bugbear for me. His involvement in the execution of Cameron Willingham still bugs me. Seeing him indicted for corruption is oddly satisfying, even if it's an Al Capone being indicted for tax fraud kind of thing.
the world is in greater peril from those who tolerate or encourage evil than from those who actually commit it- Albert Einstein
I don't know if corruption is really the right word for what went down.
I mean, yeah, he vetoed something for personal reasons, but they were actually sort of good reasons. He wanted that hypocrite out of office, as did the majority of people I've talked to about it here. She broke the law and then used her position to get out of trouble, basically. And yet she's supposed to be the DA? She should have resigned. Sure, Perry shouldn't have used his power in that way, but he did it for a good reason. Which, to be fair, is not a valid excuse. But still, calling it corruption seems to be a bit much.
Keep in mind I'm not a fan of Perry, either. I laughed when I heard he was being indicted. Still, seems like a bit of a messed up situation.
tkr4lf wrote:I don't know if corruption is really the right word for what went down.
I mean, yeah, he vetoed something for personal reasons, but they were actually sort of good reasons. He wanted that hypocrite out of office, as did the majority of people I've talked to about it here. She broke the law and then used her position to get out of trouble, basically. And yet she's supposed to be the DA? She should have resigned. Sure, Perry shouldn't have used his power in that way, but he did it for a good reason. Which, to be fair, is not a valid excuse. But still, calling it corruption seems to be a bit much.
Keep in mind I'm not a fan of Perry, either. I laughed when I heard he was being indicted. Still, seems like a bit of a messed up situation.
Wiki currently has it as "On August 15, 2014, Texas Governor Rick Perry was indicted by a Travis County grand jury.[2] The first charge of the indictment is abuse of official capacity, a first-degree felony, for threatening to veto $7.5 million in funding for the Public Integrity Unit, a state public corruption prosecutors department. The second charge is coercion of a public servant, a third-degree felony,[3] for seeking the resignation of Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg, a Democrat,[4] after she was convicted of drunk driving, and incarcerated. Perry pleaded not guilty to both charges."
tkr4lf wrote:I don't know if corruption is really the right word for what went down.
I mean, yeah, he vetoed something for personal reasons, but they were actually sort of good reasons. He wanted that hypocrite out of office, as did the majority of people I've talked to about it here. She broke the law and then used her position to get out of trouble, basically. And yet she's supposed to be the DA? She should have resigned. Sure, Perry shouldn't have used his power in that way, but he did it for a good reason. Which, to be fair, is not a valid excuse. But still, calling it corruption seems to be a bit much.
Keep in mind I'm not a fan of Perry, either. I laughed when I heard he was being indicted. Still, seems like a bit of a messed up situation.
I like the video of the D.A. - "Did you call Greg? Does Greg know you arrested me?"
Also when she says "I'm not drunk!" and then immediately doubles-over laughing ---
Pack Rat wrote:if it quacks like a duck and walk like a duck, it's still fascism
Symmetry wrote:Out of interest do you think that felony charges will result in a conviction TGD?
I don't know anything about the indictment or what precipitated whatever Governor Perry did, so I don't feel qualified to comment on the result of the upcoming trial.
It will be interesting to see if he goes with a jury trial and, if he does go with a jury trial, jury selection should be a hoot.
Symmetry wrote:Out of interest do you think that felony charges will result in a conviction TGD?
I don't know anything about the indictment or what precipitated whatever Governor Perry did, so I don't feel qualified to comment on the result of the upcoming trial.
It will be interesting to see if he goes with a jury trial and, if he does go with a jury trial, jury selection should be a hoot.
Why? He's considered pretty popular from what I can tell.
the world is in greater peril from those who tolerate or encourage evil than from those who actually commit it- Albert Einstein
Symmetry wrote:Out of interest do you think that felony charges will result in a conviction TGD?
I don't know anything about the indictment or what precipitated whatever Governor Perry did, so I don't feel qualified to comment on the result of the upcoming trial.
It will be interesting to see if he goes with a jury trial and, if he does go with a jury trial, jury selection should be a hoot.
Why? He's considered pretty popular from what I can tell.
Yeah, that's what I mean. The prosecution is going to have to figure out who doesn't support Rick Perry out of a jury pool that is very supportive of Rick Perry. Further, they are going ot have to figure out who is not okay with what he did, regardless of whether he did it or not.
Symmetry wrote:Out of interest do you think that felony charges will result in a conviction TGD?
I don't know anything about the indictment or what precipitated whatever Governor Perry did, so I don't feel qualified to comment on the result of the upcoming trial.
Lehmberg is the Travis County DA. Since Travis County is where the capital is the DA gets state money to fund a "public corruption unit" which investigates state corruption, in addition to its funding from the Travis County government.
Lehmberg got caught going 65 in a bicycle lane in her Lexus while swigging vodka from the bottle. When she was booked into jail she threatened the jailors, and did the "do you know who I am?" thing.
She apologized and pleaded guilty and got 45 days in jail but was released after 22, though refused to resign. She was then brought before a district court on charges of incompetence but the court said it couldn't remove her as Texas law only allows an official to be removed for "habitual drunkenness" and she was only a drunk, not a habitual drunk. Then Perry got involved and told if she didn't resign in favor of the Deputy DA he'd pull her state funding for the public corruption unit. Lehmberg then indicted Perry for intimidating her.
Symmetry wrote:Why? He's considered pretty popular from what I can tell.
Tkr4lf might have a better idea but I think Travis County is the San Francisco of Texas. I'm guessing someone with Perry's baggage won't get a lot of love from a Travis County jury.
Pack Rat wrote:if it quacks like a duck and walk like a duck, it's still fascism
Symmetry wrote:Out of interest do you think that felony charges will result in a conviction TGD?
I don't know anything about the indictment or what precipitated whatever Governor Perry did, so I don't feel qualified to comment on the result of the upcoming trial.
It will be interesting to see if he goes with a jury trial and, if he does go with a jury trial, jury selection should be a hoot.
Why? He's considered pretty popular from what I can tell.
Yeah, that's what I mean. The prosecution is going to have to figure out who doesn't support Rick Perry out of a jury pool that is very supportive of Rick Perry. Further, they are going ot have to figure out who is not okay with what he did, regardless of whether he did it or not.
The indictments were from a Travis County Grand Jury, from what I can tell.
the world is in greater peril from those who tolerate or encourage evil than from those who actually commit it- Albert Einstein
saxitoxin wrote:Tkr4lf might have a better idea but I think Travis County is the San Francisco of Texas. I'm guessing someone with Perry's baggage won't get a lot of love from a Travis County jury.
More or less, yeah. I would really say though that Austin proper is the San Francisco of Texas. The rest of Travis County is smaller towns, where it's more likely to be home to the staunch conservatives Texas is known for. So, I suppose it depends on where the jurors are drawn from. Austin proper? More likely to be democrat and not supportive of Perry. Outside Austin proper? More likely to be supportive of Perry.
Symmetry wrote:
tkr4lf wrote:I don't know if corruption is really the right word for what went down.
I mean, yeah, he vetoed something for personal reasons, but they were actually sort of good reasons. He wanted that hypocrite out of office, as did the majority of people I've talked to about it here. She broke the law and then used her position to get out of trouble, basically. And yet she's supposed to be the DA? She should have resigned. Sure, Perry shouldn't have used his power in that way, but he did it for a good reason. Which, to be fair, is not a valid excuse. But still, calling it corruption seems to be a bit much.
Keep in mind I'm not a fan of Perry, either. I laughed when I heard he was being indicted. Still, seems like a bit of a messed up situation.
Wiki currently has it as "On August 15, 2014, Texas Governor Rick Perry was indicted by a Travis County grand jury.[2] The first charge of the indictment is abuse of official capacity, a first-degree felony, for threatening to veto $7.5 million in funding for the Public Integrity Unit, a state public corruption prosecutors department. The second charge is coercion of a public servant, a third-degree felony,[3] for seeking the resignation of Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg, a Democrat,[4] after she was convicted of drunk driving, and incarcerated. Perry pleaded not guilty to both charges."
Yeah, I guess technically it is corruption. But usually corruption carries connotations of malicious intent. His intent was the opposite of malicious. I suppose that may not matter to some, but I'm of the belief that intent should be considered, if not in determining guilt or lack thereof, then at least in determining sentencing. I certainly don't think he should receive any jail time over this.
saxitoxin wrote:
tkr4lf wrote:I don't know if corruption is really the right word for what went down.
I mean, yeah, he vetoed something for personal reasons, but they were actually sort of good reasons. He wanted that hypocrite out of office, as did the majority of people I've talked to about it here. She broke the law and then used her position to get out of trouble, basically. And yet she's supposed to be the DA? She should have resigned. Sure, Perry shouldn't have used his power in that way, but he did it for a good reason. Which, to be fair, is not a valid excuse. But still, calling it corruption seems to be a bit much.
Keep in mind I'm not a fan of Perry, either. I laughed when I heard he was being indicted. Still, seems like a bit of a messed up situation.
I like the video of the D.A. - "Did you call Greg? Does Greg know you arrested me?"
Also when she says "I'm not drunk!" and then immediately doubles-over laughing ---
Ha, yes, I remember hearing about this. I didn't actually see it on the news, but I don't watch much of the news and when I do, I don't watch all the stations, so I could have easily missed it. It's that sort of stuff that made the majority of people believe she should step down. While I guess I can't defend Perry for breaking the law, I do think he did the right thing in trying to get her out of there however he could. It doesn't do much for the integrity of the DA's office when the DA gets arrested for DUI, then tries to use her power and influence to get out of it.
Also, just to be a pedantic, nit-picky prick, the title should say Ex Texas Governor, as he's not the governor anymore. Greg Abbot was inaugurated a couple of weeks ago.
