Texas Gov. Rick Perry To Turn Himself In After Being Indicted By Grand Jury
Texas Gov. Rick Perry is expected to turn himself into authorities for fingerprints and a mug shot after a state jury indicted him on two counts of abuse of power.
A grand jury in Travis County indicted the governor on two felony counts of abuse of power for allegedly defunding a state-wide watchdog group that has investigated prominent Republicans in the state. The controversy began back in 2013, when Perry asked Rosemary Lehmberg (D), the district attorney for Travis County, to step down from her position due to a drunken-driving arrest. Travis County is a small Democratic stronghold in an otherwise Republican state.
Lehmberg refused to step down from her office, and Perry then vetoed $7.5 million in funding for the anti-corruption watchdog unit that is affiliated with Travis County's attorney general's office. Another watchdog group then filed an ethics lawsuit against Perry, saying he used his executive power to follow through on a threat against Lehmberg.
Perry previously defended his decision to veto funding for the watchdog group, telling Fox News last Friday: "I stood up for the rule of law in the state of Texas, and if I had to do it again, I would make exactly the same decision."
"I think across the board you're seeing people weigh in and reflecting that this is way outside of the norm," he said.
Critics have said this recent lawsuit against Perry could hurt his chances of running for the 2016 presidential ticket, a venture that many believe the governor will take.
