Editor’s note: This story has been updated.
A Travis County grand jury has indicted Gov. Rick Perry for two felonies related to his conduct when vetoing funding for the Travis County District Attorney’s Public Integrity Unit, in the wake of D.A. Rosemary Lehmberg’s drunk driving conviction.
Perry now faces one count of abuse of official capacity and one count of coercion of a public servant.
The indictment in State of Texas v. James Richard Perry says that the 390th District Court grand jury found that, on June 14, Perry intended to harm Lehmberg and the public integrity unit. He misused government property, contrary to his oath of office as a public servant. The property in question had a value in excess of $200,000 and was approved by the Texas Legislature to fund the public integrity unit, alleges the indictment.
The indictment said that on June 10 to June 14, Perry used “means of coercion” by threatening to veto Legislature-approved funding for the public integrity unit unless Lehmberg resigned as D.A. Perry intentionally tried to influence her in the performance of her duty “to continue to carry out her responsibilities as the elected District Attorney for the County of Travis,” alleged the indictment.
The complaint against Perry that prompted the grand jury investigation by Texans for Public Justice, a nonprofit advocacy group in Austin, alleged that the governor committed coercion of a public servant or voter, bribery, abuse of official capacity and official oppression. The complaint alleged, “Perry threatened to use the official power of his elected office to veto the legislative budget appropriation” unless Lehmberg resigned and then “subsequently did use the power of his office” to veto the appropriation.
No one from the governor’s press office immediately returned a call seeking comment. Neither did Perry’s criminal-defense lawyer, David Botsford. Lehmberg and Senior Judge Bert Richardson, the judge assigned to the case, also didn’t return calls.
