A most interesting turn of events has occurred in the case involving whether Texas Gov. Rick Perry abused the powers of his office when he bullied a Travis County prosecutor who got arrestedĀ for drunken driving.
Several prominent Democratic lawyers and politicians have signed an amicus brief asking that the indictments against the Republican governor be tossed. They contend the indictments don’t hold up under the state’s separation of powers doctrine spelled out in the state constitution.
http://www.texastribune.org/2014/11/10/bipartisan-group-lawyers-want-perry-case-dismissed/
The Texas Tribune reported the brief today and lays out the issue as presented by this high-powered team of legal eagles.
The Democrats include former Texas Supreme Court Justice Raul Gonzalez, former state Sen. (and former Texas Tech Chancellor) John Montford and the founder of the Innocence Project, one Jeff Blackburn of Amarillo.
The big hitters also include a couple of well-known former U.S. solicitors general, Ted Olson and Kenneth Starr, who served Republican presidents George W. and George H.W. Bush.
My own take is that the second indictment, the lesser felony, is the one that holds up.
At issue are the twin indictments by the Travis County grand jury. They allege that the governor abused his power by threatening to veto money appropriated for the Public Integrity Unit run by the Travis County district attorney’s office. The DA, Rosemary Lehmberg, pleaded guilty to DUI, served her jail time, but didn’t quit her office, as Perry had demanded. Thus, the veto threat. Lehmberg, a Democrat, is still in office.
Perry vetoed the money.
The second indictment accuses the governor of coercion, which by my reckoning is the stronger count. He bullied the DA, using his influence to seek her resignation. She was elected by the voters of Travis County and one has to wonder why the governor took such an interest in this particular DUI case.
Well, the answer is pure politics; Lehmberg is a Democrat, Perry is a Republican.
The governor can take heart in the bipartisan support he’s acquired in fighting this case.
I look forward to seeing how the court rules on this amicus brief.
Stay tuned. The fur is going to fly.