by Allen Clifton
If convicted, Perry faces anywhere from 5-99 years for the first count and between two and ten years for the second.
Naturally, Perry has denied these allegations. He's claiming that his actions were within the law when he threatened to, and ultimately did, veto $7.5 million in funding to the Travis County Public Integrity. He did so because District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg refused to resign from her position at the TCPI following a DUI conviction.
And as it just so happens, Ms. Lehmberg was investigating Perry's office for possible corruption charges during the time of her DUI.
Which is where the real heart of this entire story lies. Because had she resigned from her position at the TCPI, Rick Perry would have been the person who chose her replacement.
Pretty convenient, right? Nothing like being able to handpick the replacement for the person investigating you for corruption.
The "reasoning" Perry is using is that her conviction for a DUI made her unfit to hold her position.
And while he might have a point, that still doesn't justify him using his power as governor to unlawfully try to blackmail and intimidate anyone. Which is exactly what he did. And in my opinion, he clearly broke the law.
He doesn't deny making the threat, which he later carried out. So now it's just getting down to the legal aspect of whether or not what he did was legal. Which is what the trial will hopefully tell us.
Well, a new bit of information coming from the Dallas Morning News might very well be what strips all credibility from Perry's "defense" of his actions, proving he did indeed abuse his power as Governor of Texas.
It seems that during Perry's time as governor there have been two other District Attorneys who were convicted of DUI's, but Perry didn't push for them to resign.
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