Indictment of Rick Perry
| Date | August 15, 2014 |
|---|---|
| County | Travis County, Texas |
| Indictment Charges | Abuse of official capacity Coercion of a public servant |
| Plea | Not guilty |
| Judge | Bert Richardson |
| Prosecutor | Michael McCrum |
| Outcome | Prosecution ruled unconstitutional by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals |
On August 15, 2014, Texas Governor Rick Perry was indicted by a Travis County grand jury, but has since been cleared on all charges. The first charge of the indictment was 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, which has since been ruled unconstitutional, was coercion of a public servant, a third-degree felony, for seeking the resignation of Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg, a Democrat, after she was convicted of drunk driving, and incarcerated. Perry pleaded not guilty to both charges.
On July 24, 2015, the Texas Third Court of Appeals dismissed the indictment for coercion of a public official, on the basis that the indictment violates his First Amendment rights to free speech. The indictment for abuse of power, a charge which his lawyers said is a misdemeanor, was likewise dismissed, in February 2016.
According to the complaint from Texans for Public Justice that led to the indictment, at the time of the veto, prosecutors in that unit had been investigating a state agency called the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, described by The New York Times as "one of Perry’s signature initiatives [that] came under scrutiny by state lawmakers after accusations of mismanagement and corruption." According to Texas Democrats, if Perry could, he would appoint a Republican district attorney and hinder the investigation. According to officials in Perry's office, Lehmberg was offered a job at the DA's office and Perry offered to appoint her top lieutenant, a Democrat, as district attorney. Perry was never a target of the probe according to an affidavit by the investigator on the case. Texas Democrats have said that Perry didn't oppose other elected officials who were convicted of drunk driving in Texas. Republicans say that none of the other elected officials were responsible for an office responsible for the ethics and integrity of public officials.
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