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http://www.reuters.com/article/texas-perry-idUSL2N1631FJ
Wed Feb 24, 2016 11:36am EST
Texas court dismisses indictment against former governor Rick Perry
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Wednesday dismissed an indictment against former governor Rick Perry that alleged he had abused his power by using a veto to try to force a county prosecutor from office.
Perry, was dogged by the case during his unsuccessful campaign for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination. He faced a first-degree felony charge, that could have brought up to 99 years in prison, arising from a funding veto he made while he was governor in 2013 that was seen as being intended to force a local district attorney to resign.
"When the only act that is being prosecuted is a veto, then the prosecution itself violates separation of powers," the court said.
The longest serving governor in Texas history, Perry was indicted on the two charges in August 2014 by a grand jury in Travis County, a Democratic stronghold in the heavily Republican state.
He first threatened and then vetoed $7.5 million for an integrity unit in the Travis County District Attorney's office. Many said Perry played hardball politics to force out county District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg, a Democrat, after she pleaded guilty to drunken driving.
In July 2015, a Texas state appeals court threw out a lesser charge against Perry for coercion of a public official, leaving only the abuse-of-power charge.
Lawyers for Perry, whose term ended at the start of 2015, have argued that the governor was acting within his powers when he made the funding cut. Perry called the case against him politically motivated.
A prosecutor in the case said that Perry acted unlawfully to pressure Lehmberg, who remained in office.
In September 2015, Perry, struggling to raise money and languishing near the bottom in presidential opinion polls, became the first member of the crowded Republican field to drop out of the 2016 White House race. He also sought the nomination unsuccessfully in 2012.
Posted for fair use.....
http://www.reuters.com/article/texas-perry-idUSL2N1631FJ
Wed Feb 24, 2016 11:36am EST
Texas court dismisses indictment against former governor Rick Perry
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Wednesday dismissed an indictment against former governor Rick Perry that alleged he had abused his power by using a veto to try to force a county prosecutor from office.
Perry, was dogged by the case during his unsuccessful campaign for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination. He faced a first-degree felony charge, that could have brought up to 99 years in prison, arising from a funding veto he made while he was governor in 2013 that was seen as being intended to force a local district attorney to resign.
"When the only act that is being prosecuted is a veto, then the prosecution itself violates separation of powers," the court said.
The longest serving governor in Texas history, Perry was indicted on the two charges in August 2014 by a grand jury in Travis County, a Democratic stronghold in the heavily Republican state.
He first threatened and then vetoed $7.5 million for an integrity unit in the Travis County District Attorney's office. Many said Perry played hardball politics to force out county District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg, a Democrat, after she pleaded guilty to drunken driving.
In July 2015, a Texas state appeals court threw out a lesser charge against Perry for coercion of a public official, leaving only the abuse-of-power charge.
Lawyers for Perry, whose term ended at the start of 2015, have argued that the governor was acting within his powers when he made the funding cut. Perry called the case against him politically motivated.
A prosecutor in the case said that Perry acted unlawfully to pressure Lehmberg, who remained in office.
In September 2015, Perry, struggling to raise money and languishing near the bottom in presidential opinion polls, became the first member of the crowded Republican field to drop out of the 2016 White House race. He also sought the nomination unsuccessfully in 2012.