Governor Rick Perry, who ran for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination and is weighing running again in 2016, was charged with misuse of government property and coercion of a public servant after he vetoed US$ 7.5 million in funding for the Public Integrity Unit. Perry had threatened to withhold funding if its leader, Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg, failed to resign, AP reports. Both charges are felonies.
Lehmberg, a Democrat, had been convicted of drunk driving, and was seen arguing with police in a video of her arrest. Perry claimed that “the public had lost confidence” in her ability to lead a unit on public integrity, according to The Wall Street Journal. He maintains that his decision to veto funding was lawful and justified.
Some US legal experts have expressed doubt at the strength of the case against Perry. Conservative Washington Post law blogger Eugene Volokh observed that the coercion charge seemed to contradict court precedent. Ian Millheiser, writing for the liberal blog ThinkProgress, observed that placing limits on the governor’s veto discretion would seem to violate the state’s separation of powers.
No arrest warrant will be issued for Perry, according to AP, as he is not seen as a flight risk or danger to the community.
