GOV Rick Perry Indicted on Coercion Charges

[roddma]

Anyone see this? How interesting the DA happened to be Democrat

http://www.newsweek.com/texas-governor- ... ?piano_d=1

[lawfulevil]

"Happened to be" a lesbian democrat. I'm glumly sure that Rick Perry, King of Texas, will get away with it, though.

[Rachel333]

I'm not quite understanding what's going on here. He said that she should resign after having been arrested for drunk driving and that it was inappropriate for her to stay in office after being in jail... that doesn't sound so unreasonable on his part.

I guess its the veto that's inappropriate? I still don't understand how he could be facing up to a 109 year prison sentence for this.

[Howl]

This short article in the (left leaning) Austin Chronicle sums up the case, the political dynamics, the Public Integrity Unit and other aspects of it. Politics in Texas are never simple and this article sums up all the complexity nicely and in this instance, state and county politics collide. Here's why:

the Public Integrity Unit (tasked with investigating any malfeasance among elected officials in Texas) is based out the office of the District Attorney of Travis County. Austin, the state capitol, is located in Travis County. Moving right along:

The three-term governor of Texas and prospective 2016 presidential candidate was indicted yesterday by a Travis County grand jury on two felony charges – abuse of official capacity and coercion of a public official – relating to how he cut state funding to the Public Integrity Unit (PIU) in 2013, in an attempt to dislodge Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg....

...The charges allege the political equivalent of extortion. Lehmberg was arrested for being dangerously drunk, Perry told her to quit[ she refused]; Perry vetoed the funding for the PIU, the state entity based in Lehmberg's office and responsible for investigating criminal malfeasance among elected officials.

The Perry defense is going to be that this is all about Lehmberg – that she lost the public confidence after her DWI arrest and subsequent sentencing to 45 days in jail, and that she had to go. Moreover, that using his budget veto was a Constitutional expression of his powers as governor....

...Which might make sense, if what Perry did impacted Lehmberg, an elected official. Instead, it just affected the Public Integrity Unit. Moreover, as Progress Texas executive director Ed Espinoza noted, when two other DAs were convicted of drunk driving – Swisher County DA Terry McEachern in 2003 and Kaufman County DA Rick Harrison in 2009 – Perry remained silent. Espinoza said, "Rick Perry has been looking the other way on Republican drunk driving charges for years – let’s call this what it is, a cover up of an investigation into the Cancer Research Fund."

...Well before Lehmberg's arrest, the GOP has repeatedly tried to either shut the PIU down, or have it transferred into the Attorney General's office. However, the entire purpose of having the office based in the DA's office of the county containing the state capitol is exactly so it would retain some independence. With 425 cases pending, the Travis County Commissioners stepped in last August and attempted to bridge the funding gap, but it was an undoubted blow to the agency.

...Of course, many Democrats were furious at Lehmberg when she was arrested, and would have been glad to see the back of her then. However, they preferred keeping her over the alternative: That Perry would appoint her successor. (Speculation at the time had one of his chief lieutenants, former state representative and Texas Facilities Commission chief Terry Keel, lined up to take over.) With so many cases pending, including several Perry affiliates, the last thing anyone seeking fair investigations – be they Republican, Democrat, or any other political hue – wanted was the governor's thumb on the scales.

[Coco]

I have two thoughts about this i want to share:

Yes! it's a good day in Texas :cracking-up:

&

Oh the hypocrisy! and oh, the celebration by Ted Cruz :lol: come, all ye Perry supporters, to the Cruz camp! Which actually kind of sucks, but TX is sort of a lost cause anyway. :popcorn2: (i can say, as a former Texas resident)

[Howl]

I have two thoughts about this i want to share:

Yes! it's a good day in Texas :cracking-up:

&

Oh the hypocrisy! and oh, the celebration by Ted Cruz :lol: come, all ye Perry supporters, to the Cruz camp! Which actually kind of sucks, but TX is sort of a lost cause anyway. :popcorn2: (i can say, as a former Texas resident)

Yup, I don't think Perry will do a perp walk, but he'll be fingerprinted and booked tomorrow.

This will be played as a defiant Perry standing up to....something and make the paranoiac fringe elements of the Tea Party (scary thought, right?) stand behind him even more strongly, but it should torpedo his hopes of taking his song & dance routine to the national stage.

He was legitimately indicted by a Grand Jury and this may at some point go to trial.

Yes, sadly, Texas is a lot cause, & the scariest part of this lost cause is Ted Cruz. My take is that Ted is publicly pumping his Tea Party cred, and keeping the religious crazy part under wraps. Ted's dad (way right wing preacher) thinks that Ted has been anointed by Gawd to be president. I think the blatant arrogance demonstrated by Ted confirms that he believes this as well; it is something that he has been taught all his life. AND, unlike W or Perry, Cruz is smart.

[Curious]

The last person that thought they were anointed by God to be (vice) President, didn't do so hot once the world got a good look at them. I have a feeling the same thing will happen with Cruz.

[DGayle]

I'm not quite understanding what's going on here. He said that she should resign after having been arrested for drunk driving and that it was inappropriate for her to stay in office after being in jail... that doesn't sound so unreasonable on his part.

I guess its the veto that's inappropriate? I still don't understand how he could be facing up to a 109 year prison sentence for this.

You need to look at the whole picture. Her department was involved in investigating wrong-doing on his part. If he could get her to resign because of the DUI, then the investigation would fall apart. When she didn't resign, he cut the funding to end the investigation. Trying to get her to resign wasn't really because it was a DUI. It was an attempt to end the investigation going on against him. That's an abuse of power.

[Coco]

The last person that thought they were anointed by God to be (vice) President, didn't do so hot once the world got a good look at them. I have a feeling the same thing will happen with Cruz.

That chosen-by-God arrogance could be a good thing, look what happened to Romney. Cruz just has to make a few telling comments to leg humpers and get taped doing it. And wow, yes. Sarah Palin getting picked to run for vice president was just a nail in the coffin to McCain. When i heard it i was at work, still fundie-light, total Republican. She was mostly unknown then. It was so disappointing. Complete let-down, like McCain thought running for President was a joke. Also, the despair that there were no better options. :lol: Guess he was just taking one for the team since everything was such a mess no Republican had a chance, while trying to prove Republicans had smart powerful women leaders. That really worked out. :twisted:

[Guest]

Yup, I don't think Perry will do a perp walk, but he'll be fingerprinted and booked tomorrow.

This will be played as a defiant Perry standing up to....something and make the paranoiac fringe elements of the Tea Party (scary thought, right?) stand behind him even more strongly, but it should torpedo his hopes of taking his song & dance routine to the national stage.

He was legitimately indicted by a Grand Jury and this may at some point go to trial.

Yes, sadly, Texas is a lot cause, & the scariest part of this lost cause is Ted Cruz. My take is that Ted is publicly pumping his Tea Party cred, and keeping the religious crazy part under wraps. Ted's dad (way right wing preacher) thinks that Ted has been anointed by Gawd to be president. I think the blatant arrogance demonstrated by Ted confirms that he believes this as well; it is something that he has been taught all his life. AND, unlike W or Perry, Cruz is smart.

Cruz may be smart, but he's constitutionally exempt from being president because he was born in Canada. The fact that he and the tea party, who are very famously outraged that the president was supposedly born in Kenya, are not phased by this is hilarious to me.

[salex]

I have two thoughts about this i want to share:

Yes! it's a good day in Texas :cracking-up:

&

Oh the hypocrisy! and oh, the celebration by Ted Cruz :lol: come, all ye Perry supporters, to the Cruz camp! Which actually kind of sucks, but TX is sort of a lost cause anyway. :popcorn2: (i can say, as a former Texas resident)

I wondered who in power behind the scenes was getting Perry out of the way in the presidential race. I'd forgotten about Cruz. How are the birthers going to work his being born in Canada?

It had to be about the presidential campaign, since Perry is a lame duck governor anyway.

[salex]

Cruz may be smart, but he's constitutionally exempt from being president because he was born in Canada. The fact that he and the tea party, who are very famously outraged that the president was supposedly born in Kenya, are not phased by this is hilarious to me.

We were asking the same thing at similar times, apparently

[quinoa]

Cruz may be smart, but he's constitutionally exempt from being president because he was born in Canada. The fact that he and the tea party, who are very famously outraged that the president was supposedly born in Kenya, are not phased by this is hilarious to me.

This is not actually true. The supreme court has never ruled on this specifically, but the constitution requires candidates for president to be "natural born citizens", not "born within the borders of the US." Individuals born to US citizens abroad are generally considered US citizens.

This is why the Obama citizenship question was so dumb, especially when his opponent was John McCain.

Pretty sure the Tedster is running.

(Edited because I know when to use plurals.)

[PokaDot]

This is not actually true. The supreme court has never ruled on this specifically, but the constitution requires candidates for president to be "natural born citizens", not "born within the borders of the US." Individuals born to US citizens abroad are generally considered US citizens.

This is why the Obama citizenship question was so dumb, especially when his opponent was John McCain.

Pretty sure the Tedster is running.

(Edited because I know when to use plurals.)

If I remember correctly, if at least one parent is American, one is considered a natural born citizen, regardless of where they are born. McCain was born in Panama, but on a military base to US citizens. Obama was born in Hawaii to an US mother.

Basically the US president can't be an immigrant.

[salex]

If I remember correctly, if at least one parent is American, one is considered a natural born citizen, regardless of where they are born. McCain was born in Panama, but on a military base to US citizens. Obama was born in Hawaii to an US mother.

Basically the US president can't be an immigrant.

\

And there was a time when the republicans were all dancing around the idea of changing that (per my early morning CSPAN viewing a few years ago) because Arnold Schwarzenegger was their big rising star-- until it came out he had knocked up the maid/nanny (whichever) and the Tea Party got stronger.

[DGayle]

Guess he was just taking one for the team since everything was such a mess no Republican had a chance, while trying to prove Republicans had smart powerful women leaders. That really worked out. :twisted:

The GOP doesn't exactly have smart, powerful men leaders either.

[Guest]

This is not actually true. The supreme court has never ruled on this specifically, but the constitution requires candidates for president to be "natural born citizens", not "born within the borders of the US." Individuals born to US citizens abroad are generally considered US citizens.

This is why the Obama citizenship question was so dumb, especially when his opponent was John McCain.

Pretty sure the Tedster is running.

(Edited because I know when to use plurals.)

Hmm. I had always been under the impression that it was the former, though I guess it's never really been an issue. I was under the impression that because McCain was born on a military base, it was almost as good as being born in the USA, but just being born in some rando hospital in Canada because your parents decided to live there was not. I do wonder how the Supreme Court would rule (I suspect not in Cruz's favor if politics were not involved, but of course, many justices are very political, as evidenced by 2000) but I can see Republicans attacking him for it in the primaries. I don't think it's an issue that Democrats will touch with a ten-foot-pole for awhile.

[Howl]

Cruz's mother is an American citizen born in Delaware; his father was from Cuba.

Most legitimate scholars of the issue agree that a natural born citizen is someone who has American citizenship at birth. This includes children born to American citizens, regardless of where the birth takes place.

However, the issue of what exactly is meant by natural born citizen has never been completely settled.

[Howl]

The last person that thought they were anointed by God to be (vice) President, didn't do so hot once the world got a good look at them. I have a feeling the same thing will happen with Cruz.

On the other hand, Texas elected Ted to the US Senate..... :o

[Howl]

So, Perry is pulling together his legal team and asking for a quick trial. If he can't get the indictment quashed, there are two trial options (according to a column in today's Austin American Statesman). Trial by jury (they come to a decision based on facts) or a trial in front of a judge where lawyers argue points of law.

This trial will also have elements related to the Public Integrity Unit and the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute (CPRIT) and political donors, bio tech startups, influence peddling, science vs political clout.

If you are really into following this issue and want to know just how crazy things really are in my state, especially when there is public $$$ involved, this 2012 HuffPo article about the whole mess titled Cancer Cronyism is a good read.

By the way, if you want to know what Rick Perry believes, just google "Rick Perry + National Day of Prayer." Governor Goodhair is definitely on the evangelical end of the spectrum.

[crazyforkate]

This is not actually true. The supreme court has never ruled on this specifically, but the constitution requires candidates for president to be "natural born citizens", not "born within the borders of the US." Individuals born to US citizens abroad are generally considered US citizens.

This is why the Obama citizenship question was so dumb, especially when his opponent was John McCain.

Pretty sure the Tedster is running.

(Edited because I know when to use plurals.)

Also, can I just say that the natural-born requirement is incredibly fucked up and xenophobic? It made sense when the US was just barely removed from England, but 200 years later, the world has changed. Maybe a fantastic US president has just been born in Taiwan or Romania or New Zealand. A huge number of countries require only that the leader be a citizen, and that is, IMO, the requirement the US should adopt - a citizen of the United States, nothing more, nothing less.

Whenever this birth certificate stuff comes up, it really is irksome that no one ever gets to the real heart of the issue - that it's a dumb requirement that should be scrapped - and frankly, it's puzzling that the population does not seem to want to change this, or that it does not even seem to have occurred to them. There doesn't even seem to be any kind of organized movement for it. Why on earth should a person be prevented from this office because of being born on the wrong side of an arbitrary line, something the person had absolutely no control over?

/rant over, carry on

[Mama Mia]

Also, can I just say that the natural-born requirement is incredibly fucked up and xenophobic? It made sense when the US was just barely removed from England, but 200 years later, the world has changed. Maybe a fantastic US president has just been born in Taiwan or Romania or New Zealand. A huge number of countries require only that the leader be a citizen, and that is, IMO, the requirement the US should adopt - a citizen of the United States, nothing more, nothing less.

Whenever this birth certificate stuff comes up, it really is irksome that no one ever gets to the real heart of the issue - that it's a dumb requirement that should be scrapped - and frankly, it's puzzling that the population does not seem to want to change this, or that it does not even seem to have occurred to them. There doesn't even seem to be any kind of organized movement for it. Why on earth should a person be prevented from this office because of being born on the wrong side of an arbitrary line, something the person had absolutely no control over?

/rant over, carry on

It's not going to come up because many Americans really, really, really hate immigrants. And three are very squeaky wheels. So nobody is going to care if Mr. future President was born while his parents were on vacation in Cabo, and took the baby back home to Kansas. But they sure as fuck are going to care if the whole family had to immigrate from Cabo.

[Toothfairy]

I don't understand why America hates immigrants. Unless you're native American you are an immigrant

[Curious]

This is not actually true. The supreme court has never ruled on this specifically, but the constitution requires candidates for president to be "natural born citizens", not "born within the borders of the US." Individuals born to US citizens abroad are generally considered US citizens.

This is why the Obama citizenship question was so dumb, especially when his opponent was John McCain.

Pretty sure the Tedster is running.

(Edited because I know when to use plurals.)

I don't know if it's true or not, but I read somewhere that he gave up his Canadian citizenship. If it is true, I'd say that is a pretty good sign he's planning on running.

[Howl]

I don't know if it's true or not, but I read somewhere that he gave up his Canadian citizenship. If it is true, I'd say that is a pretty good sign he's planning on running.

Yes, he has given up his Canadian citizenship.

On the Rick Perry front, he'll have to give up his guns. Those convicted or UNDER INDICTMENT cannot possess firearms. Ditto for concealed carry, if he currently has a permit for that.