Perry indicted on two felony charges

FILE — Mike McCrum speaks on a case in 2013. Today, A Travis County grand jury, led by special prosecutor Mike McCrum, indicted Perry on one count of abuse of official capacity, a first-degree felony, and coercion of a public servant, a third-degree felony. less FILE — Mike McCrum speaks on a case in 2013. Today, A Travis County grand jury, led by special prosecutor Mike McCrum, indicted Perry on one count of abuse of official capacity, a first-degree felony, and ... more Photo: LM Otero, Associated Press Photo: LM Otero, Associated Press Image 1 of / 48 Caption Close Perry indicted on two felony charges 1 / 48 Back to Gallery

AUSTIN - A Travis County grand jury on Friday indicted Gov. Rick Perry on two felony counts accusing him of abuse of power, threatening his presumed 2016 presidential aspirations and potentially casting a cloud over the race to choose his successor.

Perry's lawyer said he was "outraged and appalled" at the indictment on one count each of abuse of official capacity and coercion of a public servant in connection with the governor's veto of funding for the public corruption division of the Travis County District Attorney's Office.

"This clearly represents political abuse of the court system and there is no legal basis in this decision. The facts of this case conclude that the governor's veto was lawful, appropriate and well within the authority of the office of the governor," said David Botsford, a defense lawyer representing Perry, Texas' longest-serving governor.

Abuse of official capacity is a first-degree felony, carrying a possible punishment of five to 99 years in prison; coercion of a public servant is a third-degree felony, punishable by 2 to 10 years in prison.

"I took into account the fact that we're talking about ... the governor of the state of Texas, which we all love. Obviously, that carries a level of importance," said the special prosecutor in the case, Michael McCrum, of San Antonio. "But when it gets down to it, the law is the law."

McCrum said he will meet with Perry's lawyer and the judge to set up a time for the governor to appear in court to be arraigned. No date has been set.

Veto threat criticized

The grand jury probe was triggered by a complaint filed by Texans for Public Justice, which tracks money in politics, after Perry said he would veto funding in the state budget for the Public Integrity Unit overseen by Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg unless she resigned after a drunken-driving arrest.

Perry carried through on the veto when Lehmberg refused.

"The veto in question was made in accordance with the veto authority afforded to every governor under the Texas Constitution," Mary Anne Wiley, general counsel for the governor's office, said in a statement. "We will continue to aggressively defend the governor's lawful and constitutional action, and believe we will ultimately prevail."

Texans for Public Justice said Perry's threat to use it to force the resignation of a locally elected official went too far.

"The grand jury decided his bullying was actually lawbreaking, just as we thought it was," said the group's director, Craig McDonald. "These were exactly the acts we believed were illegal, so the grand jury believed our complaint had merit. And and now the legal system can work. The governor will have to defend his actions in court."

Presidential distraction

The indictment comes as Perry has been getting favorable attention while he eyes a 2016 White House race in the wake of his misstep-plagued effort to win the 2012 Republican nomination.

"It's a distraction for him at a minimum that might carry some slowdown potential, or even some damage potential," said University of Texas at Austin political scientist Bruce Buchanan.

"It's never a good thing when you're indicted," said Larry Sabato, founder and director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics. Even if Republicans agree with his effort to oust the Democratic district attorney in the wake of her arrest, Sabato said, "Perry is way behind because of the disastrous campaign he ran in 2012. And so everything has got to go perfectly for him to be even one of the frontrunners."

Democrats immediately sought to capitalize on the indictment, calling on Perry to step down and working to tie his case to other Republican candidates on Texas' November ballot, including Attorney General Greg Abbott, who is favored against Democratic Sen. Wendy Davis in the race to replace Perry.

"The system brought justice to Rick Perry's insider politics and political swindling. Rick Perry should step down, immediately," Gilberto Hinojosa, chairman of the Texas Democratic Party said in an emailed statement. "This type of crony politics has got to go in Texas. This issue doesn't stop with Governor Perry. Ken Paxton, the Republican nominee for attorney general, is also facing indictment. And Attorney General Greg Abbott has refused to rule on whether Governor Perry can use taxpayer dollars to cover his legal expenses."

The statement ended with a request for donations to ensure Democratic victories in November.

Republican Party of Texas Chairman Steve Munisteri, however, said, "I think most reasonable people would come to the conclusion that it's political in nature."

Asked about the effect the indictments could have on Perry's presidential prospects, Munisteri said, "He has about a year and a half to the Iowa caucuses, so certainly this needs to be resolved before that."

Most Republican voters "will feel as I do - that this was politically motivated. This is not about somebody charged with taking a bribe ... misusing government property. This is about a governor who said he didn't want to agree to appropriations for a public official who had admittedly committed a crime."

Southern Methodist University political scientist Cal Jillson was not so dismissive.

"I think it's certainly a problem for Perry looking to 2016," he said. "I don't think it will bleed over onto the entire Republican ticket."

Perry didn't testify

Grand jurors spent months looking into whether Perry's veto threat violated the law. Current and former Perry staffers went before the grand jury, as did lawmakers, a Travis County commissioner and county and district attorney staffers. Perry did not testify, McCrum said.

Lehmberg declined comment Friday. Perry's threat to eliminate funding for the Public Integrity Unit came after her belligerent behavior after a drunken-driving arrest was captured in a widely viewed video. She pleaded guilty, served 22 days of a 45-day sentence and remains in office.

Perry suggested Lehmberg had lost the public's confidence when he vetoed the money. If she had resigned, Perry would have named her successor until the next election.

Sources have told the San Antonio Express-News that Perry aides offered to restore funding, allow some type of continued employment for Lehmberg in the DA's office and pick her top lieutenant as her successor if she had been willing to resign, even after the veto.

Lehmberg worked closely with former District Attorney Ronnie Earle, a Democrat whose high-profile prosecutions included cases against Republicans, such as former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay and former U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison.

DeLay was convicted in 2010 on charges of money laundering charges, but the verdict was overturned in 2013, a ruling that remains under review. Hutchison was acquitted after being indicted in 1993 on a charge of using her office of state treasurer for political matters. Earle also prosecuted cases against Democrats.

The veto threat came as the Public Integrity Unit was looking into the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, the creation of which was championed by Perry. The institute had been hit by a scandal regarding the inadequate review of grants, and grants going to those who made contributions to support the agency and political donations to officials. The agency's former chief commercialization officer was indicted after being accused of withholding information that an $11 million grant had not been reviewed as required.

Critics had accused Perry of trying to defund the Public Integrity Division to undermine its investigation of CPRIT.

Friday's action makes Perry the first Texas governor indicted in nearly a century.

In 1917, Gov. James Edward "Pa" Ferguson was indicted on charges including misapplication of public funds, embezzlement and diversion of a special fund, according to the Handbook of Texas online. He later was impeached.

Reporters Mike Ward, Lauren McGaughy, Brian M. Rosenthal and Patrick Svitek contributed to this story.