Gov. Rick Perry in court: 'I would do it again'

Texas Governor Rick Perry appears in Travis County Court on Thursday to answer charges in an indictment rregarding his veto of funding for the Travis County Public Integrity Unit. Texas Governor Rick Perry appears in Travis County Court on Thursday to answer charges in an indictment rregarding his veto of funding for the Travis County Public Integrity Unit. Photo: Bob Daemmrich/TEXAS TRIBUNE Photo: Bob Daemmrich/TEXAS TRIBUNE Image 1 of / 71 Caption Close Gov. Rick Perry in court: 'I would do it again' 1 / 71 Back to Gallery

AUSTIN — Gov. Rick Perry sat in court Thursday as his lawyers tried to convince a judge to dismiss the felony case accusing him of abusing his power to try to force out Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg.

The Republican governor was indicted in connection with last year's threat to veto funding for a public corruption unit overseen by the Democratic district attorney unless she resigned after a messy drunken-driving arrest and guilty plea.

Lehmberg stayed in office after serving time. Perry axed the funding for the Public Integrity Unit, saying Lehmberg had lost the public's confidence.

Perry declared after the hearing, as he has before, that he merely was exercising his veto authority.

“I stand behind my authority and I would do it again. I stand behind that veto, and I would make that veto again,” said Perry, who had entered the courtroom with security and sat between his lawyers Tony Buzbee of Houston and David L. Botsford of Austin.

In addition to being a legal landmark for Perry, it was an important personal day for him. It's his 32nd wedding anniversary. He marked the occasion with a tweet that included a wedding photo.

At the pre-trial hearing, Buzbee and Botsford argued that the case should be dismissed because, they said, proper procedures weren’t followed when San Antonio lawyer Michael McCrum was sworn in as special prosecutor in the case.

They said documents in connection with his appointment as special prosecutor weren’t properly filed.

For example, Buzbee said the Texas Constitution requires a special prosecutor to file an anti-bribery statement before filing his oath. He said that order was reversed.

Buzbee also professed alarm when a court staffer said that the only grand jury investigations to have been assigned case numbers in Democratic-leaning Travis County were those of Perry and former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, both Republicans.

The staffer said that was because judges expected a number of motions to be filed in those cases. Buzbee raised eyebrows at them being treated differently, but when asked what damage could result, did not say.

McCrum said the case numbers were assigned to make it easier for everyone to find the cases and said efforts to make that appear a conspiracy were “ridiculous.”

He said matters in connection with his appointment as special prosecutor were handled properly.

Buzbee called the handing of documents in the case “a comedy of errors” but said it’s “not funny at all.”

He suggested to Senior Judge Bert Richardson of San Antonio, who is presiding over the case, that if he rules against Perry, he is ruling against the constitution.

McCrum called that “malarkey” and a “red herring.” He said Perry’s team is making inflammatory arguments that aren’t based in law to get media play.

The animosity between the two sides was evident in court. Buzbee frequently paced as he forcefully presented his arguments, at least twice stopping by McCrum’s seat to look down at him as he talked.

McCrum spoke more evenly and only left his table in the courtroom to give documents to the judge.

McCrum referred to Perry as “Mr. Perry” rather than “Gov. Perry” in court, explaining when asked afterward about that, “Any time I see evidence that a public official has committed a crime, then I don’t think it’s appropriate for me to call that public official by his title. At this time, he’s James Richard ‘Rick’ Perry, accused of committing two felonies.”

A grand jury indicted Perry on Aug. 15 on two counts: abuse of official capacity, a first-degree felony punishable by five to 99 years in prison; and coercion of a public servant, a third-degree felony carrying a punishment of two to 10 years in prison.

A government accountability group, Texans for Public Justice, initiated the case against Perry by filing a criminal complaint. It didn't question Perry's right to veto the funding, but said the governor was wrong to use his power to try to force out a locally elected official.

Richardson said he’ll rule on these matters next Wednesday or Thursday.

pfikac@express-news.net

Twitter: @pfikac