Perry case moves forward

Criminal case against Perry moves forward

David McCabe

A Texas judge decided on Tuesday not to dismiss the criminal case against former Gov. Rick Perry (R), meaning it will likely proceed into the coming months as he considers a run for the White House, the Austin American-Statesman and others reported.

The charges against the conservative former governor stem from Perry’s decision to tell Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg that if she didn’t resign after she was arrested for drunken driving, he would veto some funding to her office. She did not resign, and he vetoed the money.

Perry was indicted in August on charges of abuse of official capacity and coercion of a public official. At the time, he called the indictment a political move.

"We don’t settle political differences with indictments in this country," he said.

Perry’s lawyers had asked a judge to dismiss the charges against him, saying that Perry's actions were allowed under the veto powers given to the governor in Texas' consitution.

Judge Bert Richardson said Tuesday that case could proceed. It was the second request to dismiss the case that has been denied.

Perry’s attorneys could appeal to a higher court, the Statesman reported, but that would likely take months to resolve itself.

Perry’s lead attorney said Tuesday they would appeal the decision, something that will likely drag into the coming months.

“Governor Perry acted lawfully and properly exercised his power under the law as Governor to protect the public safety and integrity of government," lawyer Tony Buzbee said in a statement.

"Continued prosecution of Governor Perry is an outrage and sets a dangerous precedent in our Democracy. America’s commitment to the Constitution and the rule of law is at stake in this case, which is why we will immediately appeal this decision to the Third District Court of Appeals.”

The decision comes right as Republicans considering running for president begin to make their interest known. Perry is among them — and despite the legal wrangling over his case, he has continued to suggest he is mulling a run.

In public remarks, he has said that he wasn’t properly prepared for the race when he ran for president in 2012 and that he has been meeting with experts in the years since to develop a better grasp of policy.

"Now I may not run for the presidency in 2016,” he said in October. “But if I don’t, the reason I don’t run is not because I’m not prepared.”

Several of Perry's potential rivals for the GOP presidential nomination voiced support for the ex-governor in his legal wrangle, among them Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, Louisiana Gov. Bovbby Jindal and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. All said the motivation was political.

"The district court's decision to allow this case to proceed is both unfortunate and wrong, and it profoundly undermines the rule of law," Cruz said.