Perry

[pueno]

[nw30]

Is Gov. Rick Perry’s Bad Judgment Really a Crime?

AUG. 18, 2014

Gov. Rick Perry of Texas is one of the least thoughtful and most damaging state leaders in America, having done great harm to immigrants, abortion clinics and people without health insurance during his 14 years in office. But bad political judgment is not necessarily a felony, and the indictment handed up against him on Friday — given the facts so far — appears to be the product of an overzealous prosecution.

For more than a year, Mr. Perry has been seeking the resignation of the Travis County district attorney, Rosemary Lehmberg. He had good reason to do so: Ms. Lehmberg was arrested in April 2013 for driving with a blood alcohol level of more than three times the legal limit, and she verbally abused the officers who found her with an open bottle of vodka. She ranted and raved at the local jail, threatening sheriff’s deputies, and she had to be restrained in a chair with a hood over her head. She pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 45 days in jail. In addition to endangering people’s lives, she instantly lost her credibility as a prosecutor of drunken-driving cases.

But Ms. Lehmberg is also an elected Democrat, and as the prosecutor in Austin, the state capital, she ran the Public Integrity Unit, which investigates corruption charges against state lawmakers, often including prominent Republicans. The office, in fact, has been investigating whether several medical research grants were improperly given to people with connections to Mr. Perry. Had she stepped down, the governor might have named a Republican to replace her, so she refused.

After the arrest, Mr. Perry told Ms. Lehmberg that if she didn’t resign, he would cut the financing for the Public Integrity Unit. In June, he did just that, using his line-item veto to zero out the $7.5 million for the unit. That was a bad idea. Had county officials not stepped in with some money, the veto could have shut down an important investigative body and its cases. Mr. Perry should have left the matter to the courts, where both a criminal and a civil attempt to have her removed failed, or to the voters.

But his ill-advised veto still doesn’t seem to rise to the level of a criminal act. After a complaint was filed by a liberal group, a judge appointed a special prosecutor, Michael McCrum, a San Antonio lawyer and former federal prosecutor, to take the case. A Travis County grand jury indicted Mr. Perry on two felony counts: abuse of official capacity and coercion of a public servant. The indictment says he exceeded his veto power by combining it with a threat to Ms. Lehmberg if she didn’t quit.

Governors and presidents threaten vetoes and engage in horse-trading all the time to get what they want, but for that kind of political activity to become criminal requires far more evidence than has been revealed in the Perry case so far. Perhaps Mr. McCrum will have some solid proof to show once the case heads to trial. But, for now, Texas voters should be more furious at Mr. Perry for refusing to expand Medicaid, and for all the favors he has done for big donors, than for a budget veto.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/19/opinion/is-gov-perrys-bad-judgment-really-a-crime.html?ref=opinion&_r=1

[keycocker]

Gybe does not understand the difference between a trial by a judge, the kind that Perry is getting, and a trial in the media like Bergdahl got.
That is why trial by media is getting popular in the conservative entertainment network.
They can count on some folks to no longer understand the difference.

[keycocker]

NW,
That was a thoughtful piece in the NWT .
But how can you be posting a link to an NWT article that supports a conservative?
You told us that the NYT is a piece of liberal trash full of only BS and you would never read anything there ever?
Now that you read your first article in the Times, do you still think the same and will never read NYT again?

[pointster]

From what I've read, the special prosecutor is apolitical, and has a reputation as a very careful and accomplished federal prosecutor and defense council. It seems unlikely that he would proceed without substantial evidence. I guess we'll have to wait for the trial to find out.

I do find it curious that two other Texas DAs were guilty of DUIs during Perry's tenure, and he didn't call for the resignation of either of them.

[nw30]

KC, lets see, I'll post something from a source that people on the left don't like, so the source gets slammed, but usually only slammed w/o any attempt of trying to prove the story as being wrong.
Then I'll post a story from a source that people on the left usually accept, and still get slammed because I have in the past given them some of their own medicine about a source that I often don't agree with.

This is why I no longer get involved in source slamming, followed with nothing else. Instead if I do, I'll follow it up with a source that refutes the original post, posted by somebody else.
And when I find something that I can believe in, on a source like the NYT, I'll use it.

Source slamming w/o offering anything else, is nothing more than farting online.

[swchandler]

I too feel that the NYT article was a fair and thoughtful opinion piece.

Was Governor Perry's line item veto worthy of being considered a felonious action? Probably not, but his specific focus and attack on a given duty elected individual, regardless of the DUI and its unseemly details, is a highly questionable action in my view.

I think what we have here is couple of examples of high profile political character assassination. And, when you really think about it, Perry can only blame himself for his present predicament. Foolishly push things the wrong way, like it or not, there's often a price to be paid. And, as we all know, Perry has no trouble at all looking stupid in the end.

[keycocker]

I agree NW.
I was just remembering your opinion of the NYT and wondering if it had changed since you now quote them.

Is your source being slammed here? I see only approving posts.
I understand you do not like folks slamming your sources.
Did that happen in this case?

[mac]

NW--perhaps the difference is using a credible source?

[nw30]