In the ruling released by Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the one last charge against Rick Perry was dismissed, as well as a lower charge by a lower criminal court.
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The former governor made just one court appearance in the case, which stems from 2013, when he publicly threatened to veto the $7.5 million in state funding for Public Integrity Unit prosecutors.
The court concluded that the legislature could not directly or indirectly limit the governor’s veto power.
It apparently does not matter to the grand jury that the attempt to influence involves the use of a power vested in the governor the exercise of which does not have to be justified: The Texas chief executive may veto for any reason, or none at all.
An attorney for former Texas Gov. Rick Perry says the onetime Republican presidential candidate is pleased that criminal charges against him have been finally dismissed.
And that’s what the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals did on Wednesday. Not without dissent (actually, two), the Court of Criminal Appeals nonetheless rightfully applied the law and ordered the dismissal of the indictment. Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg, who headed the investigative group, had rebuffed Perry’s calls to resign after she was convicted and jailed for drunken driving.
Perry blames the lingering felony charge for his failed presidential campaign, straining both his reputation and finances.
Rick Perry speaks at an event in Washington in September 2015.
Perry was indicted in 2014.
The state had said – and the 3rd Court had agreed – that it was too early in the case to address Perry’s arguments against that abuse-of-power charge, saying according to precedent set by the high court, that only could happen after evidence was heard at a trial.
Texas GOP Chair Tom Mechler said he wasn’t surprised by the court’s action.
The court voted 6-2 to toss out the abuse of power charge, stating that if the court were to rule on veto power, it would ultimately be violating “separations of powers”.
McDonald accused Perry of abusing his power.
The 15-year Republican governor has repeatedly dismissed the case as a “political witch hunt”, but with the charges carrying a possible combined penalty of 109 years in prison, Perry is likely breathing a sigh of relief.
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You can read the full court ruling dismissing the indictment here. “They don’t want rogue organizations that use the political process, that use the court system, to do what they can’t get done at the ballot box and I think that’s what we saw here”, Perry said.
