Perrygate

Here's the thing.  Rick Perry was not indicted for asking the Travis County District Attorney to resign after she was arrested for driving while intoxicated.  He was also not indicted for line-item vetoing the Statewide Public Integrity Unit -- a division of the Travis County DA's office that is empowered to investigate state officials anywhere in Texas because we don't have a statewide prosecutor's office.  The Texas Attorney General's office is a civil office with no independent power to commence criminal prosecutions.

The legislature (long ago) empowered the Travis County DA with the authority to address criminal conduct by public officials where the local prosecutor might be reluctant to do so because those public officials are friends.  Since the state government is headquartered in Austin, the Travis County (Austin) District Attorney's Office is given a few extra dollars to handle tasks that local prosecutors might be reluctant to handle.

DA Lehmberg's DWI was a terrible event.  It is appalling to see someone charged with prosecuting crime in a county commit one, and then try to use her position to avoid arrest (yes, she did).  And had she resigned, there is little doubt that the citizens of Travis County would have elected another Democrat to replace her.

Likewise, the Republicans control the state legislature and the governor's mansion.  They could have easily taken the public integrity role away from Travis County and put it in the hands of the attorney general or established a new office altogether.  

But they did not.  Instead, once Lehmberg was arrested and convicted (she pled guilty and went to jail -- most first-time DWI suspects get probation and not jail) Perry told her that if she did not resign, he would veto the Public Integrity unit's funding.  So, he wasn't just going to do it, he was NOT going to veto the funding if Lehmberg resigned.  He was holding over her head a significant source of funds and employment of prosecutors and staff in her office if she had not resigned.

Legally speaking, this is the same as holding a gun to someone's head and demanding their wallet in exchange for not shooting them.

So these charges are not BS.  They are not political.  Perry was trying to coerce another elected state official into doing something that she was not required to do (a felony conviction would have made her ineligible for office, a misdemeanor DWI conviction did not) or face his doing something that he was not intending to do otherwise.  A Travis County Grand Jury, presented with evidence on this matter, believes that there is probable cause to charge Perry with a 1st Degree Felony.

That action is very serious.  Twelve other citizens sitting as a trial (petit) jury will decide whether they believe what the grand jury said -- that Perry was threatening to take political action or to not take political action in order to make Lehmberg do something that she DID NOT HAVE to do.

Believe this: if that is what the trial shows, that makes Perry a felon.  In Texas, the Governor is not King.  If he does wrong, he can be stripped of office and shuffled off to prison.