RICK PERRY’S INDICTMENT SHOULD SCARE ALL AMERICANS

[Geee]

American Spectator:

The indictment of Governor Rick Perry should send a shudder down the spine of every American. The vindictive special prosecutor used Humpty Dumpty’s logic to say statutes say the opposite of their plain meaning in order to charge the governor with a crime for exercising his lawful veto. If a popular sitting governor can be indicted on such a flimsy basis, then every one of us is vulnerable.

 

The facts are straightforward: the police arrested Rosemary Lehmberg, the Travis County DA, after finding her in her car with a drained bottle of vodka. Her blood alcohol content was almost three times the legal limit. During her arrest and booking, she screamed, beat on the jail cell door, and had to be forcibly strapped into a restraint chair with a spit guard placed over her mouth to protect the deputies. She pleaded guilty.

 

Leaders of both parties urged her to resign. She refused. The governor then said that her embarrassing actions had cost her the credibility needed to be a prosecutor, and that he would veto special state funding for her office if she didn’t resign. She still refused, and the governor exercised his veto.

 

A special prosecutor obtained a criminal indictment of Perry on two charges: “abuse of official capacity” and “coercion of a public servant.” A quick look at both statutes shows how perversely he twisted their meaning to manufacture a crime out of the governor’s veto.

[Draggingtree]

Perry prosecutor answers, says governor actions could intimidate witnesses

 

By Christy Hoppe

choppe@dallasnews.com
12:22 pm on November 3, 2014

Special prosecutor Michael McCrum filed court papers on Monday, saying the governor, who was indicted for abuse of office, shouldn’t have access to grand jury testimony because he could intimidate witnesses.

 

McCrum filed two lengthy briefs in answer to a barrage of pre-trial motions filed by Perry’s attorneys. It is the first time the prosecutor has rebutted assertions by the governor’s vigorous defense team. But McCrum didn’t reveal many details in the case that led a grand jury to charge Perry with abuse and coercion.

 

The first pre-trial court hearing in which Perry will be present is scheduled for Thursday.

 

On the issue of whether Perry should be provided transcripts of grand jury testimony, McCrum cited centuries-old common law that uses secrecy to help protect all parties involved with criminal allegations.

http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/2014/11/perry-prosecutor-answers-says-witnesses-deserve-protection.html/

[Draggingtree]

Perry’s Prosecutor: He Threatened Us By Criticizing Us!

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 7:06 am

From the Fort Worth Startlegram (that’s what natives call the Star-Telegram):

 

Gov. Rick Perry seems to be threatening to retaliate against grand jurors who indicted him for felony abuse-of-office and is misusing rules to try and toss out the charges before trial, a special prosecutor alleged in a filing made public Monday.

 

“The defendant’s own words have instilled a concern for all persons who participated in the grand jury investigation,” Michael McCrum, Perry’s special prosecutor, said in the filing, asking a state judge to deny the governor’s request for grand jury transcripts.

 

. . . .[Perry] held a press conference the day after his Aug. 15 indictment saying: “This farce of a prosecution will be revealed for what it is, and those responsible will be held accountable.”

http://patterico.com/2014/11/04/perrys-prosecutor-he-threatened-us-by-criticizing-us/