The indictment of Gov. Rick Perry on two corruption-related felony counts took the state by surprise on Friday.
The abuse of power charge stems from Perry threatening to veto the funding of Travis County's public integrity unit unless Travis County District Attorney Rosmary Lehmberg resigned. She didn't and Perry vetoed the funds.
Perry called the indictments politically motivated and was unrepentant at his Saturday press conference and on weekend talk shows. There are many on both sides of the aisle that believe the case rests on shaky ground.
Unless he was demonstrably trying to scrap the ethics unit for other than his stated reason, Perry indictment seems pretty sketchy.
— David Axelrod (@davidaxelrod) August 16, 2014
The future political career of the longest-serving Texas governor is at question. Perry has made the most trips to Iowa of any assumed 2016 republican presidential candidate, and according to the associated press will continue to press the flesh in two other primary states in the next two weeks.
Will Gov. Perry beat the rap? How will the case determine his political fate?
Guest:
- Craig McDonald, director of Texans for Public Justice, the group that filed the ethics complaint against Gov. Perry.
- Brian Wice, defense attorney who has represented high-profile political clients, including Tom DeLay.
- Cal Jillson, professor of political science at Southern Methodist University.
*This is the first segment in the August 18 edition of The Source, which airs at 3 p.m. on KSTX 89.1 FM. Audio from this show will be posted by 5:30 p.m.
