Re: Gov. Rick Perry indicted for abuse of power for carrying out threat to veto prose
There's no difference that makes a difference except indicting the legislature becomes obviously absurd, it reveals the utter absurdity of indicting the Governor particularly when the legal remedy should be an action for a writ (which shouldn't issue). Anything beyond that is an absurdity and an assault on separation of powers.
The law is there, in black and white, and Perry is not the first to be indicted for what he did. I will walk you through this step, by step.
1) The law says that, if you intend to harm another by misusing government property that has come into the possession of the government employee by virtue of his or her employment, then you have committed a crime.
2) The property in question consists of the funds for the Public Integrity Unit.
3) The employee in question is Assistant DA Rosemary Lehmburg.
4) Had Perry not made any threat, and just cancelled the funds, he could have given any reason he wanted, within reason... For example "The Public Integrity Unit is a waste of taxpayer money, and so I am vetoing the funds".
5) However, Perry issued a threat against Lehmburg and her office. This was AFTER a grand jury already decided that she could keep her job.
6) In making the threat, Perry showed that his action, if taken, would be to act against a public employee by using property of the state of Texas as a weapon.
7) When Perry then carried out this threat, under the laws of the State of Texas, Perry had harmed Lehmberg by misusing government property (the funds).
8) Perry has been indicted for that.
It's all pretty much black and white here. Although the maximum penalty here is 99 years, I doubt Perry will do time, if convicted. When Governor Pa Ferguson was convicted in 1917 for the same crime, he did not do a day in jail. When he tried to run for Governor again in 1926, the Texas Supreme Court ruled him ineligible as a convicted felon. So his wife ran, and she was elected, becoming the first female governor in Texas history.