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First governor in almost a century, wow.
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Before You Pass Judgment On Rick Perry…
posted at 7:59 pm on August 15, 2014 by Duane Patterson
You ought to see this video first. This is the dash cam footage from the patrol car that pulled over Travis County D.A., Rosemary Lehmberg for DWI.
Here is the booking video when she was taken into custody.
Rick Perry thought her to be a disgrace, and wanted her to resign. She didn’t. So he took the next step and threatened to veto funding for her office. In response, a grand jury handed down an abuse of power indictment for coercive use of a veto late this afternoon. So the woman who was belligerent and intoxicated stays, Rick Perry is the bad guy and needs to go. Right. Got it.
Update: In case you want to give Lehmberg the benefit of the doubt, here is what her blood alcohol level was at the time of her arrest and booking, according to her attorney, David Sheppard.
District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg has pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated, was sentenced to 45 days in jail and immediately taken into custody.
Lehmberg’s blood alcohol level registered at 0.23 when she was arrested April 13, her attorney David Sheppard said.I wear a Fez. Fez-es are cool -
.23? Dayum!ZOMBIE REAGAN FOR PRESIDENT 2016!!! hehComment
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You should watch both videos. I wouldn't want to fund any agency she ran either.
By Ciara O'Rourke
American-Statesman Staff
3:50 p.m. update: Jailers placed Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg in restraints early Saturday morning after her drunken driving arrest to protect her from harming herself, according to jail records.
Lehmberg had been placed in an isolation cell for protective custody but she refused several orders to stop kicking the cell door and was put in “the emergency restraint chair,” the records say.
According to an inmate incident report, Lehmberg also resisted a pat-down, refused to comply with officers, tried to scratch and grab an officer’s hand and yelled.
She was handcuffed and “leg-ironed,” according to the report.
The report does not say that she tried to spit or kick officers, as was alleged in a petition asking for her removal from office.
At the time of her arrest on Friday, April 12, Lehmberg refused to provide a breath test or blood sample when she was arrested for drunken driving, requiring deputies to obtain a judge-approved search warrant, according to court documents.
Results from a blood sample analyzed by the Texas Department of Public Safety found that she had a blood alcohol level of .239.
Video of Lehmberg captured on jail cameras show officers wheeling her in the chair she’s restrained to into a room to have her blood drawn.
In the room, an officer removes a white cloth covering her entire face and puts it back on before leaving the room again.
Travis County sheriff spokesman Roger Wade said the mask is called a “spit mask,” but he said he hasn’t seen any evidence of her spitting.
He said he didn’t know why the mask was put on her.
3:30 p.m. update: The results of Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg’s blood test show she had a blood alcohol level of .239 following her drunken driving arrest last week, according to a statement issued by the county attorney’s office.
Lehmberg was sentenced to 45 days in jail, a $4,000 fine and a 180-day license suspension on Friday.
“This level of jail sentence is at the higher end, if not the highest, of punishments assessed in Travis County for a first time DWI where the offender has no previous criminal history and no collision was involved,” the statement says.
Though no one was injured, the statement says that Lehmberg’s driving was dangerous and erratic and an open container of vodka was found in her car.
“Her conduct after arrest was deplorable,” according to the statement, which adds that the sheriff deputies and jailers involved handled themselevs with dignity and professionalism.
County Attorney David Escamilla also says in the statement that Lehmberg’s sentence is “another example that justice is blind in Travis County.”
“We treat all defendants equally and no one is above the law,” he said in the statement.
12:10 p.m. update: The district attorney’s office has released a statement, saying that the operational aspects of the office will be handled by senior staff while District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg is in jail, “the same as when the officeholder is away from the office.”
The statement says the office will have no further comment.
9:35 a.m. update: District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg has pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated, was sentenced to 45 days in jail and immediately taken into custody.
Lehmberg’s blood alcohol level registered at 0.23 when she was arrested April 13, her attorney David Sheppard said.
Sheppard said the the punishment is “without a doubt” the “harshest” sentence for a first-time drunken driving charge in the history of Travis County.
Lehmberg’s driver’s license was also suspended for 180 days.
Sheppard denied reports of any violent behavior in the aftermath of her arrest, saying “categorically” that Lehmberg never tried to kick or spit at any jailer.
A mask was placed on her face to protect her identity, he said.
Tapes connected to her arrest will be released in the next few days, Zanek said.
Sheppard also said Lehmberg has no plans to step down. Instead, her staff will continue to run the office as they do when she is out on vacation, he said.
Earlier: District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg is expected to enter a plea today to a charge of driving while intoxicated, the county attorney’s office said. She is expected in court at 9:30 a.m.
In a letter Sunday night to prosecutors handling her case, Lehmberg said she is prepared to make an “unconditional” guilty plea and will accept any amount of jail time a judge gives her. Lehmberg was arrested and charged with drunken driving.
She has been charged with Class A misdemeanor driving while intoxicated.
First-offense drunken driving is a Class B misdemeanor, punishable by as much as six months in jail and a $2,000 fine. But last legislative session, lawmakers upped the charge to a Class A misdemeanor if a suspect’s breath or blood test shows a blood alcohol level of 0.15 or above. A Class A misdemeanor carries a sentence of up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine.
According to county records, Lehmberg, 63, was arrested by Travis County deputies in northern Travis County near RM 2222 and FM 620 and booked into the county jail shortly after 2 a.m.
Information filed by an assistant county attorney Thursday said Lehmberg had an open container of an alcoholic beverage in her possession when she was arrested and a blood alcohol level of 0.15 or more.
Lehmberg declined to comment Thursday but in a letter to Travis County Attorney David Escamilla earlier this week, she apologized for her actions and said she intends to plead guilty to a driving while intoxicated charge.
Invoking an obscure and rarely used state law allowing the removal of a district attorney for intoxication “on or off duty caused by drinking an alcoholic beverage” attorney Kerry O’Brien filed his request to force Lehmberg out of office on Wednesday.
On Thursday, he amended the request, according to court records, adding allegations of incompetence and official misconduct.
O’Brien’s petition alleges “upon information and belief” that Lehmberg was highly combative at jail and tried to kick and spit at officers. She was screaming curse words and apparently asking for Sheriff Greg Hamilton by yelling, “Call Greg,” the petition says.
Escamilla said Wednesday that his office is gathering and reviewing evidence.
I wear a Fez. Fez-es are coolComment
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This is nonsense, but I'm hopeful it stops his Presidential run in its tracks.Originally posted by BradMOriginally posted by LeahComment
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I would rather have him than a lot of the other potential candidates.Originally posted by bcoop View PostComment
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Exactly what I was thinking.Originally posted by Pokulski-Blatz View Post"When the people find that they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic." -Benjamin Franklin
"A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury." -Alexander Fraser TytlerComment
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This is so typical of the dirty politics that the liberals know how to do so well. Of course, it's not like the republicans aren't guilty too.
I hope Perry tells them to fuck off and runs anyway. I'm not a big fan of his, but he's gained more respect with me in the last few years.
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Good. He's doing what I hoped he would.
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Perry slams indictment, vows to fight
Texas GOP Gov. Rick Perry responded Saturday to the weekend indictment in which he is accused of abusing his power of office, calling it a political “farce” and vowing to explore “every legal avenue” to combat the prosecution.
Perry, a 2012 GOP presidential candidate with potential 2016 aspirations, was indicted Friday for allegedly abusing his power by vowing to veto $7.5 million in state funds for agency run by Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg, after she pleaded guilty to drunken driving in April 2013 and refused to resign.
Perry vetoed the money after Lehmberg, a Democrat, videotaped acting erratically during her arrest, refused to resign.
“I think Americans and Texans who have seen the video would agree that this is not the type of individual who should be heading up an office that we want to fund,” Perry said during a brief news conference in Texas. “I wholeheartedly and unequivocally stand behind my veto … I will explore every legal avenue to expedite this matter and bring it to a swift conclusion. I am confident that this farce of a prosecution will be revealed for what it is.”
The governor said he would take the same action again, given the same facts and circumstances. He also made clear that we would have funded the ethics unit under Lehmberg had she resigned.
Within hours of the announcement late Friday afternoon, Democrats and Republicans began supporting or attacking Perry and the politically-charged decision.
“Rick Perry is a friend, he's a man of integrity,” said GOP Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who also appears to have 2016 White House aspirations. “I am proud to stand with Rick Perry. The Texas Constitution gives the governor the power to veto legislation. And a criminal indictment predicated on the exercise of his constitutional authority is, on its face, highly suspect.”
The outspoken first-term senator also called the indictment “highly-questionable” and argued that the Travis County District Attorney's Office that indicted Perry has a “sad history” of engaging in politically-motivated prosecutions.
Perry also appeared to get support from one of the country's most powerful Democrats and former President Obama political advisers, David Axelrod.
"Unless he was demonstrably trying to scrap the ethics unit for other than his stated reason, Perry indictment seems pretty sketchy," Axelrod tweeted.
Democratic lawmakers appear to be staying out of the dispute, or at least for now.
But the Democratic National Committee is already on the attack, much like it was when another potential 2016 GOP White House candidate, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, was answering questions about his connection to a staff member and political appointees in Sept. 2013 ordering the unannounced closure of toll lanes on the George Washington Bridge, causing traffic jams in Fort Lee, N.J., whose mayor didn’t endorse Christie’s successful re-election bid.
On Saturday, DNC spokeswoman Lily Adams posted on Twitter a picture of a banner newspaper headline that read: “Perry Indicted for Veto Threat” underneath her tweet: “What Perry woke up to.”
The tweet was one of several on the DNC’s Twitter feed regarding the indictment.
The Texas Democratic Party has already called on Perry to resign, calling the situation "unbecoming" of a Texas governor.
"Governor Rick Perry has brought dishonor to his office, his family and the state of Texas. Texans deserve to have leaders that stand up for what is right and work to help families across Texas," party Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa said in a statement.
State GOP Chairman Steve Munisteri of Houston said “a politically motivated prosecution” yielded the indictment.
“It’s not unusual for people in cases involving politics to move forward with an indictment and ultimately … the case doesn’t go anywhere or the person is eventually exonerated,” he said, according to Politico.
CLICK TO READ THE INDICTMENT.
Mary Anne Wiley, general counsel for Perry, said late Friday the governor's actions were allowed under the law.
“The veto in question was made in accordance with the veto authority afforded to every governor under the Texas Constitution," she said. "We will continue to aggressively defend the governor's lawful and constitutional action, and believe we will ultimately prevail.”
Perry's defense attorney David L. Botsford, whose $450-per hour fees are being paid for by state funds, said he was "outraged and appalled" at the decision.
"This clearly represents political abuse of the court system and there is no legal basis in this decision," he said in a statement.
CLICK TO READ THE FULL STATEMENT FROM PERRY'S ATTORNEY.
Several top aides to Perry appeared before grand jurors in Austin, including his deputy chief of staff, legislative director and general counsel. Perry himself wasn't called to testify.
Perry was indicted by an Austin grand jury on felony counts of abuse of official capacity and coercion of a public servant. Maximum punishment on the first charge is five to 99 years in prison, and two to 10 years on the second.
The indictment comes toward the end of Perry’s final term in office. In office since 2000 and already the longest-serving governor in Texas history, Perry isn't seeking re-election in November. But he was thought to be weighing a possible presidential run in 2016.
"I took into account the fact that we're talking about a governor of a state — and a governor of the state of Texas, which we all love," said Michael McCrum, the San Antonio-based special prosecutor who got the indictment. "Obviously that carries a lot of importance. But when it gets down to it, the law is the law."
McCrum said he'll meet with Perry's attorney Monday to discuss when he will come to the courthouse to be arraigned. McCrum said he doesn't know when Perry will be booked.
Accusations have flown on both sides in the legal showdown.
Perry originally said Lehmberg, who is based in Austin, should resign after her arrest. A video recording made at the jail showed Lehmberg shouting at staffers to call the sheriff, kicking the door of her cell and sticking out her tongue. Lehmberg faced pressure from other high-profile Republicans in addition to Perry to give up her post. Her blood-alcohol level was nearly three times the legal limit for driving.
Lehmberg served about half of her 45-day jail sentence but stayed in office, despite Perry's assertions that her behavior was inappropriate. The jail video led to an investigation of Lehmberg by a separate grand jury, which decided she should not be removed for official misconduct.
Her office is the same office that indicted U.S. Rep. Tom Delay as part of a finance probe.
No one disputes that Perry is allowed to veto measures approved by the Legislature, including part or all of the state budget.
However, the left-leaning Texans for Public Justice government watchdog group filed an ethics complaint accusing the governor of coercion since he threatened to use his veto before actually doing so in an attempt to pressure Lehmberg to quit.
Lehmberg oversees the office's public integrity unit, which investigates statewide allegations of corruption and political wrongdoing. Perry said he wouldn't allow Texas to fund the unit while Lehmberg remained in charge. He used his line-item veto power to remove funding for the unit from the Texas budget.
Perry and his aides say he didn't break any laws.
"The veto in question was made in accordance with the veto power afforded to every governor under the Texas Constitution, and we remain ready and willing to assist with this inquiry," spokeswoman Lucy Nashed said in April, after the grand jury was convened in the case.Last edited by line-em-up; 08-16-2014, 03:06 PM.Comment
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What You Need To Know About The Indictment Naming Texas Governor Rick Perry
by Ian Millhiser Posted on August 15, 2014 at 8:25 pm
"What You Need To Know About The Indictment Naming Texas Governor Rick Perry"
Texas Gov. Rick Perry
Texas Gov. Rick Perry
CREDIT: AP Photo/Susan Walsh
Rick Perry, Texas’ longstanding Republican governor and a 2012 presidential candidate, is now under indictment. The indictment lays out two counts against the Texas governor, one for “Abuse of Official Capacity” and the other for “Coercion of Public Servant.”
As the Texas Observer explains, this indictment arises out of a dispute over who will hold one of the few Texas offices with statewide power that is still controlled by a Democrat. Rosemary Lehmberg is that Democrat, and she is the District Attorney for Travis County, Texas. Because Travis County includes Austin, the state capital, her office controls a Public Integrity Unit that investigates alleged ethical breaches by state-level politicians. Among other things, that unit investigated the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, which is accused of improperly distributing grant money — including some grant money that was given to people with close ties to Governor Perry.
In April of 2013, however, Lehmberg was arrested for driving while very, very intoxicated. Hours after her arrest, her blood alcohol level was three times above Texas’ legal limit. She eventually pleaded guilty and spent a few weeks in jail. Yet Lehmberg has refused to step down from her role as District Attorney. According to the Observer, this is because she does not want Perry to have the opportunity to replace her with a Republican.
Perry allegedly crossed the line from an eager partisan hoping to replace a powerful official to a governor who broke the law, however, when he threatened to veto funding for the Public Integrity Unit unless Lehmberg resigned — and then he followed through on this threat. According to one count of the indictment, Perry “by means of coercion . . . influenced or attempted to influence Rosemary Lehmberg . . . in the specific performance of her official duty” — that duty being her obligation “to continue to carry out her responsibilities” as Travis County D.A.
The indictment lists two state laws which Perry allegedly violated. The first is a vague statute prohibiting public servants from “intentionally or knowingly . . . misuse[ing] government property, services, personnel, or any other thing of value belonging to the government that has come into the public servant’s custody or possession by virtue of the public servant’s office or employment.” The second is a somewhat more specific law prohibiting anyone from using coercion to “influence[] or attempt[] to influence a public servant in a specific exercise of his official power or a specific performance of his official duty or influence[] or attempt[] to influence a public servant to violate the public servant’s known legal duty.”
Even if Perry’s actions fall within these statutes, however, the special prosecutor bringing these charges may need to overcome a significant constitutional obstacle. In a statement released Friday evening, Perry’s attorney claims that “[t]he veto in question was made in accordance with the veto authority afforded to every governor under the Texas Constitution.” She may have a point.
The Texas Constitution gives the governor discretion to decide when to sign and when to veto a bill, as well as discretion to veto individual line-items in an appropriation bill. Though the state legislature probably could limit this veto power in extreme cases — if a state governor literally sold his veto to wealthy interest groups, for example, the legislature could almost certainly make that a crime — a law that cuts too deep into the governor’s veto power raises serious separation of powers concerns. Imagine that the legislature passed a law prohibiting Democratic governors from vetoing restrictions on abortion, or prohibiting Republican governors from vetoing funding for Planned Parenthood. Such laws would rework the balance of power between the executive and the legislature established by the state constitution, and they would almost certainly be unconstitutional.
So an important question facing whichever court is tasked with trying Perry’s case will be whether a law preventing Perry from using strongarm tactics to push out a genuinely compromised public official is an unconstitutional restriction on his discretion as governor or a valid means of reigning in corruption. This is not likely to be an easy question for the judges, and potentially, justices, who are called upon to resolve it.
I wear a Fez. Fez-es are coolComment
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Wasn't similar nonsense done on the Wisconsin Governor?"Self-government won't work without self-discipline." - Paul HarveyComment
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Bullshit indictment.Comment
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So an important question facing whichever court is tasked with trying Perry’s case will be whether a law preventing Perry from using strongarm tactics to push out a genuinely compromised public official is an unconstitutional restriction on his discretion as governor or a valid means of reigning in corruption. This is not likely to be an easy question for the judges, and potentially, justices, who are called upon to resolve it.
He has been good for the state. I have voted for him every time. Has he stepped over the line? It will be up to the judges to decide. Never happen...............
Sounds like that District Attorney is a piece of work. I think Perry would have done it even if she was a republican. He wants her gone---------and I don't blame him.Comment
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GO! PERRY! I'm happy to see him stand up and call them out.
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Im curious as to how he was even able to complete the act, if its a felony
Pretty sure its not something you do in a few seconds like robberyWHComment
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