From the Texas Tribune: Rick Perry's Criminal Case Officially Dismissed

It would be worth analyzing patterns in what types of cases they dismiss and what types of cases they don't. Does it matter who is accused?

- Click here for the article.

The criminal case against former Gov.Rick Perry was officially dismissed on Wednesday, weeks after Texas' highest criminal court ordered that it be dropped.

Judge Bert Richardson, who presided over the case in Travis County and now serves on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, signed an order dismissing the abuse of power indictment related to a 2013 veto threat.

The case against the longest-serving governor in Texas history centered on a threat to veto $7.5 million in state funds for the public integrity unit of the Travis County district attorney's office, and questions about whether he abused his authority — allegations that he had called a "baseless political attack." The unit was charged with investigating and prosecuting state corruption.

After Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg was arrested and pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated in 2013, Perry threatened to veto state funding for the integrity unit unless she first resigned. She refused to step down, and Perry vetoed the funding. 

Perry and his lawyers successfully argued that he was acting within the powers of a governor and did nothing criminal.

. . . Michael McCrum, the special prosecutor in the case, said he still believed that Perry committed a crime — and had drafted and printed copies of a motion for an amended indictment. But on Tuesday afternoon, he decided to halt the effort, saying the high court's ruling had "muddied" the criminal statute at issue.

“It was our position, and our feeling that the law had been so muddied that it was not the just thing to do with any citizen," he said.

From Ballotpedia: The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.

Making sense of the indictment of the governor

As you have probably heard our governor was indicted on August 15th on charges of "abuse of official capacity" and "coercion of a public servant." The charges were filed in Travis County - where you'll find Austin, the state capital - and the uproar since then was pretty predictable.

Since we will be spending time discussing and following the case, it's not a bad idea to lay out the facts associated with the case - it's background and all that - so we can make sense of all it entails.

Here are few links to stories that should get you up to speed, expect more. This story should have legs.

- From the Austin American Statesman: An Interactive Timeline. This might be the best resource available, especially if you are completely new to this. It starts with the events that led to this particular dispute, though it lacks general context.

- Also from the AAS: Rick Perry indicted for Lehmberg veto threat. Thsi walks through the day of the indictment.

- From the Texas Tribune: Five Things to Know About the Perry Indictment. Among the points made: It will be hard to dismiss as purely partisan, but the prosecution wont be easy.

- The Texas Tribune has links to all its stories related to the indictment here.

- From the Texas Observer: Everything You Need to Know* About Rick Perry’s Newest Scandal (*But were afraid to ask). Another overview of the issues in the case, including commentary on the broader issues associated with it, such as the fact that the Travis County's District Attorneys was investigating possible corruption in awarding contracts to the Concern Prevention and Research Institute of Texas. Critics of the governor argue that he had overseen the awarding of contract to political supporters, which is illegal. Getting rid of the DA would have allowed him to appoint a - presumably friendly - replacement.