Saturday Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX) spoke out about the “partisan” indictment by a grand jury,
In question was a veto Perry made to deny $7.5 million in funding for Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg’s office after she was arrested for drunk driving.
Lehmberg, a Democrat, was taped being belligerent and abusive to the police during her DUI arrest. Afert her conviction Lehmberg refused all calls to resign so Perry cut her funding using his veto power.
A defiant Perry said, “I took an oath to faithfully uphold the Constitution of the state of Texas. a pledge I have kept every day as I worked on behalf of Texans for the last 14 years. that’s the same constitution. That clearly outlines the authority of any governor to veto items at his or her discretion.”
He added, “It is outrageous that some would use partisan political theatrics to rip away at the very fabric of our state’s constitution. This indictment amounts to nothing more than abuse of power, and I cannot and I will not allow that to happen. I intend to fight against those who would erode our state’s constitution and laws purely for political purposes and I intend to win.”
Perry said, “Here is what i think is really important for the people to understand, not just in Texas but this country, and that is we have seen an office in the form of the Travis district county attorney’s office the legal individual for criminal affairs this county and overseeing public officials who conducted themselves in an incredibly inappropriate way. Stopped for a DUI with a blood alcohol level three times above the legal limit. An individual who when booked in had to be restrained, was abusive to law enforcement and was kicking the door. I think americans and Texans who have seen this agree with me that that is not an individual who is heading up an office that we can — we can afford to fund.”
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
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