Rick Perry Under Criminal Investigation for Demanding (on Pain of Withholding Funding) Resignation of D.A. Who Drove Under the Influence and Was Belligerent to Police
Rick Perry is now under criminal investigation. Why? Because he threatened to withhold funding from a public integrity unit run by the D.A. of Travis County. Why did he make that threat? Because she had been arrested for DWI, had been belligerent with police and demanded repeatedly to talk to the sheriff, and refused to resign.
The D.A., Democrat Rosemary Lehmberg, later pled guilty and was sentenced to 45 days in jail. And now Rick Perry has the criminal attorney:
Texas Gov. Rick Perry has hired a high-profile Austin defense lawyer to represent him in an investigation into whether he illegally withheld money from the Travis County District Attorney’s office.
KVUE News and the Austin American-Statesman confirmed Sunday evening the hiring of David L. Botsford.
The hiring comes as a special Travis County grand jury is set to be seated Monday to hear evidence into whether Perry broke state laws concerning bribery, coercion and abuse of authority.
Perry had threatened to withhold the money from Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg unless she resigns after her drunken driving arrest in April 2013.
When she refused, Perry in June vetoed a state budget item that would have given a $7.5 million allocation to the Public Integrity Unit in the District Attorney’s Office. The unit investigates ethics violations against public officials.
Here’s some context. Her arrest:
See her stumbling around and unable to follow instructions? Her blood alcohol was a .23.
A TV news story about the need to restrain her:
Here she is being belligerent and repeatedly asking deputies if they have called “Greg” — Travis County Sheriff Greg Hamilton.
Again, Rick Perry now has a criminal lawyer. Via Breitbart.
Ding.
Patterico (9c670f) — 4/16/2014 @ 7:56 amThe Democrat District Attorney was stumbling around, slurring her words incoherently, and not making any sort of sense…she was drunk.
To riff on a famous quote by Dorothy Parker, “How could you tell ?”
Elephant Stone (8a7f08) — 4/16/2014 @ 8:18 amIt is extraordinary how someone else’s awful behavior can cause problems for their political opponents. One might think that a little public shaming would be in order.
JD (3845bd) — 4/16/2014 @ 8:41 amOh, sure. Let four men get killed. You’re a viable candidate. Run guns from the Philippines. What the hell? It’s all cool.
But close a couple of lanes on the George Washington bridge and you’re a criminal. Id you have an “R” after your name.
Steve57 (078ed2) — 4/16/2014 @ 8:47 amFrom the first linked article:
Really? A district attorney in the Lone Star State cannot drink more than a tiny bit even when off duty?
The incredulous Dana (3e4784) — 4/16/2014 @ 8:52 amFat, obnoxious leftwing drunk. Even they are bigger in Texas.
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 4/16/2014 @ 8:55 amThat’s a bit extreme.
But I’d be satisfied with a rule that you can’t drive drunk or misbehave in jail and still be a DA.
You can do something else. Just not be a DA.
Steve57 (078ed2) — 4/16/2014 @ 9:00 amGreetings:
At the risk of kicking a dead horse, I wonder if she was in favor of same-sex marriage ???
11B40 (6abb5c) — 4/16/2014 @ 9:07 amAww, jeez. Don’t kick start that again.
Steve57 (078ed2) — 4/16/2014 @ 9:11 amThis makes me like Perry more than before.
SarahW (267b14) — 4/16/2014 @ 9:17 amSpeaking of kick starters, does anybody still use those?
I wasn’t going to use this but…
http://www.topgear.com/uk/car-news/Drift-king-tackles-hillclimb-2013-07-10
you asked for it.
Steve57 (078ed2) — 4/16/2014 @ 9:22 amJust like a Democrat, blame someone else for your actions
Peterk (c985d4) — 4/16/2014 @ 9:24 amIt’s the Chicago way!
felipe (b5e0f4) — 4/16/2014 @ 9:40 amTravis County … because otherwise there would be no Texas jokes.
nk (dbc370) — 4/16/2014 @ 9:41 amIf I was Rick Perry, I’d brag about this overtly.
SPQR (768505) — 4/16/2014 @ 10:01 amI think there was an earlier Travis County District Attorney who’d filed a string of bogus lawsuits with intent to affect political outcomes in Texas. Now you’ve got a fat drunk. As Dean Wurmer said, “Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life son.”
What is it about Travis County (hint–a liberal strong hold–think San Francisco in Texas) that produces these wack job District Attorney folks?
Skeptical Voter (12e67d) — 4/16/2014 @ 10:05 amcannot be intoxicated on or off duty
I would think that means no public drunkedness, even if you are off duty. Driving dead drunk would seem to be a public act.
Noet that this wasn’t just a couple of beers, and this hefty gal seems like she could put a few away without trouble.
Kevin M (b11279) — 4/16/2014 @ 10:08 amIf she had driven her car into a body of water and left someone to drown, she would be talked about as a potential Democrat nominee for President.
Elephant Stone (8a7f08) — 4/16/2014 @ 10:08 amOr something.
Rethuglican #WarOnWymyn!
redc1c4 (abd49e) — 4/16/2014 @ 10:10 amLawyer and Public Integrity, together, in the same sentence, srsly?
Curt (bd5f4e) — 4/16/2014 @ 10:15 amIs it really fair that some fat drunk lawyer can prosecute people who beat her up in jail? Because she was being obnoxious?
I think not.
Steve57 (078ed2) — 4/16/2014 @ 10:17 amIf you are going to do jail time, just don’t be a DA.
Is this to much to ask?
Steve57 (078ed2) — 4/16/2014 @ 10:18 amAs Dean Wurmer said, “Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life son.”
Ha, ha, ha.
AZ Bob (c949f7) — 4/16/2014 @ 10:19 amhey now: it’s w*rked out pretty well for Chris Christie…
😎
redc1c4 (abd49e) — 4/16/2014 @ 10:26 am“Your honor, the prosecutor should recuse herself becauase I beat the dog do out of her in the shower at the county klink. Which I believe creates at least the appearance of a conflict of interest.”
Steve57 (078ed2) — 4/16/2014 @ 10:30 amMy favorite line from Animal House is when Dean Wurmer put the Delta’s on “double-secret probation.” It can be applied to our criminal justice system.
AZ Bob (c949f7) — 4/16/2014 @ 10:31 amThe federal government does this crap ALL THE TIME. This is news WHY!?!?
© Sponge (8110ec) — 4/16/2014 @ 10:32 amIn a perfect world, the voters of Travis County would be embarrassed enough to vote the DA out of office. But this is “keep it weird” Austin:
AZ Bob (c949f7) — 4/16/2014 @ 10:37 amhttp://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/keeping-it-weird-in-austin-texas-5541700/?no-ist
because Rick Perry has an (R) after his name?
redc1c4 (abd49e) — 4/16/2014 @ 10:38 am“Your honor, I object. I believe had I not beat the dog mess out of the prosecutor while we were locked up together I would have been charged with simple assault rather than attempted murder.”
Steve57 (078ed2) — 4/16/2014 @ 10:44 amNext time we see Perry, he will be slathered with mustard, topped with a slice of Swiss cheese and resting between two slices of rye bread.
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 4/16/2014 @ 10:49 amWell once she is out of jail given how much she drinks, and as a good Democrat, she can still get a job with the Secret Service.
Ipso Fatso (10964d) — 4/16/2014 @ 12:46 pmSeems to me all the Defense needs to do is show this video at trial. POOF goes her case against Perry.
Libertarian Advocate (6ac795) — 4/16/2014 @ 1:02 pmhey now: it’s w*rked out pretty well for Chris Christie…
He’s clearly not stupid, and probably not drunk. Fat, that he is. And then some.
And don’t say “work out” wrt Chris Christie.
Kevin M (b11279) — 4/16/2014 @ 1:19 pmIf every petty official could bring charges against a governor every time they didn’t get the funding they thought they should have, you’d think that governors would never leave the courtroom.
I would think quashing this BS would be fairly easy.
Kevin M (b11279) — 4/16/2014 @ 1:22 pmPerry’s racist. Oh wait I mean sexist.
Amphipolis (d3e04f) — 4/16/2014 @ 1:48 pm#12 “12.Just like a Democrat, blame someone else for your actions”
and then prosecute them for violating your FUNDAMENTAL CIVIL RIGHTSES.
AMartel (a99e2c) — 4/16/2014 @ 2:08 pmHoo-Boy!
askeptic (8ecc78) — 4/16/2014 @ 2:27 pmPerry could ride this hoss all the way to the White House.
I wonder on what the over/under is on funding applications from Travis County to the State Legislature?
askeptic (8ecc78) — 4/16/2014 @ 2:33 pmAfter Ronnie Earle, she doesn’t look so strange.
MikeK (cd7278) — 4/16/2014 @ 3:40 pmPerry is obviously a fatist.
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 4/16/2014 @ 3:42 pmMaybe withholding the funds wasn’t the best idea.
Could Perry instead have attached strings requiring that the money be used to investigate the D.A.?
malclave (1db6c5) — 4/16/2014 @ 3:57 pmCould Perry instead have attached strings requiring that the money be used to investigate the D.A.?
It’s a line-item veto, so probably not. He likely has to either say “keep it” or “strike it.”
JVW (9946b6) — 4/16/2014 @ 4:26 pmYes–with Ronnie Earle as the (limbo) bar to get under, on a comparative basis, she’s looking good. OTOH on a sheer body mass basis, she couldn’t get under the Ronnie Earle bar without getting a backhoe to dig a trench for her. I mean the Ronnie Earle bar is set pretty danged low.
Skeptical Voter (12e67d) — 4/16/2014 @ 4:37 pmDemocrats just want to reinforce the proposition that it is ILLEGAL to cut funding.
DejectedHead (06f486) — 4/16/2014 @ 5:20 pmMr M wrote:
Trouble is, a public official could be at home, completely away from office hours, having two too many vodka martinis, shaken, not stirred, when he gets a call which requires him to be on duty. Mayors, district attorneys, and police and fire chiefs would be particularly vulnerable to such scenarios occurring.
The Dana who sees the possibilities (af9ec3) — 4/16/2014 @ 6:14 pmTexas, despite its image as a free-wheeling he-man state, is practically dry, and where it’s not it still has the weirdest rules for alcohol.
nk (dbc370) — 4/16/2014 @ 6:43 pmI finally had an opportunity to view the videos and they are embarrassing. She was .23 which is so very much over the limit. In fact, she actually did pretty good considering it was .23. So, she very well must have been an alcoholic.
The video was done because she made a scene. It is common for police to protect themselves from BS complaints.
If she survives the next election, I’d be surprised. Of course Ted Kennedy survived Chappaquiddick and this is Keep-It-Weird Austin.
AZ Bob (533fbc) — 4/16/2014 @ 6:46 pmHow can it be a crime for Perry to veto an item in a bill?
Obama can blatantly ignore laws every day of the year but Perry can’t veto legislation?
I don’t really like Perry but this is transparently insane politics!
WarEagle82 (b18ccf) — 4/16/2014 @ 6:56 pmI would think there would be some sort of system of rotation in place so that everyone in the office isn’t on call all the time. So Rosemary could get drunk as a skunk every other weekend or however long it is between her turns in the barrel.
Undoubtedly the rule about not being intoxicated whether on or off duty works in a similar manner to the UCMJ article against adultery. It isn’t like people are running around policing everyone’s sex lives. But if something becomes a public issue, it can be dealt with. For instance if the XO of a command is sleeping with one of his enlisted sailor’s wife and everybody finds out about it.
Pro tip: if you’re having an illicit affair and are exchanging love notes with your forbidden beloved, do not use the official email system at work. And especially don’t hit “send all” and tell everyone on your contact list if you do.
In my estimation, Rosemary Lehmberg’s DUI has become a public issue. And just as bad as the DUI, in my opinion, were her repeated demands that the deputies “call greg.” Does everyone in the Travis county DA’s office expect special treatment? The rules don’t apply to them? If so, why would any judge or jury expect that they’re following the rules in a courtroom? I don’t see how she can avoid being sanctioned for this ethical lapse.
The word needs to get out that DA’s can’t use their position for their own personal advantage.
Sometimes it takes a couple of times before people may have finally gotten the message.
Miami-Dade Prosecutor Loses Job for Flashing Badge at Goldrush Strip Club
This is just wrong:
Mere bad behavior is one thing. But daring your stripper to charge you the entire amount for your lap dances? That’s just not Christian.
And what happens six months later with another attorney at the same office?
State Attorney Adam Finkel Arrested After Fighting With Purdy Lounge Doorman
Wrong answer.
Lehmberg needs to be made into an example, too.
Steve57 (078ed2) — 4/16/2014 @ 7:47 pmActually smart cops make the video no matter if someone is making a scene at the time or not. Because they may make a scene later.
I knew a couple of cops who got burned when somebody accused them of stealing a $20. Not a big amount, just a twenty. Almost everybody has at least one $20 on them because that’s generally what banks fill ATMs with. They told me it was the hardest beef for them to beat. After that they made sure, when they took somebody into custody, to count every dime the suspect had in their pockets on camera.
Steve57 (078ed2) — 4/16/2014 @ 8:00 pmif this disabuses him of the silly idea that he should run for president then that would be a good thing
but no matter how bad his legal situation gets I bet he doesn’t up and quit
I would bet you a whole pizza
happyfeet (8ce051) — 4/16/2014 @ 8:34 pmmister happyfeet,
your lexicon is dominated by pizza, cheese, bread, beef, tacos, and twinkies.
Elephant Stone (8a7f08) — 4/16/2014 @ 9:43 pmmaybe it is time to hit the treadmill. or at least walk on it.
She’s quite willing to prosecute people under the federally imposed .08 limit. Suddenly its okay for her when she tests at .23? “I’m not drunk.”
Okay for her. Just not for the little people (taxpayers).
Neshobanakni (a3328a) — 4/16/2014 @ 10:35 pmThe same way it was a crime from Tom DeLay to raise money from Texas corporations for federal candidates in other states, while at the same time having the RNC give money to Texas state candidates. Both of these were and are perfectly legal, but somehow in Travis County it became a crime to do both.
Milhouse (b95258) — 4/16/2014 @ 10:58 pmMake that “each of these was and is perfectly legal…”
Milhouse (b95258) — 4/16/2014 @ 11:02 pmYep. Just as Bill Clinton was quite willing to keep people in federal prison for lying about their sex lives while under oath in civil cases.
Milhouse (b95258) — 4/16/2014 @ 11:03 pmWhy would it do that? Regardless of whether the idea is in fact silly, why would this brazen persecution tend to dissuade him from it? If anything it should tend boost his popularity among primary voters, and thus encourage him to think about trying it again. Which, as you say, may not be the best idea in the world.
Milhouse (b95258) — 4/16/2014 @ 11:06 pmtomorrow I’m a take a big walk and such
tonight I’m having that tasty super low sugar no fat vanilla ice cream atop chunks of fresh pawpaw and raspberries with a creme de cassis drizzle
and it’s not even my birfday
happyfeet (8ce051) — 4/16/2014 @ 11:41 pmthe reason I’m thinking this will disabuse him is cause he might very well be guilty
Texas justice ain’t what it used to be
but then, American justice is pretty sad generally speaking
happyfeet (8ce051) — 4/16/2014 @ 11:43 pmGuilty of what ?
Elephant Stone (8a7f08) — 4/16/2014 @ 11:48 pmyou know
whatever
happyfeet (8ce051) — 4/16/2014 @ 11:51 pmI think Perry should swear out a complaint of official oppression under color of law against the DA bringing charges. Perry might not win, but it would make an interesting fight and highlight the political nature of the prosecution.
Mark L (da8bb9) — 4/17/2014 @ 4:46 amI think feets omitted a crucial word: “found guilty”. Yes, he may be, but I still don’t see why that would disabuse him of the notion of running; I’d think it would just make him more popular among those paying attention (i.e. primary voters), and thus more eager to run, whether or not it’s actually a good idea.
Milhouse (b95258) — 4/17/2014 @ 5:27 amSounds logical to me. According to the DA’s own legal theory, she’s guilty. Her immunity derives from her official prerogative, which is no stronger than his.
Milhouse (b95258) — 4/17/2014 @ 5:33 amPerry should do nothing that might drag Abbott, as state Attorney General, into this BS, which is probably what the Travis County Democrats are really after.
nk (dbc370) — 4/17/2014 @ 5:40 amThis is all eerily reminiscent of the first salvo to ruin Sarah Palin, the so-called “Troopergate” probe focused on her efforts to get her sister’s ex-husband bounced from his job as an Alaska State Trooper.
To briefly recap: Before Sarah Palin had even run for Governor of Alaska, Mike Wooten had allegedly been physically and emotionally abusive to Palin’s sister, threatened her and other members of the Heath family (including Sarah and her parents) because of their efforts to help her hire a lawyer, had driven a Trooper vehicle while drinking, was caught hunting moose out of season, and most shocking (literally), he used his Taser on his 10-year-old stepson, whom, according to Wooten’s story, insisted on being shot “to prove he wasn’t a mama’s boy.”
When Alaska’s Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan was later fired by the by-then-Governor Palin, he alleged the real reason was because he refused to fire Wooten from the AST. It was then revealed that as far as Monegan was concerned, the cumulative issues about Wooten’s misconduct already had been handled internally, resulting in a mere five-day suspension. When the national media got hold of the story, they were in panic mode because the bounce from Palin’s acceptance speech at the Republican convention had closed the gap between Barack Obama and John McCain in national polls, and they were clamoring for a Palin scandal to shift the momentum. To make it seem as if it was unreasonable that Palin would want Wooten off the force, they played it up as “Palin Fires Safety Commissioner For Not Firing Her Sister’s Ex.” It didn’t matter that the facts didn’t back that up; the intention of the Democrats (within and without the media) was to generate headlines that would make 2008’s shallow news consumers skeptical about Palin the way they’re still trying to make today’s shallow news consumers skeptical about Chris Christie.
Under normal circumstances, any sane person would react that if the facts about Wooten were indisputable, nobody that irresponsible should be trusted as a law-enforcement officer. But things weren’t normal, because the person who stood to gain for making the biggest stink about Wooten was Palin, the Vice Presidential nominee of the Republican Party, and a woman to boot. She stood to become the first female to take the oath of office in the Executive branch in American history, and she was not a Democrat. That could not be allowed to happen. Palin had to be destroyed, even if the method by which it happened defied logic.
L.N. Smithee (6796fe) — 4/17/2014 @ 6:04 amL.N.!!!
JD (3845bd) — 4/17/2014 @ 6:20 amYes, I did get a feeling of deja vu, over that, of course the one who organized the witchhunt up their, got the prime post of regulating Alaskan matters at the Interior Department, just like one who badmouthed her ala pikachu, got the job running the Alaskan pipeline,
narciso (3fec35) — 4/17/2014 @ 6:24 amSo it’s not personal, even when they put forth the slimiest slanders, like the late Joe McGuinniss, it’s just business, however when one points out the truth about the left, you would think it was profaning a sacred shrine,
narciso (3fec35) — 4/17/2014 @ 6:52 am49. Comment by WarEagle82 (b18ccf) — 4/16/2014 @ 6:56 pm
How can it be a crime for Perry to veto an item in a bill?
Their theory seems to be it is extortion or blackmail. Blackmail or extrortion can be a crime even if the thing you are threatening to do is something you have a perfect right to do, but the thing you are trying to force the other person to do is something you have no right to try to compel them to do.
Now they are trying to apply this to attempting to force people to resign. Under this theory, simply vetoing the bill would have been OK, just so long as he didn’t say it could be prevented by her resigning.
Now it occurs to me prosecutors force resignations far more often by threatening to bring charges, and the resignation is included as part of a plea bargain. I think the practice started with Spiro Agnew in 1973, although I think the next case was quite a number of years in the future.
So maybe all of them should be investigated for or charged with blackmail.
It is not like there are partisan motives here, with Governor Perry, or that he doesn’t have a strong reason to want her to resign, just like the prosecutors do when they force a resignation when it does not follow automatically from a guilty plea.
Sammy Finkelman (28600b) — 4/17/2014 @ 7:06 amBut this is ridiculous. You couldn’t throw someone out of a caucus if the law was like this, or maybe even decline to endorse him for re-election.
By the way, in Louisiana, the Governor is asking a member of Congress to resign:
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/vance-mcallister-should-resign-says-louisiana-gop-chair/
Albeit, he’s not threatening to veto a piece of legislation if he doesn’t, nor if he being threatening with being “punished” in some other way.
Sammy Finkelman (28600b) — 4/17/2014 @ 7:12 amAnd she’s not up for election again until 2016.
And if I remember correctly, she’s already said she’s not running then.
Dwight Brown (f5238f) — 4/17/2014 @ 7:25 amWas her plan to be in a position to run for AG?
AZ Bob (533fbc) — 4/17/2014 @ 7:41 amTexas has a system by which the Travis County District Attorney’s office serves as a kind of state ethics prosecution office. My personal theory is that it is a bad system which was put in place when Texas was a one party state run by Democrats. The Democrats regularly abuse that power by launching politically motivated meritless prosecutions against prominent Republicans. Search on Ronny Earl, Kay Bailey Hutchinson and Tom Delay.
In the case of Tom Delay, the office kept bringing up charges to grand juries which kept throwing them out until they finally got a jury full of Democrat activists. Eventually Tom Delay’s conviction was overturned on appeal. The Travis County Prosecutor’s office has a habit of bringing charges against Republicans right before an election and then dropping the charges the day of the trial.
Gilligan (6ef348) — 4/18/2014 @ 6:09 amSanta Fe, New Mexico is a city for people who think that there are too many Republicans in Austin, TX. Austin, TX is a city for people who think that there are too many Republicans in Berkley, CA. Berkley, CA is a city for people who think that there are too many Republicans in Havana, Cuba. Havana, Cuba is another word for Hell.
Geekasaurus (4dfce2) — 4/18/2014 @ 6:35 amI wonder how Harry Reid will spin this when he brings it up in a floor speech.
Barkow (38dd49) — 4/18/2014 @ 7:17 amRick “The Rock” Perry! Bad Ass vs The Fat Ass!
Rick wins!
Dang (9e49b0) — 4/18/2014 @ 7:23 am#77 Koch brothers.
highpockets (d91456) — 4/18/2014 @ 4:13 pm—-Texas has a system by which the Travis County District Attorney’s office serves as a kind of state ethics prosecution office. My personal theory is that it is a bad system which was put in place when Texas was a one party state
Wisconsin has the same system run from Milwaukee County.
red (ac28a9) — 4/18/2014 @ 4:25 pm