Gov. Rick Perry on Aug. 20 walked the block and a half from the Governor’s Mansion to the Travis County Courthouse, presented himself for arraignment by a state district judge and routine booking procedures, spoke at a five-minute press conference and left.
Perry was indicted on Aug. 15 by a Travis County grand jury on felony charges of abuse of official capacity and coercion of a public servant. Perry entered a plea of not guilty to either charge.
The charges stem from the governor’s veto of the Public Integrity Unit’s 2014-2015 budget in June 2013. The 35-employee unit, which serves as the state’s ethics-investigating body, is the direction of Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg. Perry said he would veto the agency’s budget unless Lehmberg resigned from her elected office.
