Rick Perry is lawyering up

[Gothmog]

Today is a great day for Texans. A grand jury is being empaneled and Perry is lawyering up. http://www.politicususa.com/2014/04/14/republican-rick-perry-focus-criminal-investigation.html

Texas Gov. Rick Perry has lawyered up as the criminal investigation into whether he illegally withheld money from a district attorney’s office is gaining steam.

According to the American-Statesman:

Gov. Rick Perry has retained a high-profile Austin defense lawyer to represent him in a criminal investigation into whether he illegally withheld money from the Travis County district attorney’s office, the American-Statesman and KVUE-TV confirmed Sunday.

See also http://www.chron.com/news/politics/texas/article/Grand-jury-to-be-seated-to-hear-case-against-Perry-5400998.php?cmpid=hpbn

AUSTIN – A judge on Monday is expected to seat a grand jury to begin looking into the threat that Gov. Rick Perry carried out to veto funding for the Public Integrity Unit under Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg.

Perry last year said he would veto money for the unit, which prosecutes wrongdoing by public officials, unless Lehmberg resigned in the wake of a drunken-driving arrest.

There is a saying that a good prosecutor can get a grand jury to indict a ham sandwich. There is not a great deal of difference between Perry and a ham sandwich.

[TBF]

1. Maybe he can share

A cell with Tom Delay.

[hobbit709]

2. Actually a ham sandwich is useful if you're hungry

Rick is a sandwich that's been left in the sun for two days and needs to be thrown in the trash.

[okaawhatever]

3. For those who might not remember. When Wendy Davis filibustered over the omnibus women's

healthcare bill (including some bans on abortion and other fun b.s. laws) the Republicans changed the voting clock in the state legislature. CHANGED THE VOTING CLOCK!! (the vote didn't finish until after midnight, they changed the clock to say it happened at 11:57) The fraud issue kind of died down and the Dems said they would refer it to the Public Integrity Unit for investigation. I wonder if that started the investigation into the Public Integrity Unit? It may not be related, but since the Public Integrity Unit didn't seem to come up with any charges for what was clearly fraud on the Republicans part. I mean, c'mon. Several legislators took pics with their camera phones showing the doctored voting record. It will be interesting to find out how this all got started. I know it was tweeted the night of the filibuster/vote fraud that Perry had tried to shut down the Public Integrity Unit.....interesting turn of events.

[Gothmog]

6. Dewhurst did not not back down until after 3 in the morning

I went to bed when they were still arguing about the time of the vote. The video showed that the vote was finished after midnight and it took a while for Dewhurst and the GOP to back down from this claim

[okaawhatever]

8. But what happened with the investigation into changing the time, do you know? nt

[Gothmog]

10. Because the vote was never certified with the wrong/falsified time, there was no investigation

The Democrats promised an investigation but Dewhurst and the GOP backed down after they reviewed the Texas Tribune video showing that the vote was not completed until after midnight. If the GOP had gone forward with falsified timestamp, then there would have been a real investigation

[okaawhatever]

12. Wow, I can't believe that "attempting to falsify" isn't a chargeable offense. Thx for the info nt

[Gothmog]

13. It was a bluff and no official action was taken on that attempt

The Democrats called the GOP's bluff and so there was no official attempt to falsify records. If the Lt. Governor had actually certified the bill, then there would have been an investigation. Dewhurst saw the videotape footage and and it was clear that midnight had come and gone before the vote was completed.

[Fridays Child]

14. Seems like there's a pretty fine line between fraud and bluffing.

They will be emboldened by not being held accountable for attempted fraud upon the state.

[okaawhatever]

16. I'm talking about the printed copy of the vote record. It did show the vote had taken place before

midnight. But only because the Republicans had changed the time on the computer. The computer print-out showed an effort made by the Republicans to alter the record. That is what i'm referring to. Maybe I'm just misunderstanding you.

[genwah]

4. A ham sandwich is much more useful to have around than Gov. Goodhair.

[calimary]

17. Welcome to DU, genwah!

Glad you're here! When I look at rick perry, all I see is an adult-size five-year-old boy with his daddy's cowboy boots and hat on and his little plastic pop gun and vinyl holster, swaggering around the playground playing tough-guy. I saw dubya that way, too. But dubya always looked, sounded, and acted drunk as a skunk. perry just sounds stupid.

But yet again, I have to look at the voters who saw fit to install him, and the accursed george w bush, in the governor's chair. Easily led? Easily fooled? Gullible as hell? Romanced by and misty-eyed over the old Wild West/Marshall Dillon/cowboy thing? Grown men wanting to slough off the adult world and go play cowboys and indians again, longing for the "good ol' days"?

I don't get it. I don't vote for aging children who long to go play cowboy. I don't find anything appealing in that. If they had appealing ideas and an appealing agenda that speaks to me, that's one thing. They can dress up as the Horton that Hears a Who for all I care. But I've noticed an increasingly profound yen to play cowboy in many of these so-called men, and the mentality that tends to go with it, and it's a real turn-off. And the more they swagger and snicker and drawl, the less I like 'em. It doesn't make them look tough and macho - at least to me. To me, it makes them look like jokes and clowns and cartoons. Not statehouse material and certainly NOT presidential material!!!!!!

[genwah]

19. Thank you for your kind welcome, calimary! I'm still learning my way around, Had this account foreve

but I'm not real big on blog/Twitter/Facebook etc. Which is funny because I fix computers and networks.

Let me say that I don't "get it" either...I can'tr remember the last time I saw a news story about a cattle drive. I believe cowboys don't actually exist anymore as drivers of cattle to slaughter, so what's with the hats and boots? I get the dress-up aspect, but I'm a San Franciscan, and I think this year's fetish wear is back to basic leather.

I miss Molly Iveis, and her "Rick Goodhair" columns, it's a shame this dope is still in office.

[cui bono]

5. First I've heard of this...

hope they find what they need if he is guilty.

[progressoid]

7. But is this a good prosecutor?

[KamaAina]

9. I knew it was going to be Travis County (where Austin is)!

It was the Travis County DA's office that prosecuted Exterminator DeLay, for instance.

[Gothmog]

11. The Travis County DA got the Court of Criminal Appeals to grant writ on DeLay's appeal

The Austin Court of Appeals overturned DeLay's conviction but the Travis County DA appealed and the Court of Criminal Appeals has agreed to hear that appeal. It is very difficult to get the CCA to accept writ on a case.

[Gothmog]

15. Juanita Jean is enjoying the fact that Perry is lawyering up

Juanita Jean is really enjoying watching Perry's self-inflicted wounds http://www.juanitajean.com/2014/04/14/lawyered-up/

Rick, Darlin’, Matlock couldn’t get you off.

You can check some background here, but it appears that Governor Perry might be in some manner of trouble and whatnot over threatening a public official when he got all “Me jogger. You Coyote.” on District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg.

The bottom line is that Perry threatened to withhold funding from the DA’s office unless the Lehmberg resigned. And, yes, that is a whole lot like what Chris Christi threatened to do with withholding Sandy relief funding, but poor dumb Rick didn’t get somebody to do the threatening for him under the table. Nope, this cowboy drew a crowd and threatened her on the steps of the capitol and in the damn newspaper. He is that macho and dumb.

Honey, be kind to both Christi and Perry because they can’t help it. It is some kind of strange chemical reaction between testosterone and Axe Body Spray that causes them to act that way.



The only reason this isn’t drawing as much attention as the Christi deal is that nobody – including coyotes – takes Rick Perry seriously any more.

If there is a trial, I have a feeling that Juanita Jean will be having another caravan heading to Austin to watch this trial. She was at the DeLay trial and at DeLay's sentencing.

[WillyT]

18. Thank You For That !!! - K & R !!!