Rick Perry’s lawyers file 60-page motion to dismiss case
By Chuck Lindell and Tony Plohetski
American-Statesman Staff
The two-count indictment against Gov. Rick Perry defies common sense and should be dismissed “immediately if not sooner” as a violation of the U.S. and Texas constitutions, Perry’s legal team told the trial judge Monday.
The wide-ranging attack argued that Perry’s criminal charges were based on state laws that are unconstitutional or, at the very least, were misinterpreted — constituting an improper attempt to criminalize politics and limit gubernatorial power in “intolerable and incalculable” ways.
“Continued prosecution of Governor Perry on the current indictment is unprecedented, insupportable and simply impermissible,” said the 60-page filing by defense lawyer David Botsford.
The charges, stemming from Perry’s veto last year of state money for the Travis County district attorney’s office, also violate the Texas Constitution’s separation-of-powers clause by improperly inserting the courts into the functions of the executive and legislative branches, the petition said.
http://www.statesman.com/news/news/rick-perrys-lawyers-file-60-page-motion-to-dismiss/ng8WP/
Interactive timeline: Rick Perry indicted
http://www.statesman.com/s/news/state-regional-govt-politics/rick-perry-indictment/
= new reply since forum marked as read
By Richard Whittaker, 12:01AM, Fri. Aug. 22
Since his indictment, Gov. Rick Perry's strategy has been simple: Smear anyone involved in the prosecution, and attempt to turn the serious legal proceedings into a media side show. Unfortunately for him, some of his most bullish statements may have got him into more hot water.
First, it was Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg, whose DWI conviction is his purported reason for slashing the funding of the Public Integrity Unit. At every opportunity, Perry's supporters replay the footage of her, drunk and abusive in police custody. The subtext is clear: No one would let a drunk run the agency investigating malfeasance by elected officials and state appointees.
But the tack soon shifted to a new target: The grand jurors and lawyers that helped craft the indictments. Karl Rove was belligerently claiming that Special Prosecutor Michael McCrum will go down in history alongside such vile partisan hate mongers as, er, former Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle, whose "reputation was ruined by his abuse," claimed Rove. Of course, Rove ignores that a: Earle is still basically a folk hero in many circles for going after Tom DeLay and b: the PIU, under both Earle and Lehmberg, has gone after about as many Democrats as Republicans.
The next target has been the grand jury itself: The members' voting records have become a matter of public discourse, while the fact that a couple have made statements to the press has become a matter of talking head scandal. In a Twitter exchange with Evan Smith of the Texas Tribune (who Tweeted that "Grand jurors also blabbed about #perryindictment to @statesman #leakinglikeacolander"
former Perry chief of staff turned Perry-appointed TxDoT chair turned lobbyist Deirdre Delisi wrote that "I'm sure McCrum will get right on sealing those leaks, right after he completes his next media interview. #sarcasm"
http://www.austinchronicle.com/daily/news/2014-08-22/perrys-third-felony/
Gov. Rick Perry: Just in case we've all forgotten who's actually on trial here.