Rick Perry Indicted on Felony Abuse-of-Power and Coercion Charges Over Veto Threat (2014); Charges Dismissed (2016)
The indictment alleged that Perry misused funds appropriated to the Public Integrity Unit (Count I) and coerced a public servant by threatening to veto the unit's funding unless the district attorney resigned (Count II). A state appeals court quashed the coercion count in 2015; the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals then ordered the whole indictment dismissed on separation-of-powers and First Amendment grounds. Perry was never tried.
Record summary
Grade
Outside the grading scale: Pre-Office Conduct
International crime
Pre-office conduct — outside the official-power scale
Conduct from before office: Donald Trump’s before the June 2015 campaign launch, and an administration official’s before their first appointment or between terms. Scale and definitions
- Status
- Concluded
- Legal status
- Charged
- Before Office
- Rick Perry (all before-office records)
- Incident date
- Record updated
- Location
- Austin, Texas
- Category
- Corruption & Self-Dealing
- Legal posture
- Judicial finding
- Verification
- Cross-referenced
- Sources
- 3 cited
- Stable ID
rick-perry-2014-abuse-of-power-indictment- Posture note
- Indicted by a Travis County grand jury in August 2014; indictment ordered dismissed by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in Ex parte Perry, No. PD-1067-15 (February 24, 2016). No trial, no conviction.
- Alleged responsible parties
- Rick Perry, Governor of Texas (2000–2015)— State of Texas
Key points
- A Travis County grand jury returned a two-count indictment: abuse of official capacity (Tex. Penal Code § 39.02) and coercion of a public servant (§ 36.03)
- Count I alleged that on or about June 14, 2013 Perry misused funds appropriated to the Travis County District Attorney's Public Integrity Unit; Count II alleged he threatened to veto that funding unless District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg resigned
- The Texas Tribune reported the veto concerned $7.5 million in two-year state funding for the unit, after Lehmberg had pleaded guilty to drunken driving
- Perry said he "wholeheartedly and unequivocally" stood behind the veto
- In 2015 the Third Court of Appeals quashed the coercion count; on February 24, 2016 the Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed that ruling, reversed on the abuse-of-office count, and ordered the indictment dismissed
- The majority held that prosecuting the exercise of a veto violated the Texas Constitution's separation of powers and that the coercion provision as applied was facially unconstitutional under the First Amendment; two judges dissented
What happened
In 2013 Rick Perry, then governor of Texas, publicly threatened to veto state funding for the Public Integrity Unit of the Travis County District Attorney's Office unless District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg, who had pleaded guilty to drunken driving, resigned. Lehmberg did not resign, and Perry vetoed the funding. The Texas Tribune put the vetoed amount at $7.5 million over two years. Perry said he had used his veto lawfully and "wholeheartedly and unequivocally" stood behind it.
A Travis County grand jury indicted Perry on two felony counts. Count I alleged that on or about June 14, 2013, he abused his official capacity by misusing funds appropriated to the Public Integrity Unit. Count II alleged that he coerced a public servant by threatening the veto unless she resigned.
Legal status
- Charges: Abuse of official capacity (Tex. Penal Code § 39.02) and coercion of a public servant (§ 36.03), returned by a Travis County grand jury in August 2014 and prosecuted by a court-appointed special prosecutor.
- Outcome: Dismissed before trial. The Third Court of Appeals quashed the coercion count in 2015. On February 24, 2016, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, in Ex parte Perry, No. PD-1067-15, reversed the court of appeals on Count I, affirmed it on Count II, and ordered the indictment dismissed. The majority held that prosecuting a governor's veto under the abuse-of-office statute violated the separation of powers, and that the relevant part of the coercion statute was facially unconstitutional under the First Amendment. Two judges dissented; one did not participate.
- Perry was charged but never tried or convicted.
Sources
- Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Ex parte James Richard "Rick" Perry, No. PD-1067-15, opinion delivered February 24, 2016.
- Jim Malewitz and Ross Ramsey, "Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Dismisses Rick Perry Indictment," The Texas Tribune, February 24, 2016.
- Jay Root, "Five Things to Know About Perry Indictment," The Texas Tribune, August 16, 2014.
Update log
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Added for the Before Office record. Perry first joined the administration as Secretary of Energy on March 2, 2017.
Sequence of events
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Veto of Public Integrity Unit funding
The indictment alleges that on or about this date Perry misused funds appropriated to the Travis County District Attorney's Public Integrity Unit by vetoing them, after threatening the veto unless the district attorney resigned.
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Grand jury indictment
A Travis County grand jury indicts Perry on one count of abuse of official capacity and one count of coercion of a public servant (The Texas Tribune describes August 16, 2014 as "the day after a grand jury indicted him").
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Indictment ordered dismissed
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals orders the indictment dismissed in Ex parte Perry, No. PD-1067-15.
Sources
- Ex parte James Richard "Rick" Perry, No. PD-1067-15, opinion of the Court (delivered February 24, 2016) — Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
- Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Dismisses Rick Perry Indictment — The Texas Tribune
- Five Things to Know About Perry Indictment — The Texas Tribune