I was watching the Sunday evening edition of ABC World News and they had a report about the recent indictment of Texas Governor Rick Perry. It basically was a hatchet job for Perry making the elected official, he tried to force to resign, out be crazy and allowing Perry to play the victim
Even someone ignorant of current events could tell that the ABC News report by Jeff Zeleny is carrying water for Governor Perry by making him out be a victim and the smearing the Travis County District Attorney, Rosemary Lehmberg, who happens to be a Democrat. Context is everything.
Here is what Zeleny failed to report:
A special prosecutor spent months calling witnesses and presenting evidence that Perry broke the law when he promised publicly to nix $7.5 million over two years for the public integrity unit, which is run by Travis County District Rosemary Lehmberg’s office. Several top aides to the Republican governor appeared before grand jurors in Austin, including his deputy chief of staff, legislative director and general counsel. Perry himself wasn’t called to testify.
He was indicted by an Austin grand jury on felony counts of abuse of official capacity and coercion of a public servant. Maximum punishment on the first charge is five to 99 years in prison. The second is two to 10 years.
Perry said Lehmberg, who is based in Austin, should resign after she was arrested and plead guilty to drunken driving in April 2013. A video recording made at the jail showed Lehmberg shouting at staffers to call the sheriff, kicking the door of her cell and sticking her tongue out.
Lehmberg served about half of her 45-day jail sentence but stayed in office, despite Perry’s assertions that her behavior was inappropriate.
Lehmberg also faced a grand jury investigation over her DUI and they elected not to indict her. That means she doesn’t need to resign and voters can decide if she stays in office at the next election.
Governor Perry attempted to bully the DA so he could appoint a Republican. ABC News threw shade for Perry because he might run for President in 2016 and there was no reason to air the jailhouse video of Lehmberg except to smear her. She pled guilty and served her time.
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