[This article now cross-published by Salon, with a much better headline than mine…]
Speaking to business leaders in New Hampshire on Friday, where Texas’ Republican Gov. Rick Perry believes he’s running for President in 2016, he was asked about the two count felony indictment filed by a grand jury against him last week:
“I’ve been indicted by that same body now for I think two counts, one of bribery, which I’m not a lawyer, so I don’t really understand the details here,” Perry said of the grand jury that indicted him.
A grand jury indicted Perry last week on two felony counts – abuse of official capacity and coercion of a public official – over a 2013 veto threat.
It’s really not that complicated. The indictment was only two pages, and it’s posted below. I’m not an attorney, and I couldn’t tell you how strong the case against him is at this point. Some legal experts describe it as weak at best or otherwise questionably Constitutional, even as local TX reporters in paper after paper insist the charges are far more serious than how they are being portrayed by national media. But, without going into the specifics of the case, for now, even I can read a two-page indictment and see that it has nothing to do with “bribery”.
Surely Perry knows that, even as he’s pleaded “not guilty” to both counts, and has vehemently described the abuse of power charges filed by the grand jury under the auspices of a Republican judge and a special prosecutor who served under President George H.W. Bush, as a Democratic political hit job and an abuse of power in and of itself. (Apparently, he’s going with the “I know you are, but what am I?!” defense there.)
So I wouldn’t necessarily call Perry’s comments in NH just another one of his “oops” moments, but it’s certainly bizarre and, I guess, some kind of strategy to somehow belittle the serious charges against him in some way. ‘They are so inconsequential and silly I couldn’t even be bothered to tell all ya’ll what they’re about. Bribery? Assault? Murder? Who knows?! By the way, vote for me for President of the United States if ya’ll don’t mind!’
My prediction: Ricky Perry, if he stays out of jail, will be exactly as crappy of a GOP candidate for President in 2016 as he was in 2012 — even though he now wears glasses most of the time.
The easy to read, two-page, two-count grand jury felony indictment filed against Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX) on 8/15/2014 follows in full below…
They sure do love not very bright people running the show in Tex-Ass
Another count could have been added and it could have been a bribery count (Kaisner v State).
In Kaisner a sheriff running for reelection offered a job to an opposing candidate if that candidate would drop out of the race.
The sheriff was convicted of bribery under Texas law and the appellate court upheld it.
Hey Rick, orange is the new black, MoFo. Oops! Hope the courts permanently wipe that smerk off of his face. Now if we could get Christie indicted…