Note: I first published this at 440 am last night. Now I realize this would have been a better time slot.
Paul J. Weber brings us news that an U.S. Attorney's Investigation Could Complicate Rick Perry's Prospects, for seeking the 2016 G.O.P. presidential nomination. With only 8 months left in his term Rick Perry seems to have put himself into hot water allegedly abusing his power for no other reason than to allow him to nominate one more judge before his term ends.
A judge seated a grand jury in Austin this week to consider whether Perry, who is weighing another run for the White House, abused his power when he carried out a threat to veto $7.5 million in state funding for public corruption prosecutors last summer. ...
The state Public Integrity Unit operates under Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg, a Democrat who has been the subject of Republican grumbling that the office investigates through a partisan lens. Lehmberg, who took office in 2009, was convicted of drunken-driving last year and filmed in a jailhouse video berating officers following her arrest.
The judge apologized to the family and community. I'm not defending her as I don't know the details of the case. The issue here seems to be that there is a constitutional recall procedure for removing a judge that Rick Perry chose to completely ignore and instead chose to attempt to bully the district attorney's office by using a line item veto to eliminate the offices budge of $7.5 million if the judge did not resign.
"He threatened her in broad daylight just like it was high noon," said McDonald, the executive director of Texans for Public Justice. "I think it's indicative of perhaps someone in the office a little too long." ... Lehmberg, who served about half of a 45-day jail sentence, has called Perry's attempts to remove her partisan.
Special Prosecutor Michael McCrum has a grand jury impaneled for three month under a complaint that accuses Perry of "breaking laws related to coercion of a public official and abuse of official capacity." It is not clear if other matters may be under investigation as well.
And, in a familiar pattern Governor Perry has hired a defense attorney with public funds that charges $450/hour.
David Kwok, of the University of Houston expresses doubt that these charges will hold up saying that if the governor had pressured someone not to prosecute something it would be a bigger issues, but pressuring someone to resign is not necessarily illegal.
This is the first I've heard of the case, so I can't express an opinion yet, however, what strikes me as a possible curious pattern and question is, "why to so many G.O.P. governors seem inclined to use their power in such dramatic ways, that others raise question of abuse of power?"
What makes this pattern more puzzling is magnitude of the risks taken compared to the relatively trivial "payoffs" that are apparently being pursue. Let's step back for a moment and consider the magnitude of the loss Governor Christie faces in the apparent pursuit of a low level retribution against one Democratic mayors endorsement that he did not even need?
Governor Christie was widely considered to have a likely shot to be President of the United States of America and there was at least one 2016 head-to-head poll showing him topping Democratic favorite Hillary Clinton. A poll responsible for bringing me back early from my post 2012 vacation after burning out on politics in the run up to that election.
Rick Perry shares his fun side by showing Michelle Bachman how to eat a corn dog in one bite (humor alert!)
Even if it turns out that the motivation for the GWB lane closing were to signal to the real estate developer in Fort Lee that they should hire David Samson's firm Wolff & Samson to be their lobbyist, is this not a tragically trivial goal compared to the potential loss of one's entire career, reputation, and potential possibility of being President of the United States.
While no evidence yet proves Governor Christie knew about the lane closings, or the cover-up, however, the evidence does lead to many suspicions, and it seems as if even Governor Christie explains proposes that he did not take sufficient measures to set a proper tone and set up oversight procedures to make sure his top staff would not "go rogue" and bring him down.
As we now have reason focus our attention on the entire span of Christie's career do we not compelled to ask, "is there no expression or pursuit of power or political advantage too small for Governor Christie and his executive team, would not be willing o jeopardize his entire career to achieve?"
If we call this The Christie Principle," do we now have to ask if Governor Rick Perry has been studying Governor Christie as a role model? After 14 years in office, and with 8 months to go, Rick Perry find himself under a grand jury investigation for potential abuse of power, in an effort to achieve the goal of being able to nominate one last judge before the end of his term?
Have we not seen this pattern with Virginia Governor McConnell and his wife who are now under federal indictment for accepting over $100,000 of inappropriate gifts by a donor seeking special access? Have we not also heard of possible investigations of GOP Governor's Scott Walker, Patrick McCrory Terry Barnstad, and John Kasich?
How do we explain this? Are these merely cases of compulsive hubris that all in power must be cautious of, and that we have been warned about since the time of the ancient Greek morality plays - "pride goeth before the fall?"
Or, could be be something more - some unique syndrome GOP Governors are vulnerable too because their base seems enthralled by the image of the macho, move-and-shaker who seizes control and dominates everyone and every system with is all powerful will?"