Texas Governor Perry indicted on two felony counts

August 18, 2014

Some Texans are calling for the resignation of Governor, after he was on Friday on two  counts. Gilbert Hinojosa, Texas Party Chairman, said in a statement, "We call on Governor Perry to immediately step down from office. [...] Texans deserve real leadership and this is unbecoming of our governor.” On Saturday, the executive director of the state's Democratic party, Will Hailer, voiced his belief that Perry should resign, shortly after the Governor spoke at a news conference at the Texas capitol.

Also on Saturday, Governor Perry released a public statement which read in full, "As governor, I took an oath to faithfully uphold the constitution of Texas, a pledge that I have kept every day as I've worked on behalf of Texans for the last 14 years. This same constitution clearly outlines the authority of any governor to veto items at his or her discretion. Just as I have following every legislative session during my service as governor, I exercised this authority to  funding for an office whose leadership had lost the public's confidence by acting inappropriately and unethically."

Specifically, a grand jury indicted Perry on Friday on one count of abuse of official capacity and one count of coercion of a public servant. The indictment stems from a series of events sparked by the arrest and ultimate conviction of the District Attorney (DA) in 2013 for. Afterward, Perry called for the DA's resignation, and when she did not resign, cut funding to a state program she ran.