Perry special prosecutor hires some help

Austin American-Statesman:
A special prosecutor handling the case against Gov. Rick Perry has hired an Austin attorney to join his team as the case nears its next court date in mid-October, the American-Statesman and KVUE-TV have learned.

David Gonzalez, a Stanford University law school graduate, will join prosecutor Michael McCrum immediately and will be paid by Travis County taxpayers.

A Travis County grand jury in August indicted Perry on felony charges of coercion of a public servant and abuse of official capacity, both felonies for which he faces up to 109 years behind bars.

The indictment stems from Perry’s threat in June 2013 to Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg that he would veto $7.5 million in funding to her office if she didn’t step down following her drunken driving arrest. The money was appropriated for Lehmberg’s Public Integrity Unit, which investigates ethics complaints against state officials.

Since the indictment, Perry has assembled a defense team of nationally renowned attorneys, who have challenged the legality of the indictment in court motions seeking to have the charges dismissed. A judge has not yet ruled on those motions.

The case is expected to be in court Oct. 13.

On Friday, McCrum filed a motion in Travis County State District Court about why he deems an additional attorney necessary to his team.

“Mr. Perry has filed several pleadings attacking the legality of the Texas statutes that underlie the criminal charges the grand jury filed against him,” McCrum’s request said. “Undersigned counsel has taken numerous steps in making an assessment of the pending pleadings and other matters relative to the prosecution of the pending case.
...
He is facing a talented defense team that is aggressively contesting the indictments themselves.  This should not have been a surprise.  The liberals of Travis County are having to pay for this folly in theri attempt to criminalize their political differences with Gov. Perry.  They should be embarrassed to be associated with this travesty in Travis County.

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