AUSTIN Texas (Reuters) - Texas Governor
Rick Perry, a possible Republican presidential candidate in the 2016
race, was fingerprinted and had his mug shot taken by judicial
authorities on Tuesday after being indicted last week on two felony
charges of abusing power.
"The actions that I took were lawful. They were legal and they
were proper. This indictment is fundamentally a political act that
seeks to achieve at the courthouse what could not be achieved at the
ballot box," Perry said after finishing the 15-minute processing at
the Travis County criminal justice center, a short walk away from
the governor's mansion.
Supporters turned out to cheer his words while his opponents
relished seeing him face a criminal court.
The indictment has cast a shadow over a presidential run for Perry,
who has ranked near the bottom of possible Republican candidates.
Experts predict that legal wrangling in the case is likely to
stretch into the 2016 election cycle.
Perry was indicted on Friday by a grand jury in Travis County, a
Democratic stronghold in the heavily Republican state, over his veto
of funding for a state ethics watchdog that has investigated
prominent Texas Republicans.
Perry, the longest-serving governor in the state's history, became
the target of an ethics probe last year after he vetoed $7.5 million
in funding for the state public integrity unit run from the Travis
County district attorney's office.
The veto was widely viewed as intended to force the resignation of
county District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg, a Democrat, after she
had pleaded guilty to drunken driving but remained in office.
Democrats have said Perry may have been looking to put an ally in
charge of the unit, extending what they say is cronyism in his
administration.
The more serious of the two felony charges carries a prison sentence
of five to 99 years.
"This may be a sideshow to Rick Perry but no amount of spin can
cover up two felony charges," Democratic National Committee
spokesman Michael Czin said.
Perry could try to rally support in Republican primaries by
portraying himself as a conservative victim of a partisan legal
attack launched by Democrats, analysts have said. But the indictment
could undermine backing from major donors and party heavyweights who
see the legal case as hurting his general election chances.
After flaming out in a gaffe-strewn campaign for the 2012 Republican
presidential nomination, Perry has been attempting a political
comeback that gained him national attention for accusing President
Barack Obama of doing too little to secure the U.S.-Mexico border.
He will step down as governor when his term ends early next year.
(Reporting by Jon Herskovitz; Editing by Mohammad Zargham)
