Posted Saturday, Aug. 16, 2014
AUSTIN — A defiant Rick Perry went on the offensive Saturday, a day after being indicted on accusations of abusing his power with a controversial veto, denouncing the charges as “outrageous” political theatrics and predicting he will prevail over “those who would erode our state’s constitution and laws purely for political purposes.”
“I wholeheartedly and unequivocally stand behind my veto and will continue to defend this lawful action of my executive authority as governor,” Perry told reporters at a packed six-minute news conference near his office on the second floor of the Capitol.
“We don’t settle political differences with indictments in this country.”
The indictment, returned Friday by a Travis County grand jury, made Perry the first sitting Texas governor in nearly a century to be indicted, abruptly threw uncertainty over his potential presidential candidacy in 2016 and triggered state and national repercussions that Democrats hope will spill into this year’s gubernatorial race to choose his successor.
Democrats at the state and national levels escalated their demands for Perry to resign, but the state’s longest-tenured governor served notice that he plans to stay in office till the end of his term and vowed that he will ultimately beat the legal charges. …
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