Texas Gov. Rick Perry blasted the indictment on Saturday as nothing more than a political move and planned on fighting it until the end.
As previously reported, Perry was indicted by a grand jury on Friday over abuse of power charges stemming from a threat he made to a Travis district attorney in 2013.
According to a complaint by the watchdog group Texans for Public Justice, Perry threatened Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg with defunding of her office unless she resigned after she was arrested for drunk driving.
Perry blasted the indictment at a press conference on Saturday, saying it was an "abuse of power." The governor explained he had faithfully followed his oath for the position and the Constitution of Texas "clearly outlines the authority of any Governor to veto items at his or her discretion."
He added that he would be fighting the indictment and that he is confident he will win and "that this farce of a prosecution will be revealed for what it is."
Lehmberg refused to step down and served her jail sentence. The governor, who is expected to run for president in 2016, then made good on his threat and vetoed $7.5 million.
image courtesy of INFphoto.com
Perry is the first Texas governor to be indicted since James "Pa" Ferguson back in 1917, who was later found guilty on 10 charges over funding for the University of Texas.