A grand jury indicted Texas Gov. Rick Perry for two counts of abuse of power between him and the Travis County District Attorney's Office on Friday.
Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg was arrested in 2013 for drunk driving, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Lehmberg was told to step down or Perry would veto any more funding for her office. She opted to instead serve her jail sentence and didn't resign. The governor then vetoed $7.5 million in funding, which his aides argued was done properly since he is chief executive.
According to The Associated Press, Perry is the first governor in the state to be indicted in almost 100 years. Jams "Pa" Ferguson was the last Texas governor to be indicted, back in 1917 and was eventually found guilty of 10 charges relating to University of Texas funding.
While he is allowed to veto Legislature-approved measures, watchdog group Texans for Public Justice claimed that Perry was guilty of coercion in his attempt to force out the Democratic district attorney. "We're pleased that the grand jury determined that the governor's bullying crossed the line into illegal behavior," executive director Craig McDonald said.
The indictment will almost assuredly hurt Perry before he even has a chance to start running for the presidency.
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