Texas Governor Rick Perry lost his bid to disqualify a state prosecutor and dismiss abuse-of-power charges after a judge ruled that his claims of procedural errors didn’t justify tossing the case.
Perry, 64, Texas’ longest-serving governor and a potential candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016, faces two counts of abusing his authority by threatening to veto funding for a state ethics task force if the county prosecutor in charge of the program didn’t resign following a drunken driving conviction.
Perry contends he was within his absolute legal right as governor to veto any funding he chooses for any reason. He also claimed the state constitution protects a governor’s conversations about legislative activities.
© Copyright 2026 Bloomberg News. All rights reserved.