Robert Pratt
If Texans set aside their credulity, as some are asking us to do, and take seriously the impartiality and legal purity of the special prosecutor in the case of Governor Rick Perry they will then be judging a rather odd interpretation of law related to an executive veto.
The case, as brought to us through the indictment, seems to center on the idea that a veto is legal, for any reason even simple malice, but that threatening a veto is a felony. Writing for the New York Magazine, Jonathan Chait points out that while Texas has a law against certain types of coercion of a public official, such as the Travis Co. D.A., the same law exempts “an official action taken by the member of the governing body.”
…the argument being proffered is that a veto is OK but threatening a veto is a felony… yet, it is generally and practically understood that a threat of a veto is integral to the function of using veto-power.
Chait then writes: “The prosecutors claim that, while vetoing the bill may be an official action, threatening a veto is not. Of course the threat of the veto is an integral part of its function. The legislature can hardly negotiate with the governor if he won’t tell them in advance what he plans to veto. This is why, when you say the word “veto,” the next word that springs to mind is “threat.” That’s how vetoes work.”
So the argument being proffered is that a veto is OK but threatening a veto is a felony. But, as Chait points out, it is generally and practically understood that a threat of a veto is integral to the function of using veto-power. Otherwise it would be impossible for the executive to use the veto-power to shape legislation because he would be a felon if he threatened such.
I don’t think any appellate court of even basic reputation would have any problem understanding the simple linkage of a veto-threat to the action of a veto as being an official act. But, Travis County found a grand jury of members stupid enough to issue an indictment on this so, it’s possible they can easily find a trial jury equally as stupid – a judge too. Let’s hope for the sake of Justice it doesn’t go that far.
See a complete set of stories and analysis here.
And, it seems now even the leftists at the New York Times agree: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/19/opinion/is-gov-perrys-bad-judgment-really-a-crime.html
It is not merely the threat of a veto, it is using the threat of a veto as a way to coerce or extort. You can see “I am going to veto” and then veto…no problem. What is appears you cannot do is say, “I am going to veto unless you do_____________”. Especially to a fellow elected official that you have no jurisdiction over, not the legislature who you would normally threaten with a veto…not actually a difficult concept if you research the facts of this case.
Actually the statute exempts an official of a governing body from the coercion statute, which the Governor is. Otherwise no member of the Legislature or the Governor, all directly accountable to voters for their actions as opposed to agency heads and the like, could ever cajole other government officials into reform.
Would members of a legislative committee who threaten an agency head to pull funding from a budget request when holding hearings, if that official didn’t take certain actions including personnel changes, become felons in so doing? Your theory would say yes.
Oh but wait, we’re talking elected officials.
OK, what if it was a member of the Supreme Court appearing before a Senate Finance Committee arguing for a court administrative measure to be funded and a Senator said something like “We ain’t gonna fund it until y’all get your house in order over there in the office of court administration.” Would that make the Senator a felon – especially if it was widely held public knowledge that the Senator was pressing to have the head of the agency in question fired by the Court?
Travis county is bought and paid for by George Soros and has the political sensitively of IS of greater Syria and Iraq. We need hope that conservative Texans send a message to the house and senate in district 83 and all of Texas as a whole in support of Rick Perry . Greg Abbott , you better defend the governor , this can happen to you as well.