Rick Perry vows to fight indictment

Texas Gov. Rick Perry vowed Saturday to fight an indictment brought against him for allegedly abusing the powers of his office, denouncing the charge itself as an “abuse of power.”

"This indictment amounts to nothing more than abuse of power, and I cannot and will not allow that to happen," Perry said at a news conference a day after he was charged with violating state law.

On Friday, a Travis County grand jury indicted the Republican governor on two felony counts of abuse of power. Perry, a possible 2016 presidential candidate, is the first Texas governor since 1917 to be indicted.

The indictments are related to Perry vetoing $7.5 million in funding for a Travis County unit investigating public corruption last year because the Democratic official heading the office refused to resign after being convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol.

The move was seen as hardball politics to force out county District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg, but Perry said Saturday that he stood by the veto that led to the charges brought against him. Lehmberg faced pressure from other high-profile Republicans in addition to Perry to give up her post, but stayed in office after serving about half of her 45-day jail sentence.

The unit Lehmberg oversees is the same that led the investigation against former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, a Texas Republican who in 2010 was convicted of money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering for taking part in a scheme to influence elections in his home state.

Perry's general counsel, Marry Anne Wiley, defended the governor's action.

"The veto in question was made in accordance with the veto authority afforded to every governor under the Texas Constitution," she said. "We will continue to aggressively defend the governor's lawful and constitutional action, and believe we will ultimately prevail."

Legal experts and even some Democrats believe getting a conviction against Perry will be challenging, largely because there is no question that the governor wields veto authority. If convicted, Perry faces first-degree felony charges with potential punishments of five to 99 years in prison; coercion of a public servant is a third-degree felony that carries a punishment of two to 10 years.

Perry, who has held office since 2000, making him the longest-serving governor in Texas history, is not seeking re-election in November. But the criminal investigation could mar his political prospects as he mulls another run at the White House following his failed bid in 2012.

The indictment is the first of its kind since 1917, when James "Pa" Ferguson was indicted on charges stemming from his veto of state funding to the University of Texas in an effort to unseat faculty and staff members he objected to. Ferguson was eventually impeached, then resigned before being convicted, allowing his wife, Miriam "Ma" Ferguson, to take over the governorship.

Wire services