Rick Perry makes first court appearance in abuse of power case

AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 6 (UPI) -- Texas Gov. Rick Perry appeared in court Thursday for his first hearing since he was indicted on abuse of power charges.

Perry is accused of inappropriately threatening to withhold $7.5 million in funding from the Public Integrity Unity of the Travis County District Attorney's office to force DA Rosemary Lehmberg to resign.

A grand jury indicted him Aug. 15 on two charges: one count of abuse of official capacity, a felony that carries a five- to 99-year prison sentence, and one count of coercion of a public servant, which has a two- to 10-year sentence.

In a press conference following the hearing, Perry vowed to restore the "lawful constitutional authority for a governor to use his or her veto authority."

"I stand behind my veto and would make that veto again," Perry said.

Prosecutors have not challenged Perry's right to use his veto, but rather to use it as a means of forcing out a political opponent.

State District Judge Bert Richardson required Perry's presence in court, even as he allowed the governor to skip two previous pretrial hearings.

Richardson is expected to consider whether the special prosecutor Michael McCrum was properly appointed, and whether to force the prosecution to provide a transcript of the indicting grand jury's proceedings to Perry's legal team.

In court, Perry's lawyer and the special prosecutor sparred over procedure, with Perry attorney Tony Buzbee accusing McCrum of failing to take a proper oath of office.

"I don't think it's too much too much to expect that the rule of the law and letter of the law be followed if you're trying to take away someone's liberty," attorney Tony Buzbee said.

McCrum, in turn, called Buzbee's accusations "a non-issue."

"Seeking dismissal of an indictment is just unwarranted," McCrum said. "This whole exercise is procedurally flawed."