AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s state attorney predicts Perry will be cleared of two felony charges handed up late Friday by a Travis County grand jury.
Perry faces two counts of abuse of official capacity and coercion of a public servant over his use of veto power to pressure a Democratic district attorney to resign in 2013. Perry is a Republican.
Mary Anne Wiley, general counsel for Perry’s office, says he used veto powers granted under the state constitution. She says Perry’s lawyers will “aggressively defend” him and “believe we will ultimately prevail.”
Perry could face up to 99 years in prison if convicted. He’s the first Texas governor to be indicted in nearly a century.
Perry’s private attorney, David Botsford, did not immediately comment.
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