Rick Perry to turn himself in
Gov. Rick Perry, R-Texas, will surrender to authorities around 5 p.m. CDT on Tuesday to be booked and have his mug shot and fingerprints taken, CBS News has confirmed.
Perry was indicted last Friday on two felony counts of abuse of power, charges his attorneys call "outlandish" and "wrong." Perry himself has said the indictment is an "outrageous" abuse of power by the Travis County public integrity unit.
A judge decided Monday not to issue an arrest warrant.
Perry's legal team includes a number of well-known attorneys, including Ben Ginsberg, who has long been a staple in Republican politics. He represented former President George W. Bush in the 2000 Supreme Court case that awarded him the presidency, served as counsel to Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney in 2008 and 2012, and acted as the co-chair of President Obama's election reform commission.
"This is an outlandish prosecution. It will never, ever ever stand," Ginsburg said Tuesday on "CBS This Morning."
"It is unprecedented, it is outside the bounds. I think that's why you see so many people who are not Rick Perry supporters, who are Democrats, saying how wrong this indictment is."
Perry has indeed highlighted the fact that even David Axelrod, a former adviser to Mr. Obama, called the indictment "pretty sketchy" on Twitter. Republicans have been quick to defend him as well.
Even the New York Times, making clear they are no fan of Perry's governing tactics, says his prosecution is wrong.
"Gov. Rick Perry of Texas is one of the least thoughtful and most damaging state leaders in America, having done great harm to immigrants, abortion clinics and people without health insurance during his 14 years in office. But bad political judgment is not necessarily a felony, and the indictment handed up against him on Friday -- given the facts so far -- appears to be the product of an overzealous prosecution," the paper wrote in an editorial.
Also on Perry's legal team: Houston attorney Tony Buzbee, who helped residents sue BP after their refinery near Houston exploded in 2005, and Bobby Burchfield, who successfully argued before the Supreme Court last year that the federal law limiting overall campaign contributions from individuals should be struck down.
The team also includes Austin criminal attorney David Botsford and former Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Tom Phillips.
Buzbee said it is not yet clear which lawyers will be paid for by the state of Texas and which will be paid for with other funds, according to the AP.
Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, himself the target of a Travis County grand jury indictment in 2005, said the case is simply a "vendetta."
"There is no doubt [the case] is politically motivated," he told Fox News. "Once again, the district attorney of Travis County presented a case, not unlike mine, that was very weak, if it was a case at all. ... It's a conspiracy to use the legal system to politicize politics."
DeLay's conviction was reversed in 2013 after the Texas Court of Appeals said the evidence in his case was insufficient. DeLay's fight isn't over, however, as prosecutors in June asked a Texas court to reinstate his conviction.
The prosecutors allege that Perry abused his powers by calling on Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg to resign after she was arrested for and pleaded guilty to drunk driving in April 2013. When she did not step down, Perry vetoed the $7.5 million in funding for her office.
Perry's arraignment has been set for Friday, although he does not need to appear in person.