OFF THE HOOK

Rick Perry’s Criminal Case Dismissed

Court finds he didn’t misuse power as governor.

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has thrown out the criminal case alleging Rick Perry abused the power of his office while governor. In a separate ruling Wednesday, the appeals panel affirmed a lower court’s decision that dismissed a charge of coercing a public official. A Travis County grand jury indicted Perry, the longest-serving governor in Texas history, on both charges in August 2014; his first felony charge was filed after he allegedly threatened to veto money for a Travis County public integrity unit in order to force District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg from office after she was charged with drunk driving. Prosecutors in the unit were allegedly forced to drop a number of criminal cases involving the state government after Perry vetoed the $7.5 million in 2013. With this latest ruling, Perry—who has been facing related legal issues for 18 months now—is officially in the clear.