Attorneys for Texas Governor Rick Perry filed a motion on Monday to dismiss two felony charges of abusing his power, saying it is unjust to prosecute the leader of the state over a political dispute by trying to criminalize a veto, according to The Associated Press.
In a 60-page motion filed in state district court in Austin, Perry's high-powered defense team argues that the law being used to prosecute the longest-serving governor in Texas history is unconstitutionally vague, the AP reported.
Perry, a possible candidate in the 2016 Republican presidential race, was indicted earlier this month for trying to use the veto to force the resignation of a prosecutor in Travis County, a Democratic stronghold in the Republican-dominated state, the AP reported.
"Subjecting any sitting governor to a criminal prosecution and injecting the judiciary into a political dispute would be an unprecedented assault on this cherished separation of powers," the motion filed in a Travis County district court said, according to the AP.
Perry, the longest-serving governor in the state's history, became the target of an ethics investigation last year after he vetoed $7.5 million in funding for the state public integrity unit run from the Travis County district attorney's office, the AP reported.
His veto was widely viewed as intended to force the ouster of Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg, a Democrat, after she had pleaded guilty to drunk driving and remained in office, according to the AP.
He was charged with abuse of official capacity, a first-degree felony, and coercion of a public official, a third-degree felony, the AP reported. Perry has called the charges politically motivated.
Perry has sought to parlay attention over the indictment into a fresh political push, making speeches last week in the crucial presidential primary state of New Hampshire, where his dismal showing in 2012 led him to drop out of the presidential race, according to the AP.
