Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) has hired a lawyer to defend him in an ongoing probe into whether he abused the power of his office, KVUE News and the Austin American-Statesman reported Sunday. The move comes one day before a grand jury could be seated to weigh whether to launch a criminal investigation into the matter.
At issue is whether Perry improperly vetoed money for the Travis County District Attorney's office in an effort to force the resignation of a lawyer who was arrested for drunk driving last April. Despite Perry threatening to withhold the funds, DA Rosemary Lehmberg refused to step down following her arrest. So Perry nixed $7.5 million from the state budget that would have gone to a division in Lehmberg's office that investigates ethics complaints against public officials, saying he had to do so because Lehmberg "lost the public's confidence."
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