Perry made it clear in public statements and through emissaries that he didn’t believe the state should fund an office headed by someone who had lost the public’s trust. He pointed to Lehmberg’s arrest just two months prior for drunk driving, which included her video-taped, belligerent conduct while being booked into the jail.
At the time, the Public Integrity Unit, which investigates and prosecutes public corruption and malfeasance, was examining one of Perry’s signature projects – the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas.
If she had resigned, Perry would have appointed her replacement.
By the time of the veto, Lehmberg had pled guilty to DWI, fulfilled her 45-day sentence and completed a treatment program. She refused to resign but said she would retire after she completed her term.
Perry vetoed the money.
Perry’s office continued to negotiate with her after the veto, pledging to restore funding to the unit if she stepped down.
The allegations of criminal wrongdoing were first filed by Craig McDonald, director of the nonprofit campaign reform group Texans for Public Justice.
McDonald has maintained that using veto threats to try to make another elected official resign was gross abuse of office.“The grand jury decided that Perry’s bullying crossed the line into law breaking,” he said.