August 21, 2014      9:56 AM
Updated: Attorneys for Perry say CPRIT investigation had nothing to do with veto at the heart of indictment
But there are other PIU investigations of great interest to Perry
Note: This story has been updated throughout as of
10:55am – SB
Gov. Perry’s
all-star legal team on Thursday rolled out what they said was pretty conclusive
evidence that the investigation of problems at the state’s cancer-fighting fund
had nothing to do with the veto of $7.5 million for the Public Integrity Unit
housed in the Travis County DA’s Office.
That veto, of course, is
at the heart of the two-count felony indictment of Perry handed up by a Travis
County grand jury on Friday. The governor stands accused of abusing his office
and trying to coerce Travis County DA Rosemary
Lehmberg into resigning from office following her
drunk driving arrest last year.
Attorney Tony Buzbee told reporters on a morning
conference call that he was approached by a former investigator in the PIU, Chris Walling,
who agreed to sign an affidavit that says neither Perry nor anyone in his
office were targets of the investigation of the Cancer Prevention Research
Institute of Texas. Walling is now an employee at a state agency, but
Buzbee said he could not recall which one. The staff directory of
the State
Auditor’s Office shows Walling now works in
the Special Investigations Unit of
that agency.
By Scott Braddock
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