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August 21, 2014      4:50 PM

HK: Perry veto derailed 400 felony investigations

Lost in the coverage of the indictment has been the real world consequences of his executive actions

Texas journalists criticizing Texas Democrats and clueless national pundits for accepting the Perry presidential campaign frame on the recent Travis County indictments of the longest serving governor of Texas is no longer news.

But let’s put one fact on the table that has been missed in what is the most consultant driven stampede in years.  Rick Perry’s line item veto of the Travis County Public Integrity Unit funding derailed more than 400 felony level tax and insurance fraud investigations allegedly committed against the State of Texas.

If you think the defunding of a highly effective non-partisan white collar criminal investigation operation because of a drunken CEO episode is a fair trade, read no further. 

First, let’s stipulate this column is about the theatrics and collateral damage of the Perry melodrama and not the substance of the indictments.  

We are frankly surprised that there is not yet a Motion to Quash the indictments or a quick filing to seek a Summary Judgment.  If a judge rejects either, the Perry narrative collapses.  But that is another story for another time.

By Harvey Kronberg