Everything is bigger in Texas, including fights between people in power. Governor Rick Perry allegedly took to Twitter Sunday to take a swipe at Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg, but apparently the tweet was unauthorized.
Accompanied by an unflattering photo of Lehmberg, the tweet read "I don't always drive drunk at 3x the legal blood alcohol limit... but when I do, I indict Gov. Perry for calling me out about it. I am the most drunk Democrat in Texas." The tweet has been since taken down and Perry posted another one saying that the offending tweet was unauthorized and that he doesn't condone it.
Perry aides have not commented about the incident and It's not clear who was responsible for the tweet. This is because while it is the governor's verified account, it is not known who actually does the posting.
The tweet is the latest development in a political struggle between the governor and the district attorney following Perry' indictment for two counts of felony on abuse of power charges. Lehmberg was arrested for drunken driving and this prompted the governor to ask for her resignation.
When the district attorney didn't yield, Perry held back $7.5 million in funding for the Texas Public Integrity Unit, which Lehmberg heads, saying he couldn't provide continued support for an office when the person in charge no longer has the public's confidence.
At the time, the same unit, whose mission is to beat out corruption in public officials, was investigating the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, one of Perry's own projects. The institute was being questioned about its funding and the amount of money that was apparently being given to some of Perry's allies. One of the institute's former officials was indicted for disbursing a state grant worth $11 million.
When Perry strong-armed control over the Public Integrity Unit's funding, Lehmberg cried foul but it was watchdog group Texans for Public Justice who officially filed a complaint.
Michael McCrum, a court-assigned special prosecutor, led the grand jury investigation versus Perry on charges that he abused his power as governor. Perry plead not guilty and said the charges were simply a political ploy to foil his aspirations for the presidential race in 2016.
Before Perry, James Ferguson was the last governor to be indicted in the state. He was convicted of 10 charges in a scandal that involved the University of Texas.
