The Twitter account belonging to Republican Texas Gov. Rick Perry on Sunday night posted a mocking tweet of his state’s Democratic district attorney, who faced drunk driving charges last year.
The tweet was later deleted from his verified account. An explanation soon replaced the earlier post.
A tweet just went out from my account that was unauthorized. I do not condone the tweet and I have taken it down.
— Rick Perry (@GovernorPerry) September 1, 2014The deleted tweet contained a mock image of Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg, who was convicted of driving under the influence in April 2013. Perry, who is openly considering a 2016 presidential bid, last month was indicted on two felony counts — abuse of power and coercion of a public official. The charges originated from Perry’s threat in 2013 to veto millions of dollars of funding for part of Lehmberg’s office unless she resigned following her drunken driving conviction. When she refused, he followed through and vetoed $7.5 million slated for the state’s Public Integrity Unit.
The caption on the tweet, according to USA Today, 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 Republican governor pleaded not guilty to the charges against him. He celebrated his booking with a smile and ice cream, in what seemed like an attempt to downplay the possibility that the indictment will harm his chances at a spot in the White House. After hiring a legal team and declaring the felony counts to be both a political witch-hunt and an attack on his constitutional authorities, Perry last week claimed he doesn’t know the details of the indictment.
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