So it begins. Rick Perry may be a fundamentalist Christian (of the New Apostolic Reformation variety), and eager executioner, and possible ground-breaking Republican candidate — but by all accounts he also deeply corrupt, a crony of the first water.
So this one could have legs. As the article notes, the aides involved are Deidre Delisi and David Carney. The former is a former chief of staff and current senior policy advisor; the later is a long-time strategist. (That's Deidre Delisi pictured in the linked story.)
Murray Waas and Peter Henderson, writing in Reuters (my emphasis):
In a civil suit later filed by Chris Bell, Perry's Democratic challenger in that race, the testimony of aides David Carney and Deirdre Delisi was directly contradicted by a sworn statement from Perry's own gubernatorial campaign committee.The current Perry campaign won't comment, and for an interesting reason. That earlier case was settled out of court, note the authors, in "a 2010 settlement, which required Perry to pay $427,000 to Bell's campaign, [and] barred either side from saying anything further."
At issue were the circumstances surrounding a $1 million contribution to the campaign, and whether the Republican Governors' Association, which paid out the funds, was used as a conduit to camouflage their true origin. The lawsuit alleged that the actual donor was Texas multi-millionaire Bob Perry, a long-time supporter of Rick Perry (no relation) better known for bankrolling the Swift Boat campaign that torpedoed Senator John Kerry's presidential bid.
Carney has long been the Texas governor's closest political strategist. Delisi was formerly Governor Perry's chief of staff and now serves as a senior policy advisor to his presidential campaign.
So the original case was possibly corrupt to begin with (unless Perry settled and was innocent), and now we find his top aides could well have lied in giving testimony. There's certainly enough prima facie evidence to warrant an investigation.
The story is beautifully researched, and has all the mustered details we associate with the excellent Murray Waas. Please do read.
This is one to watch, not just for campaign adventure (who's leading in the back stretch, "Mittens" or "Crotch") — but also for meta reasons:
■ Will the mainstream media give him a pass, or really cover this? If so, does it mean they are on board with sinking the Perry campaign, like they did the Gore campaign?
■ Will Karl Rove & Co weigh in (they hate Perry)? If so, will that get big or small coverage?
■ Finally, if Rove does weigh in, does that drive a larger MSM coverage (because, well "1 Live Crew" and all)?
Will John and Marsha (sorry, Rick and Karl) ever find true happiness? Stay tuned.
GP
