LAWYERS for Texas Governor Rick Perry invoked a former Roman emperor and 17th-century French King Louis XIV in a motion filed Monday seeking to dismiss abuse-of-power felony charges leveled against Perry.

    It was the second motion seeking to dismiss the charges against Perry, who has tried to rally support by saying he is the victim of a partisan, politicized prosecution.

    The new motion argues that Perry was operating within his rights in vetoing money for a public integrity unit in the prosecutor’s office in Travis County, a Democratic stronghold.

    Rebutting the lawsuit’s contention that Perry had overstepped his authority by vetoing the funds, his lawyers argued that he was operating within the constraints on his office imposed by the state constitution.

    Perry, 64, became the target of an ethics investigation last year after he vetoed US$7.5 million in funding for the state public integrity unit run from the Travis County district attorney’s office. (SD-Agencies)