Texas court tosses criminal case against former Gov. Perry

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The felony prosecution of former Texas Gov. Rick Perry ended Wednesday when the state's highest criminal court dismissed an abuse-of-power indictment that the Republican says hampered his short-lived 2016 presidential bid.

A grand jury in liberal Austin had indicted Perry in 2014 for vetoing funding for a public corruption unit that Republicans have long accused of wielding a partisan ax.

Perry had rebuked the charges as a partisan attack from the start, calling it a "political witch hunt," but the dismissal brought accusations of Republican judges doing a favor for a party stalwart.

"The constant references to 'Governor Perry' could well be seen by the public as an inference that appellant's position in life entitles him to special privileges and special treatment by this court that others might be denied," wrote Republican Judge Cheryl Johnson, referring to how judges addressed Perry during deliberations.

Perry, the longest-serving governor in Texas history, made just one court appearance in the case and was defiant from the start — he went out for ice cream after turning himself in for booking at an Austin jail, and smiled wide for his mug shot.