DALLAS - Cover-up charges were aired in the Texas governor's race.
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, the Republican candidate for governor, helped cover up Gov. Rick Perry's misuse of millions of taxpayer dollars set aside to attract new employers to the state, said State Sen. Wendy Davis, the Democratic candidate.
Her accusation of a cover-up came three days after a state audit revealed the Perry, Texas' longest-serving governor, provided $222 million from the Texas Enterprise Fund for companies and organizations that either did not apply for the funds, did not promise to create jobs or both.
Perry's use of the TEF caused controversy about a decade ago and led to requests for public access to recipients' applications.
Abbott, as attorney general, ruled at Perry's request that the applications were not public record and could be withheld. However, the audit reveals that no applications even existed. That raised questions about what Abbott was protecting.
"We need an independent investigation by appropriate state or federal authorities regarding the actions by the attorney general and the attempts to use the power of his office to cover up the transfer of millions of taxpayer dollars to companies whose applications he knew didn't exist," Davis said Monday at a news conference in Fort Worth.
The Dallas Morning News reported on Sunday that Abbott received more than $1 million in campaign contributions from recipients of the Texas Enterprise Fund.
Abbott denied any wrongdoing, and a spokesman for his office said that a letter written by one of the recipients of the funding is what Abbott considered an "application."
Perry defended his use of the fund and said that about $14 million of the misapplied funds from the years 2004 and 2005 were recovered and that better controls were later employed.
Perry is under indictment for allegedly misusing his office to try to force the resignation of Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg. Perry vetoed funding for the Public Integrity Unit in Lehmberg's office that investigated complaints of malfeasance and other criminal activity by state officials.
The Texas Enterprise Fund was created by legislation in 2003, giving Perry control of millions of taxpayer dollars to present to companies and programs that promised to create jobs. Some of the money was given to major employers such as Toyota, which plans to move its U.S. headquarters to Plano.
The audit recommended that the state impose some form of oversight on how Perry uses the money.
"From the beginning of his campaign for governor, Greg Abbott has raised questions about the Texas Enterprise Fund," Abbott spokeswoman Amelia Chasse said in a prepared statement. "As he's stated repeatedly, he believes that government should not be in the business of picking economic winners and losers and will evaluate the efficiencies of all programs."
