Greg Abbott Vows to Expedite Pardon in BLM Murder Conviction After Tucker Carlson Attacks Him — And Soros
On his Fox News show Friday night, Tucker Carlson attacked Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for turning down an invitation to discuss a pardon in an Austin murder case, suggesting it meant the Republican doesn’t believe in the right of self-defense. Just hours later on Saturday, the Governor issued a statement saying he is now actively working on that pardon.
A clip of Carlson’s remarks went viral on the right Friday evening and into Saturday morning, in which he discussed the murder conviction of a former Army officer in the fatal shooting of a Black Lives Matter protester in 2020.
Carlson said it was an obvious case of self-defense on the part then-Uber driver Daniel Perry, and that “the lead detective in the case and the Austin police concluded it was a justified shooting.”
Carlson then accused Austin District Attorney José Garza of being a George Soros-funded progressive who brought the case for political reasons.
“Because Austin, Texas, the justice system is overseen by a Soros-funded DA, Perry was charged with murder for defending himself. And tonight, we are sad to tell you, this man, a military veteran driving an Uber car, was convicted of murder,” said Carlson. “It means that in the state of Texas, if you have the wrong politics, you’re not allowed to defend yourself.”
He then turned his attention to Gov. Abbott and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
“So, this is a legal atrocity. It’s so obviously unjust that tonight we extend an invitation to the sitting governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, to come on this show on Monday. And we wanted to ask if he was considering a pardon for Daniel Perry. But for some reason, Governor Greg Abbott’s office told us he just can’t make it and that we should talk to the Attorney General of Texas, Ken Paxton, instead,” Carlson said.
“So that is Greg Abbott’s position: There is no right of self-defense in Texas,” he said. “We’re going to keep trying to reach the governor of Texas, get his views on that and the attorney general for that matter.”
It was less than 24 hours later that Abbott issued a statement saying his making every effort to expedite just such a pardon, and explaining that he doesn’t have the authority as Texas governor to just issue one. He also echoed Carlson’s pointing the finger at Garza.
“Texas has one of the strongest ‘Stand Your Ground’ laws of self-defense that cannot be nullified by a jury or a progressive District Attorney,” Abbot wrote. “Unlike the President or some other states, the Texas Constitution limits the Governor’s pardon authority to only act on a recommendation by the Board of Pardons and Paroles. Texas law DOES allow the Governor to request the Board of Pardons and Paroles to determine if a person should be granted a pardon. I have made that request and instructed the Board to expedite its review.”
“I look forward to approving the Board’s pardon recommendation as soon as it hits my desk,” he said.
Paxton said in a separate statement that “the Soros-backed DA in Travis County cares more about the radical agenda of dangerous Antifa and BLM mobs than justice.”
“This week has shown us how rogue prosecutors have weaponized the judicial system,” he said. “They must be stopped!”
The Austin Chronicle was quick to link Carlson’s commentary to Abbot’s decision and comments, writing that the governor had been “goaded” into it by the Fox News host.
It seems equally as likely that the Governor already planned to issue his own statement on the conviction and Carlson simply jumped ahead of him, considering the politics involved.
Republicans have described Manhattan’s Alvin Bragg as a “Soros-backed” DA, too, in the wake of the indictment of Donald Trump.
