WILL WEISSERT, Associated Press
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The case against indicted Texas Gov. Rick Perry is heading back to court — but the governor himself won’t be there.
A status conference with state District Judge Bert Richardson, Perry’s defense team and special prosecutor Michael McCrum is set for Monday morning in Austin.
Perry is on a state economic mission to Europe and Richardson has excused him from the hearing. But the judge denied the Republican’s request to skip all upcoming pretrial proceedings where no evidence is presented.
A Travis County grand jury indicted Perry in August on two felony counts of abuse of power over a veto threat involving public corruption prosecutors.
Perry is considering a second White House run in 2016, and says he was within his rights as governor to issue the veto.