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FEDERAL GRAND JURY
TEXAS GOV. RICK PERRY
Indictment filed
Perry: State won’t pay lawyers
Woman charged for moving illegal immigrants By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
A federal grand jury in Laredo formally charged a woman last week for moving illegal immigrants for money, according to court records obtained Monday. U.S. Border Patrol detained Claudia Castillo, 25, on July 23 as she attempted to go through a federal checkpoint in Zapata with eight illegal immigrants, according to court records. An indictment filed
Aug. 19 against Castillo charged her with one count of conspiracy to transport undocumented people within the United Status and two counts of transport and attempt to transport undocumented people for financial gain. Castillo is pending arraignment. She is facing up to 10 years in federal prison per count, according to the indictment. On July 23, a 2009 Chevrolet Traverse operated by Castillo approached the Border Patrol checkpoint
on U.S. 83 near Zapata. Asked for citizenship, Castillo and her front passenger both ascertained they were U.S. citizens. Agents then observed an additional eight passengers inside the vehicle who also tried to ascertain their citizenship. All eight individuals kept silent and had a “confuse stare” when asked where their citizenship was from, records show. In secondary inspection, all eight individuals stated they were Mexicans
with no legal right to be in the United States, the criminal complaint states. Homeland Security Investigations special agents read Castillo her Miranda warnings, which she allegedly waived. Castillo said a friend had called her and asked if she would transport illegal immigrants. Castillo expected a payment of $200 per immigrant, according to court records. (César G. Rodriguez may be reached at 728-2568 or cesar@lmtonline.com)
INTERGOVERNMENTAL PANEL ON CLIMATE CHANGE
HEATING TREND
Photo by Tony Gutierrez | AP
Texas State Park police officer Thomas Bigham walks across the cracked lake bed of O.C. Fisher Lake in San Angelo, Texas, on Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2011. Global warming is here, human-caused and probably already dangerous, a draft of a new international science report says.
Panel: Global warming human-caused By SETH BORENSTEIN ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — Global warming is here, human-caused and probably already dangerous — and it’s increasingly likely that the heating trend could be irreversible, a draft of a new internation-
al science report says. The United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change on Monday sent governments a final draft of its synthesis report, which combines three earlier, gigantic documents by the Nobel Prize-winning group. There is little in the re-
port that wasn’t in the other more-detailed versions, but the language is more stark and the report attempts to connect the different scientific disciplines studying problems caused by the burning of fossil fuels, such as coal, oil and gas. The 127-page draft, ob-
tained by The Associated Press, paints a harsh warning of what’s causing global warming and what it will do to humans and the environment. It also describes what can be done about it. “Continued emission of
See GLOBAL WARMING PAGE 12A
Facing felony charges, gov will use campaign funds to cover legal tab By BETSY BLANEY ASSOCIATED PRESS
MIDLAND, Texas — Indicted Texas Gov. Rick Perry said Tuesday that he believes taxpayers should have picked up his legal tab but opted to use campaign funds “to keep from having folks grouse about it.” The possible 2016 Republican presidential candidate told reporters in Midland that he had considered it appropriate for state funds to pay his legal fees because a criminal investigation dealt with his official duties as governor. Perry has pleaded not guilty to two felony charges of abuse of power. At least $80,000 in taxpayer dollars have been spent on his defense so far. Perry said Tuesday that he hadn’t yet decided if that money would also come from his campaign funds. Following questions over who would pay for a new team of high-powered attorneys, Perry announced last week that campaign funds would start footing the bill. In a 60-page motion filed Monday, Perry’s highpowered defense team argued that the law being used to prosecute the longest-serving governor in Texas history is unconstitutionally vague. He is charged with abuse of official capacity and coercion of a public servant, both felonies. If convicted, Perry could face up to 109 years in prison. “It’s in the hands of the lawyers now and the process of the state of Texas, which I have great faith will find that we acted properly and correctly,” Perry told reporters after a groundbreaking event for a new office for Occidental Petroleum. Standing next to Perry at one point and scoffing at the idea that the governor got carried away with power was former Repub-
PERRY
lican Texas House Speaker Tom Craddick — who was ousted from the powerful job in 2009 following a dramatic, bipartisan mutiny in which Craddick refused to relinquish control of the gavel in an hourslong standoff on the House floor. At one point during the rebellion, Craddick’s parliamentarians abruptly resigned. “I don’t know all the facts of the thing, but I just think when you indict a governor over something like this, it’s going to interfere with future government,” Craddick said about Perry’s legal case. “I think the indictment is ridiculous.” Despite being indicted, Perry is seriously considering a 2016 White House run. A call and text message to spokeswoman Lucy Nashed about what complaints, if any, may have been made regarding taxpayers funding his defense were not immediately returned. During Tuesday’s event, Perry wore the same glasses he’s worn for about a year as part of his effort to rehabilitate his image following a disastrous 2012 presidential bid. Afterward, he showed them to The Associated Press. The glasses, meant to soften his cowboy image for one that’s more humble, are Inspiration by designer Jean Lafont. His wife picked them out. Internet searches indicate that the frames alone retail for $516.
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA
Mexican President Peña Nieto faces protest By FENIT NIRAPPIL ASSOCIATED PRESS
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto met Tuesday with lawmakers and swapped praise with Gov. Jerry Brown, but not all legislators rolled out the welcome mat at a luncheon held on the final day of his visit to California. About 150 people, many waving American flags or holding signs, rallied across the street from the historic Stanford Mansion to call for the release of a Marine who is being detained in Mexico. At least three Republican lawmakers rejected the lunch invitation from Brown as a way to protest Mexico’s incarceration of
About 150 people rallied to call for the release of a Marine who is being detained in Mexico. Marine Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi, who has been held since April after crossing the border with weapons. A total of 19 Assembly Republicans who planned to attend the lunch signed a letter to Peña Nieto demanding the release of the Marine. “It’s so nice to have teamwork for a change,” said state Assemblyman Tim Donnelly, a former gubernatorial candidate. Donnelly was the only lawmaker to join the protesters on the street.
“The president is here and the governor could just say, ‘Could you do me a favor?’ But he refuses to,” said protester Edward Doolin of Vacaville. While the demonstrators were kept across the street from the mansion, their chants of “Free our Marine” could be heard at the outdoor wine-and-appetizers reception that was being held for Peña Nieto. The governor, president and lawmakers then dined under an outdoor tent on smoked chicken, locally grown tomatoes and squash, and wine
from Napa Valley vineyards. Brown and Peña Nieto gave celebratory remarks to reporters and attendees before the lunch but did not take questions. They generally repeated comments they made the day before in Los Angeles. Brown said California and Mexico hold the promise of a “brighter future” while Peña Nieto praised the Democratic governor for his policies toward immigrants “whether or not they have legal status.” Neither spoke about the pro-
testers or addressed the Tahmooressi case. Some Republican lawmakers, however, were critical of their colleagues protesting the visit of the Mexican president. State Assemblyman Rocky Chavez, a Republican from Oceanside and a former Marine, said it did not help the process of trying to get Tahmooressi, an Afghanistan war veteran, back to the U.S. “This is simply not the time to play politics when the well-being of this veteran’s life hangs in the balance,” Chavez said in a statement. He said members of Congress were working behind the scenes to resolve the matter.
See PROTEST PAGE 12A