Texas Gov. Rick Perry has been indicted on two felony charges by an Austin grand jury in connection with a veto of funding for state public corruption prosecutors.

An ethics complaint was filed last summer, after Perry’s vow to block $7.5 million in state funding for a public corruption unit in the office of Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg, if Lehmberg did not resign after a drunken driving charge in April 2013.

Lehmberg pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated, and a video of the jailed District Attorney shows her screaming at jailhouse staff and kicking cell doors. She served 21 days of the 45 day sentence, and ultimately refused to quit.

Lehmberg's refusal to quit led to Perry carrying out his threat, saying that he would not support funding an office “when the person charged with ultimate responsibility of that unit has lost the public’s confidence.”

Veto threats are are not uncommon for governors, but in Perry's case, critics say he crossed the line by attempting to leverage Lehmberg’s arrest in order to stop her from investigating a cancer research program that had been one of his centerpiece initiatives as Governor.

Critics also state that Lehmberg, a Democrat, was not only asked to resign, but would have had to allow Perry to name her replacement.

The veto meant that the Public Integrity Unit, which investigates ethics complaints against politicians statewide and is housed in Lehmberg's office, was left without a $7.5 million two-year allocation. Travis County commissioners later agreed to partially fund the operation, but two employees lost their jobs.

The general counsel for Perry issued a written statement, saying the governor acted "in accordance with the veto authority afforded to every governor under the Texas Constitution. We will continue to aggressively defend the governor's lawful and constitutional action, and believe we will ultimately prevail."

Perry's attorney David L. Botsford called the indictment a "political abuse of the court system." He said the action "violated the separation of powers" and "sets a dangerous precedent by allowing a grand jury to punish the exercise of a lawful and constitutional authority afforded to the Texas governor."

Perry can continue to serve as governor while under indictment, and if convicted. However, he runs the risk of being stripped of office through a separate legislative process. The charges carry a punishment of up to 109 years in prison and $20,000 in fines.