Following the indictment of Governor Rick Perry (R-TX) for threatening to veto funding for the state’s public integrity unit after a Democratic District Attorney refused to resign for a drunk driving incident, ABC and CBS did their best to play up the charges against the Texas Republican.

CBS reporter Manuel Bojorquez provided the most hyperbolic commentary by proclaiming “even if he is eventually cleared of these charges, he may have to deal with the political embarrassment of a mugshot.”

On Saturday, August 16 all three network evening newscasts did provide numerous soundbites of Governor Perry’s repudiation of the charges against him, however only NBC Nightly News bothered to include any quotes of both Republicans and Democrats who have condemned the indictment. Furthermore, none of the “big three” mentioned that the office involved in prosecuting Perry has a long history of targeting Republican politicians, including former House Majority Leader Tom Delay.

NBC’s Kristen Welker was the only reporter to spotlight how there’s “largely bipartisan support for Perry with former Obama advisor David Axelrod tweeting that the indictment “seems pretty sketchy” and potential 2016 rival Jeb Bush calling the charges politically motivated and ridiculous.”

Instead of mentioning this important detail, ABC’s Dan Harris introduced a report on Perry by hyping “we saw the spectacle of a potential presidential contender in a high stakes fight this is really being watched all over America.” Reporter Jeff Zeleney promoted how “it's a tough legal case to prove, but could still complicate his political ambitions” but never once considered that the lawsuit was designed to hurt his political ambitions from the beginning.

The ABC reporter concluded by doing his best to cast doubt on the Texas Republican’s political future by proclaiming “he's still planning on visiting New Hampshire next week to keep those 2016 hopes alive. But before leaving Texas, he must stop at the courthouse for his arraignment.”

On the CBS Evening News, reporter Manuel Bojorquez did note how the indictment of Perry came from a “heavily Democratic county” but failed to inform his viewers that the district attorney’s office leading the investigation has a history of targeting Texas Republican politicians.

Rather than acknowledge the partisan history of this office, Bojorquez concluded his piece by editorializing how “there is no word on when the governor will be booked. Jim, even if he is eventually cleared of these charges, he may have to deal with the political embarrassment of a mugshot.”

See relevant transcripts below.