By all accounts, Michael McCrum is a man of contradictions.
He’s been a prosecutor and a defense attorney. He’s backed both Republicans and Democrats for office. He’s a criminal defense attorney who had to defend himself earlier this year. Supporters say he’s a man who doesn’t seek the spotlight but always seems to find it.
Now the special prosecutor behind Gov. Rick Perry’s indictment is at the center of one of the biggest criminal cases in Texas political history. Last week, McCrum announced that a Travis County grand jury had handed up a two-count felony indictment of the longest-serving Texas governor, accusing Perry of abuse of official capacity and coercion of a public servant.
Perry denies he did anything wrong and has gone on the offensive. He’s launched a campaign to discredit the allegations, calling the prosecution baseless, partisan, a farce and a political witch hunt launched to “achieve at the courthouse what could not be achieved at the ballot box.”
Those who know McCrum say nothing could be further from the truth.
“As much as I love our governor, McCrum is no one’s puppet,” said Bobby Barrera, a San Antonio defense lawyer.
Devil in the details
McCrum, 57, grew up in San Antonio and graduated from then-Southwest Texas State University in 1978 with a degree in criminal science. He was president of Phi Kappa Tau fraternity and was a cheerleader. McCrum first worked as a police officer in Arlington and Dallas. He then earned a law degree at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio in 1985.
In 1989, after working in a private law firm, McCrum began an 11-year career as a federal prosecutor in San Antonio. During that time, he handled a wide range of cases, including drug, violence and economic crimes.
Solomon L. Wisenberg, now a Washington, D.C., attorney, worked as a prosecutor with McCrum at that time. He describes McCrum as ethical, thorough and charismatic in a courtroom, “but not in a loud or puffy way.”
“He had a job to do, and he took it very seriously,” Wisenberg said. “He looked at the law, he looked at the facts and tried to do the right thing.”
McCrum, who speaks Spanish, went into private practice in 2000. Barrera has seen McCrum in action as a prosecutor and defense lawyer and calls him a “cool operator in the courtroom” with an intense attention to minutia.
“He’s the devil in the details, because he will take a case apart down to its base level and then rebuild it,” Barrera said.
He said he has never heard any of McCrum’s colleagues cast aspersions on his integrity. But in January, prosecutors with the Bexar County district attorney’s office accused McCrum of contempt of court, saying he told an important witness in an intoxication manslaughter trial to avoid testifying. McCrum denied the allegations.
The 4th Court of Appeals later said the state had missed the deadline to file its claim against McCrum. Prosecutors have said they will appeal.
Political preference?
If McCrum has aligned himself with a political party, it’s not obvious.
He worked as an assistant U.S. attorney during the George H.W. Bush administration. In 2007, he gave contributions to two political candidates: $300 to Steven C. Hilbig, a Republican vying for the 4th Court of Appeals in San Antonio and $500 to U.S. Rep. Charlie Gonzalez, a San Antonio Democrat. The next year, he contributed $500 to a former federal prosecutor with whom he had previously worked, Republican Bert Richardson who was running for re-election as state district judge. Richardson lost and has served as senior district judge since.
Voting records for McCrum indicate that he doesn’t vote in primaries. McCrum declined to speak to the American-Statesman for this story.
In 2009, McCrum was nominated to be the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Texas under the Obama administration. Politicians from both parties — including Republican U.S. Sen. John Cornyn and Austin’s Democratic U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett — supported his nomination. The next year, he took himself out of the running, saying the process was taking too long and he needed to tend to his legal practice.
Special prosecutor
In June 2013, Perry vetoed a $7.5 million appropriation to District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg’s office, making good on a threat following her drunken driving arrest. Shortly afterward, a left-leaning watchdog group filed an ethics complaint against Perry.
Travis County prosecutors stepped aside for conflict-of-interest reasons. The county attorney’s office also declined involvement. The complaint eventually ended up with Judge Richardson, who tapped McCrum as the special prosecutor.
This week, after Republicans assailed the prosecution as political, one grand juror told the American-Statesman that McCrum was a “straight-shooter” who encouraged the group to fairly assess the facts.
“We all tried to be very straight and honest and do the very best we could to get to the truth,” grand juror Janna Bessin said.
McCrum — who has a wife and five children — is a member of Riverside Community Church in Bulverde, said Scott Heare, the lead pastor. The special prosecutor is active in Bible study and coaches middle school football at Bracken Christian School, Heare said.
“He’s not like a big powder puff either,” Heare said. “When it is on, it is on. He is going to fight. He’s not going to leave anything on the table.”
About the Author
