HOUSTON — Governor Greg Abbott was in Houston for several campaign stops Tuesday and KHOU 11 was the only news organization to talk to him for an exclusive one-on-one interview. KHOU 11's Len Cannon asked the governor about criticism about his abortion policy and what’s next in the Uvalde investigation.
"Last year when you were criticized for having an abortion law with no exceptions for rape and incest, you said back then, ‘The number one goal in the state of Texas is to eliminate rape,’” said KHOU 11’s Len Cannon. "That is admirable governor, but hardly possible.”
“Well, if we don't try to eliminate rape or make that mistake, surely, we can all agree that we should do all we possibly can,” Abbott said. “If Harris County judges were enforcing the law and keeping rapists off the streets as opposed to releasing them on bail, that alone would mean that more than 1,000 women over the past three years just in Houston, Texas, alone would not have been victims of sexual assault. So you’ve got to start somewhere.”
Nearly four months since the massacre in Uvalde, still no answers as to why officers waited and waited and waited to act.
"Governor, it boggles my mind and I'm sure you've thought about this -- 77 minutes before the gunman was taken down," said Cannon.
“Completely unacceptable, a complete violation of the standards that we have in place in this state,” Abbott answered. “Contrary to what everybody has known for years of what has to be done is unacceptable and there must be accountability for it.”
“I interviewed you on July 27,” Cannon said to Governor Abbott. “I asked you about releasing body cam footage from DPS troopers at Robb Elementary in Uvalde and you said it's in the public interest, should be soon as possible. It has not happened yet. Why not?”
“As I understand it, the reason why DPS as well as other law enforcement, have not provided the body cam information is at the request of the district attorney,” Abbott answered. “There was actually a court hearing on that matter a few weeks ago, where people who were requesting the information to be released, took before judge their claim. And based upon the district attorney's testimony, the court judge ruled that that information did not have to be released at this time. But I still support that information being released as soon as possible.”
You can watch the full interview in the video below: