Rick Perry Consulting for Big Donor

Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry is reporting income of $250,000 from the company of top donor Peter Holt, helping boost the Republican presidential candidate’s family income past $700,000 over the last 18 months, new disclosures reveal.

The “consulting income” from Holt Texas Ltd., known commercially as Holt Cat, was included on his latest personal financial disclosure that all presidential candidates have to file.

Perry also reported retirement income of $130,882 stemming from his long service in state government. Perry had begun drawing his pension before leaving office, stirring controversy and eventually leading the Legislature to close the loophole that allowed him to double dip.

He reported state income, stemming from his salary as governor, of $133,215.

Elsewhere, Perry reported $96,000 in honorariums for speeches he gave during the last week of April. According to the disclosure, he was paid to address the Asian American Hotel Owners Association in Long Beach, Calif.; Ashland University in Ashland, Ohio; and Microsoft in Houston. 

Shortly after he stepped down as governor, Perry signed on with the ubiquitous Washington Speakers Bureau, which offered him up as an expert on a wide range of topics. His team had said he would stop giving paid speeches were he to run for president, and he apparently made good on that promise by backing out of a speaking gig in California set for a week after he announced his 2016 campaign.  

Perry’s wife, former Texas First Lady Anita Perry, reported income of $92,000 in consulting income from the Texas Association Against Sexual Assault.

The reporting period covers all of 2014 and the current year through the first week of July, Perry’s campaign said.

The report shows Anita Perry has a financial interest in Energy Transfer Equity, the pipeline company headed by another major Perry donor, billionaire Kelcy Warren. But it does not mention any income from Perry’s service on the board of Warren’s Energy Transfer Partners. The company has indicated Perry is on track to make this year what other board members earned last year — as much as $214,100, according to SEC records. 

Perry's team has said he plans to stay on the board while running for president. In early-voting Iowa, a subsidiary of Energy Transfer Partners has made a bid to build a pipeline across the state that has supporters and critics on both ends of the political spectrum. 

Warren donated $250,000 to Perry’s 2012 presidential Super PAC, known as Make Us Great Again, co-founded by Austin lobbyist Mike Toomey. 

The consulting fee from Holt’s company demonstrates the close ties between the two. Holt, owner of the San Antonio Spurs, is CEO of Holt Cat, the authorized dealer in over 100 Texas counties for Caterpillar, Inc., a heavy equipment and engine manufacturer. Holt has donated more than $600,000 to Perry’s campaigns since 2000, records show.

In 2008, while Perry was governor, Caterpillar Inc., received a $10 million award from the Enterprise Fund to expand its facilities near San Antonio. Holt Cat and Caterpillar Inc. are separate entities.

Perry also staged his 2013 retirement announcement at the Holt Cat facilities in San Antonio.

Warren and Holt are among dozens of prominent Republican donors who sat on an advisory board for the group that laid the groundwork for Perry's 2016 bid

The FEC had granted Perry a 45-day extension to file the personal financial disclosure report, raising questions about whether he would qualify for the first GOP presidential debate. Fox News, the host of the debate, has said candidates must file "all necessary paperwork" with the FEC to be eligible for the Aug. 6 event. While Perry received the extension, his campaign had already filed the report as of Friday.