The Lastest on the Impeachment of Gov. Bentley
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) – The Latest on the scandal involving Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley (all times local):
12:30 p.m.
The special counsel in an impeachment probe of Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley says he is moving forward with the release of an investigatory report.
Special Counsel Jack Sharman plans to release a 100-page report Friday afternoon that includes thousands of pages of exhibits. The report will be given to the House Judiciary Committee as the committee weighs whether to recommend impeaching Bentley.
The governor’s attorneys rushed to court to try to block the report hours ahead of its scheduled release. But Montgomery County Circuit Judge Roman Shaul said his inclination “at this point would not be to restrain this report.”
Bentley has been engulfed in scandal since recordings surfaced in 2016 of him making suggestive remarks to a female aide before his divorce. Bentley said Monday that he had been humiliated as “embarrassing details” of his personal life were made public over the last year. Bentley said he’s been told that will happen again.
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11:50 a.m.
The special counsel in an impeachment probe of Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley urged a judge to let lawmakers move forward with hearings and the release of his investigative report.
Jack Sharman told Montgomery County Circuit Judge Roman Shaul on Friday that Bentley’s request to block the report and hearings is unconstitutional.
Bentley has been engulfed in scandal since recordings surfaced in 2016 of him making suggestive remarks to a female aide before his divorce. Bentley has acknowledged making personal mistakes but maintains he did nothing illegal.
Sharman says the court doesn’t have a right to interfere with the hearing process at this point.
Sharman had planned to release the investigative findings on Friday with a lengthy report that has 3,000 pages of exhibits. The House Judiciary Committee is scheduled to begin impeachment hearings Monday.
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9:40 a.m.
Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley’s lawyers are in court in an attempt to block the release of a potentially embarrassing report related to a sex scandal and efforts to impeach him.
The governor’s lawyers on Friday asked a judge to temporarily block the release of an investigative report by the special counsel for the House Judiciary Committee. The report is supposed to be released Friday and the committee is scheduled to begin impeachment hearings Monday.
Attorney David Byrne told the judge that the governor is not being treated fairly in the quickly moving process.
Bentley has been engulfed in scandal since recordings surfaced in 2016 of him making suggestive remarks to a female aide before his divorce. Bentley has acknowledged making personal mistakes but maintained he did nothing illegal.
Earlier this week, the state Ethics Commission found probable cause that the Republican governor broke state ethics and campaign finance laws and referred the case to a prosecutor’s office.
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9:20 a.m.
Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley has filed a lawsuit seeking to block the release of a potentially embarrassing report related to a sex scandal that has led to an effort to impeach him.
In the lawsuit, Bentley calls the impeachment process “fundamentally unfair” and asks a court to block the release of the report by the Judiciary Committee’s special counsel.
Online court records show the governor’s office filed the lawsuit moments before he spoke against the House Judiciary Committee on Friday morning.
Earlier this week, the state Ethics Commission found probable cause that the Republican governor broke state ethics and campaign finance laws, accusations Bentley denies.
Bentley has been engulfed in scandal since recordings surfaced in 2016 of him making suggestive remarks to a female aide before his divorce. Bentley has acknowledged making personal mistakes but maintained he did nothing illegal or to merit his removal from office.
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8:55 a.m.
Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley vowed again Friday he won’t resign even as his political troubles mounted and lawmakers said they would move forward with impeachment hearings because of a sex scandal.
The 74-year-old governor hastily called a news conference in which he told constituents he knew he had let them down.
Earlier this week, the state Ethics Commission found probable cause that the Republican governor broke state ethics and campaign finance laws, accusations Bentley denies.
Bentley has been engulfed in scandal since recordings surfaced in 2016 of him making suggestive remarks to a female aide before his divorce. Bentley has acknowledged making personal mistakes but maintained he did nothing illegal or to merit his removal from office.
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