Gov. Bentley a “No Show” for State Auditor Summons

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Jim Ziegler waited in his office crowded with news cameras until 10 a.m.

With an empty chair and no sign of the governor, Ziegler decided to move to the next step.

He’s filing a writ of mandamus with the Montgomery Circuit Court.

“Should the circuit court of Montgomery issue a writ of mandamus the witness would be required to appear under penalties of contempt of court,” said Ziegler.

He’s still looking for answers about how the governor used state property during the time he was engaging in what he admitted was an inappropriate relationship with former aide Rebekah Mason.

The legislature is continuing to look at impeaching the governor, but the state auditor doesn’t think anything will happen soon.

“In 2017 legislative session, the impeachment can come back up at that time. The people of Alabama do not want to wait until 2017 to have the air cleared on the multiple problems in the Bentley administration,” said Ziegler.

But there’s one big problem keeping Ziegler from filing his court documents and that’s money.

His office doesn’t have the funds to take any legal action.

“The holdup being will the law firm donate their services or are we going to have to pass the plate and get citizens to donate. And for that we’ll have to know what our goal is for fundraising.”

Bentley said that he didn’t plan on going to Ziegler’s office Monday.

In a statement released more than a week ago, that governor says quote “The appropriate legal process is through the Alabama Ethics Commission where the Auditor has already filed a complaint.”