Bentley Uses Campaign Funds to Pay Mason’s Legal Fees
After a lawsuit, a push for impeachment and many legal fees regarding his alleged affair, Governor Bentley’s campaign funds account is almost empty.
Bentley’s campaign finance report filed Tuesday shows the governor’s campaign paid more than $320,000 in legal bills in 2016.
The governor, who by law cannot seek re-election, reported loaning his campaign $50,000. That enabled him to end the year with a $25,000 balance.
Gov. Bentley’s attorney, confirms $8,912.40 of that was associated with fees involving Rebekah Mason.
Political anaylst Steve Flowers says he doesn’t think Bentley has done anything illegal.
“For example, Mike Hubbard used his campaign funds for his defense when he was prosecuted and ultimately convicted over in Lee County, so it’s okay for Bentley to use it because he was being prosecuted so-to-speak by the House Judiciary Committee for impeachment purposes. Now where it gets a little gray, we’ve never had this happen before where someone is allegedly the governor’s girlfriend, this is not a state employee being used to defend her legal fees, too. So that’s a gray area. That ground has never been plowed before. I don’t know about her defense costs,” said Flowers.
The use of campaign funds for personal use is prohibited under both the Ethics Act and the Fair Campaign Practices Act.
But they can be used in situations that pertain to the person’s status or job. So, while Governor Bentley is protected, it’s unclear if Rebekah Mason is protected under this Act.
