Todd J. Van Emst/Opelika-Auburn News/Pool Former Alabama Gov. Bob Riley resumed his testimony in the ethics trial of the state’s House speaker. Riley returned to the witness stand Monday morning. Prosecutors began questioning Riley on Friday about emails House Speaker Mike Hubbard sent to him. Hubbard wrote that he wanted to work for Riley’s new lobbying firm. Riley says the…
There were some tense moments in a Lee County courtroom during Speaker of the House Mike Hubbard’s ethics trial today. Former Gov. Bob Riley and his daughter Minda Riley Campbell took the stand with a defensive tone towards the prosecution. In an unusual twist, Campbell made a final plea to the jury that Hubbard did nothing wrong. Riley and Campbell are…
Testimony resumes in indicted Alabama House Speaker, Mike Hubbard’s ethics trial. Robert Abrams was the first person called to the stand to testify Thursday. Abrams is current owner of SiO2, which is a medical products company in Auburn. The 81-year-old Abrams has a THICK New York accent and kept things interesting with his testimony. His testimony has brought laughter to…
We’ve been drawing a lot of attention to the fact that Governor Bentley testified in this case. And that may not even be so much because of what he said or didn’t say, but simply because he was there. Political Analyst Steve Flowers says the most telling witness so far has been Jim Sumner with the Alabama Ethics Commission. Flowers…
Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley arrived at a Lee County courthouse to testify in the ethics trial of Alabama House speaker Mike Hubbard. Prosecutors asked Bentley about meetings with Hubbard and if Hubbard lobbied him on behalf of a business client. Alabama ethics law prohibits legislators from being paid to lobby executive branch offices. The governor was met at the courthouse…
Testimony resumed in the ethics trial of Alabama House Speaker Mike Hubbard after the long holiday weekend. Prosecutors have indicated that today they will call a number of influential lobbyists and company owners as witnesses. Prosecutors say Hubbard asked them to either make investments in his printing company or to help him find business clients. Most of the testimony this…
Prosecutors are nearing the end of the first week of testimony in their ethics case against Alabama House Speaker Mike Hubbard. The attorney general’s office plans to call a number of witnesses related to Hubbard’s consulting contract with a gas utility in southeast Alabama. Hubbard is accused of using his position as speaker to lobby the governor and others on…
Testimony is continuing in the ethics trial of the Alabama House Speaker Mike Hubbard. A state legislator and others are expected to testify Thursday about Hubbard’s role in 2013 budget language that could have benefited a pharmacy cooperative that was paying Hubbard. Hubbard’s former chief of staff testified Wednesday that Hubbard didn’t tell him about two consulting contracts and that…
Prosecutors and defense lawyers are offering jurors opposing views of Alabama House speaker Mike Hubbard as he stands trial on felony ethics charges. Prosecutors told jurors in opening statements Tuesday that Hubbard made some $2.3 million illegally off his elected office and past chairmanship of the Alabama GOP. But the defense argues that Hubbard was scrupulously honest, even asking for…
Prosecutors are laying out their case against indicted Alabama House Speaker Mike Hubbard. In opening statements Tuesday, prosecutor Matt Hart told jurors that Hubbard took contracts worth tens of thousands of dollars each month from companies that wanted to influence legislation. Hart said Hubbard needed the money because he was losing a job with the company that broadcasts Auburn University…
