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…
A trial almost three years in the making is in its final chapters this week. Jury selection for the case against Speaker of the House Mike Hubbard begins May 16. Hubbard faces 23 counts of using public offices for private gain. Two of the charges allege he was paid to represent companies before the governor’s office. Another claims he sought help in…
A judge has postponed House Speaker Mike Hubbard’s ethics trial that had been scheduled to start next month. Lee County Circuit Judge Jacob Walker on Monday agreed to delay the trial while a prosecutor recovers from knee surgery. The attorney general’s office last week asked for a short postponement of the March 29 pretrial conference and April 11 trial. Walker…
The US Attorney for Alabama’s Middle District has responded to a letter from several Alabama lawmakers asking for the federal government to look into the ethics investigation of House Speaker Mike Hubbard. George Beck held a press conference Friday morning to say he officially hasn’t received the letter but has read it through various media outlets. The letter, which is…
Republicans were unable to muster enough votes to put “right-to-work” language in the Alabama Constitution saying workers can’t be required to join unions. The proposed constitutional amendment narrowly failed in the House of Representatives. Lawmakers were three votes short of the 63 needed. The proposal is largely symbolic since Alabama is already a “right-to-work’ state. State law for decades has…
State prosecutors are firing back at House Speaker Mike Hubbard’s claims of misconduct in his ethics case, calling them “a desperate last minute attempt to avoid a trial.” Prosecutors filed a response Thursday to the defense accusation that a political consultant had dozens of conservations with lead prosecutor matt Hart. Baron Coleman wrote in defense affidavit that he used the…
A judge has set a hearing on indicted House Speaker Mike Hubbard’s claim of prosecutorial misconduct in his ethics case. Circuit Judge Jacob Walker set a Feb. 10 hearing in Opelika. Hubbard on Tuesday filed a renewed motion to dismiss the charges after a political consultant said he communicated regularly about the case with prosecutor Matt Hart. Baron Coleman wrote…
Indicted House Speaker Mike Hubbard is asking a judge to dismiss ethics charges against him after a political consultant said he discussed the grand jury with a state prosecutor. Hubbard’s defense filed the accusation in a motion Tuesday. Political consultant Baron Coleman said in an affidavit that he had between 50 and 100 conversations with prosecutor Matt Hart about the…
The 2016 Alabama Legislative session begins Tuesday. Last week, House Speaker Mike Hubbard and other Republican leaders spoke out about their goals. They say the budget is their main priority, after an extended budget battle in the 2015 session. Other bills on their agenda include teacher pay raises and setting up a school security task force. Governor Robert Bentley will…
House Speaker Mike Hubbard says he thought the Republican Party steering committee was “out of their lane” to ask him to give up his leadership duties as he heads to trial on ethics charges. Hubbard says leadership decisions should fall to House members, and he believes legislators support him. Hubbard says he promised House members that his trial would not…
