Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley is expected to resign by Wednesday, sources in the capitol told The Birmingham News Monday morning.
Impeachment hearings on Bentley’s scandalous relationship with a senior level aide, which was first uncovered in 2016, were set for Monday after the Alabama Ethics Commission uncovered evidence of four felony level crimes just last week.
Jeff Sessions, Robert Bentley, Donald Trump (Getty Images)
The Republican governor claimed innocence in a Friday statement, assuring Alabama voters who “want to know if I misused state resources, the answer is simply no. I have not.”
Members of both parties, including Senate Majority Leader Greg Reed and Speaker of the House Mac MacCutcheon, have called for Bentley’s resignation following the Ethics Commission’s findings.
“Gov. Bentley directed law enforcement to advance his personal interests and, in a process characterized by increasing obsession and paranoia, subjected career law enforcement officers to tasks intended to protect his reputation,” Jack Sharman, special counsel for the Alabama House Judiciary Committee noted in a Friday statement on the commission report.
Alabama Public Radio’s Pat Duggins said the “report paints a picture of Bentley as a paranoid bully who may have misused state vehicles and ordered state law officers to cover up his relationship with top aide Rebekah Caldwell Mason. Bentley says he said inappropriate things to Mason but he never had an affair.”
Robert Bentley (Getty Images)
Bentley’s resignation is likely part of a deal allowing him to plead down to a single misdemeanor charge.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.