Ahead of the release of a critical report on the House investigation against Robert Bentley, the governor’s office is maneuvering to avoid another public embarrassment.
On Thursday, the governor’s attorney, Ross Garber, filed an emergency motion with the House Judiciary Committee in hopes of blocking the report’s release.
In a press conference, Garber said that the proceedings against the governor have “gone off the rails.”
“This emergency motion is requesting that the members of the judiciary committee take control of the investigation that is going off the rails, that they reign in their out of control special counsel. That they provide the due process provided by the House rules in the Constitution,” Garber said.
In his statement, he took direct shots at House Judiciary Committee’s Special Counsel Jack Sharman.
“In the special counsel’s letter to me, setting forth his intentions, [Sharman] said he was directed in this regard by the committee. I believe this is actually not true,” Garber said. “The committee did not meet, and I believe the vast majority of the members of the committee are in the dark about what the special counsel is up to.”
Garber went on to suggest that proceedings against the governor are politically motivated.
“You don’t impeach governors because you don’t like them,” Garber said. “You don’t impeach governors because of ethics violations. You impeach them for grave criminal misconduct.”
Sharman had announced that he would introduce a public report on April 7, which will be followed by hearings in the House. Bentley will be afforded the opportunity to respond and he will report to the House on May 4.
The governor is currently being investigated, and faces potential impeachment for corruption surrounding an alleged romantic relationship with his former advisor Rebeckah Caldwell Mason.
In articles of impeachment filed last year, members of the House of Representatives charged the governor with neglect of duty, corruption, incompetency, and offenses of moral turpitude. The articles never made it out of the House, and Bentley has not been tried.
