Amid claims that the impeachment probe against Governor Robert Bentley has “gone off the rails,” one House lawmaker is stepping forward in defense of the committee’s special counsel.
Last week, the governor’s attorney, Ross Garber, filed an emergency motion with the House Judiciary Committee in hopes of blocking the release of a report on the impeachment of Governor Bentley. He later said in a press conference that the proceedings against the governor have been “hijacked.”
In his statement, he went on to take direct shots at House Judiciary Committee’s Special Counsel Jack Sharman, suggesting that proceedings against the governor are politically motivated.
Rep. Jim Hill (R- Moody), who serves as the vice chair of the House Judiciary Committee, told the Associated Press that Sharman was simply doing his job.
“Jack Sharman is carrying out the duties assigned to him by the Judiciary Committee,” he said. “Jack has the complete support of the committee’s leadership.”
In an interview with WSFA, Sharman brushed off Garber’s reaction against his work. “I think this is a situation where the subject of the investigation doesn’t like the investigation, so in that circumstance you attack the investigator,” Sharman told the station. “Our plan is to keep moving forward as anticipated, to have a report to help the committee in whatever direction they feel appropriate.”
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 adviser Rebekah 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.
