MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Governor Robert Bentley’s illicit affair with his former senior advisor, Rebekah Mason, has for months made him the subject of public scorn, and it now appears that it has made him the target of a grand jury investigation.
According to court documents, multiple reports and corroborating Yellowhammer sources in Montgomery, the Alabama Attorney General’s Office has empaneled a special grand jury in Alabama’s capital city and tasked it with unraveling the tangled web of accusations that have been levied against the sitting governor and individuals around him.
Among those who are believed to have already testified before the grand jury are numerous current and former law enforcement officials who were among the first to find out about the Bentley-Mason affair, which set off an internal power struggle that ultimately resulted in Alabama Law Enforcement Agency head Spencer Collier being replaced by Stan Stabler.
Mr. Bentley is also believed to have testified. Some legal experts Yellowhammer spoke with Thursday said this could cast doubt on assumptions that Bentley is a target of the investigation, because it is rare for a targeted individual to testify under such circumstances.
Mr. Collier served as the state’s top cop before being terminated by Governor Bentley in March of this year. A civil suit filed by Mr. Collier alleges that Governor Bentley terminated his employment after Mr. Collier refused to lie to a prosecutor in matters related to then-House Speaker Mike Hubbard’s ethics case. He also says the Bentley administration purposefully planted false stories about him in the press and suggests Governor Bentley promoted Stan Stabler to take his place because Mr. Stabler remained loyal to him in spite of growing evidence Bentley was abusing his office to facilitate his affair.
Governor Bentley says Mr. Collier was “terminated for cause” after an internal investigation revealed Mr. Collier had misappropriated state funds.
In March Yellowhammer released audio recordings exposing Bentley’s intimate relationship with Mrs. Mason.
In the wake of those revelations, information began to trickle out that revealed the depth of the Bentley-Mason affair and the potential misuse of state resources to facilitate it.
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The Alabama House of Representatives went on to begin impeachment proceedings against Governor Bentley, which he called “political grandstanding.”
Impeachment proceedings have since then been bogged down in the House Judiciary Committee led by Rep. Mike Jones (R-Andalusia), a Bentley defender, but the lawmaker who spearheaded the initial impeachment push believes the grand jury could add new fuel to the fire.
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State Rep. Ed Henry (R-Hartselle) released the following statement Thursday:
I filed articles of impeachment against Gov. Bentley in April because it was apparent even then that dishonesty, deception, and corruption were running rampant behind the locked doors of his office, so I am gratified to learn that a grand jury is conducting a criminal probe into his actions and those of his closest aides.
If we, as public officials, are going to be true servants of the citizens who elected us and offer ourselves as good stewards of their taxpayer dollars, we must root out wrongdoing wherever it may occur in government regardless of party affiliation.
I know that Democrats across the aisle may be tempted to exploit this revelation for partisan purposes, so it is important to remember that a Republican filed the articles of impeachment against Gov. Bentley and Republicans passed the toughest-in-the-nation ethics law that is achieving success in punishing corruption that takes place. It is also difficult for Democrats to point fingers when the last Democrat elected governor of Alabama, Don Siegelman, remains confined to a prison cell in Louisiana.
If anything, this grand jury probe offers further evidence that it is time to hand the reins of state government over to a new generation of Republicans who are ready to step away from the corrupt politics of the past and have the courage to implement needed reforms that are rooted in proven conservative ideals and principles.
*This article has been updated to include some legal experts’ opinions casting doubt on Bentley being a target of the grand jury.
