Alabama Governor Robert Bentley has been under fire. The Alabama Ethics Commission found reason to believe he committed four felony crimes, and he’s in serious trouble.
The focus is on an improper relationship with Rebekah Caldwell Mason, his senior political advisor.
Now, he will resign:
It Is becoming clear that Robert Bentley will not last the week as governor.
Sources in Montgomery say his lawyers have been involved in negotiations to step down from the governorship and plead to lesser charges, allowing Lt. Gov. Kay Ivey to step up as governor.
Sources believe he will resign the governorship by Wednesday.
Bentley has been under fire for the better part of the year but pressure over the last several days has mounted to untenable heights.
Governor Bentley was recorded by his wife having conversations with Mason, where he described sexual activity. And he allegedly demanded that Mason be allowed to travel in official vehicles after leaving the state payroll, then supposedly used a bodyguard to break up with her.
The details are graphic and fit for a Lifetime TV movie:
Starting in 2013, according to Bentley’s now ex-wife, Dianne, Mason began staying overnight in the pool house of the governor’s mansion, an arrangement that raised eyebrows in Montgomery.
At first, Dianne Bentley excused the frequent sleepovers, according to the report. Mason’s home with her husband, the head of the governor’s Office of Faith Based and Community Initiatives, was in Tuscaloosa, nearly a two-hour drive from the state capitol in Montgomery. But the first lady of Alabama, a devout Christian who would write prayer requests for her husband on sticky notes that she kept in her personal devotional, was eventually informed by Heather Hannah, her chief of staff, that the governor and Mason would “jump” when interrupted by other members of his staff and that he would return home from work with makeup on his shirts.
The governor’s wife and Hannah were among the more than 20 witnesses interviewed by the special counsel appointed by the Alabama House Judiciary Committee. The report is based on their testimony, as well as a review of more than 10,000 pages of documents, text message transcripts, and emails.
Other members of the governor’s staff began to notice Bentley’s increasingly close relationship with his chief adviser. According to the House committee’s report, Bentley would call Mason “baby” in meetings, and Ray Lewis, the leader of Bentley’s security detail, told the House committee that he had once observed Mason leaving the governor’s office with tousled hair, her outfit disheveled.
This is the type of behavior former President Bill Clinton took part in throughout his long career. But Republicans are held to a higher moral standard, and it’s clear that Governor Bentley’s actions were unacceptable.
Ironically, or perhaps not, Bentley made a big to-do during the 2016 Presidential election campaign, saying he would not support fellow Republican Donald Trump, over comments Trump made towards women.
I’ve been told that Bentley has essentially agreed to resign, working on terms. #alpolitics
— Josh Moon (@Josh_Moon) April 10, 2017
#BREAKING: ALGOP joins other Republican leadership in calling for Governor Robert Bentley’s resignation. pic.twitter.com/w36TO4wAOq
— Josh Ninke (@JoshNinkeTV) April 10, 2017
This is a breaking news story.