Bentley Impeachment Probe Underway
A committee of lawmakers opened impeachment hearings against Governor Robert Bentley today, beginning a probe on whether there are grounds to remove the two-term Republican from office.
“When you’re looking at impeaching a governor, a sitting governor, I don’t think we should take it lightly,” says House Judiciary Committee Chairman Mike Jones regarding the difficulty of the task at hand. “And so, when working and getting ready for these rules and procedures, we didn’t take it lightly. We did a great deal of work and preparation to prepare the members of the committee to adopt rules.”
The process is a lengthy, Jones says, and this is not sitting well with other state officials.
“You’ve heard of a ‘slow boat to China?’ Well, this impeachment process is a ‘slow boat on the Alabama River,” says State Auditor Jim Zeigler, a leading critic of Bentley. “The Mike Hubbard investigation and legal proceedings took three years. If the Bentley investigation takes that long, his term could be over. This is not acceptable. Justice delayed is justice denied,” Zeigler says.
Earlier this spring, 23 representatives signed impeachment article accusing Bentley of corruption and neglect of duty. The articles were filed after Bentley admitted making inappropriate sexual remarks to a former top advisor.
The committee will make a recommendation to the full House on whether impeachment grounds exist.
The impeachment hearings come in a season of political upheaval for GOP office holders.
Mike Hubbard was removed as House speaker after being convicted of ethics violations. Chief Justice Roy Moore faces possible removal after being accused of violating judicial ethics.
Claudette Colvin, who refused to move seats on a bus at start of civil rights movement, dies
Civil rights pioneer Claudette Colvin has died. She was 86. Her 1955 arrest for refusing to give up her seat on a segregated Montgomery bus helped spark the modern civil rights movement.
Claudette Colvin, who refused to move seats on a bus at start of civil rights movement, dies at 86
Colvin, at age 15, was arrested nine months before Rosa Parks gained international fame for also refusing to give up her seat on a segregated bus.
Republicans say Clintons risk contempt of Congress for not testifying on Epstein
House Republicans are seeking testimony as part of their investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The Clintons say they've already provided in writing what little they know.
FTC accuses AI search engine of ‘rampant consumer deception’
Federal officials say a company that operates hundreds of landing pages for AI answers is running an operation that has duped thousands of users, who were unable to stop costly monthly charges.
How Minnesota faith communities are resisting aggressive immigration operations
As immigration enforcement actions have ramped up in Minnesota, people of faith have been at the forefront of the response to ICE detentions and the killing of Renee Macklin Good by a federal agent.
‘My role was making movies that mattered,’ says Jodie Foster, as ‘Taxi Driver’ turns 50
Foster was just 12 years old when she starred in the 1976 film. "What luck to have been part of that, our golden age of cinema in the '70s," she says. Her latest film is Vie Privée (A Private Life).
