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Alabama Supreme Court lifts Bentley impeachment stay

Brian Lyman
Montgomery Advertiser

The Alabama Supreme Court Saturday lifted a temporary restraining order blocking impeachment hearings against Gov. Robert Bentley.

Governor Robert Bentley reiterates that he is not resigning during a news conference on the capitol steps in Montgomery, Ala., on Friday April 7, 2017.

The unanimous decision means the process that could lead to Bentley's removal from office -- sparked by allegations that the governor had an affair with senior political adviser Rebekah Caldwell Mason and misused state resources pursuing it -- will resume Monday morning.

"They clearly understood this is a significant and historic issue regarding the separation of powers between the branches of government and clearly want to address it," Jack Sharman, the House Judiciary Committee's special counsel, said in a phone interview Saturday afternoon.

The court did not issue an opinion with its ruling. Justice Glenn Murdock recused himself from the decision. The justices ordered briefs filed in the matter by 1 p.m. Monday, but the hearings will go on regardless.

Bentley's attorneys in two court hearings Friday that the schedule adopted by the committee gave the governor little time to prepare a defense against allegations in a 131-page report released Friday afternoon. The report, based on interviews with 20 witnesses and 10,000 pages of documents, contained allegations that the governor pursued an inappropriate relationship with Mason; threatened those who knew or who he believed knew about the relationship and used law enforcement officers to recover recordings of conversations made between the governor and Mason. The report also contains accusations that Bentley brought Mason with him in state vehicles and aircraft, at times overriding his security detail to do so.

The governor has acknowledged making inappropriate remarks to Mason, but both deny a sexual relationship or any wrongdoing. Bentley has steadfastly refused to resign despite calls from legislative leaders for him to step aside. The governor's team also said the committee had to provide Bentley with specific charges and give him the opportunity to confront and cross-examine witnesses. Montgomery Circuit Court Judge Greg Griffin, appointed by the governor in 2014, granted a 10-day TRO against the hearings after arguments Friday.

Ross Garber, representing the governor in the impeachment investigation, said in a statement they would file a brief with the Supreme Court Monday afternoon.

"It's disappointing to hear the committee will plow forward while the Supreme Court is considering the case," the statement said. "We have no idea what the committee has planned for Monday or who its witnesses will be."

Ross Garber, an attorney for Alabama Governor Robert Bentley, speaks during a press conference in Montgomery, Ala., on Thursday March 30, 2017.

The House Judiciary Committee's attorneys say the hearings are not legal proceedings, but an investigation like one conducted by a grand jury, and argue Bentley has more protections than other investigative targets. The governor's legal team will have a limited ability to mount a defense and ask questions. But those questions will have to go to House Judiciary Committee chairman Mike Jones, R-Andalusia, who can choose not to allow them.

Sharman and Alabama Law Institute Director Othni Lathram argued in court Friday that the Constitution delegated powers to pursue impeachment entirely to the Alabama Legislature. Jones in a statement said it was a "great day for the Constitution of Alabama."

"I want to thank the members of the Alabama Supreme Court for quickly acting on our appeal and recognizing, what a circuit court judge didn't understand, that there are three branches of government and the Alabama Legislature is free to conduct its business as prescribed in the state constitution," the statement said.

Jack Sharman special counsel for the House Judiciary Committee speaks to the press following a hearing on a motion from Governor Robert Bentley to stop the House's impeachment process and the release of a impeachment report on Friday, April 7, 2017, in Montgomery, Ala.

Bentley has no shortage of issues requiring attorneys. The Alabama Ethics Commission Wednesday found probable cause that the governor had violated ethics and campaign finance laws, and referred charges to the Montgomery County District Attorney for consideration. The Alabama attorney general's office is also conducting an investigation, though it is not clear what its focus is.

The governor Friday apologized for his actions, but criticized those who he said had "taken pleasure in humiliating and shaming me and shaming my family, shaming my friends."