Robert Bentley Resigns To Avoid Impeachment

Robert Bentley resigned after pleading guilty to two misdemeanour campaign finance violations as part of a plea deal with prosecutors. He pleaded guilty Monday afternoon.

Bentley, 74, was embroiled in controversy ever since recordings surfaced a year ago of him making sexually charged comments to political adviser Rebekah Caldwell Mason, 45.

Alabama’s Republican Governor, Robert Bentley, stepped down yesterday.

Alabama’s GOP Steering Committee had called for Bentley’s resignation, as had the Republican leaders of both the House and Senate.

“Baby, let me know what I am going to do when I start locking the door”, Bentley told Mason, the Huffington Post reports. The Republican candidate not only ran ads featuring his wife and family, but Bentley also said he believes so strongly in the sanctity of traditional marriage that as far as he’s concerned, when same-sex couples Wednesday, their marriages should be dismissed as “social experiments”.

However, WAAY 31 did have the opportunity to speak with Governor Kay Ivey’s press secretary today and she told WAAY 31 the governor hasn’t established whether or not she’ll move the special election.

“I’ve always believed the honor of serving as your governor was a calling that God placed on my life”, Gov. Robert Bentley stated in his resignation speech. It’s possible Ivey will not accept some resignations, Jones said.

While certain search engines like Google still have to update search results for sites like the office of governor and lt.gov for Alabama, the official state websites‘ and social media accounts have been updated to reflect the change in power.

The charges were failing to file a major contribution report and knowingly using campaign contributions for personal use. He is also not expected to seek public office again.

After Bentley agreed to the deal, the Alabama House Judiciary Committee suspended hearings which began on Monday that could have led to his impeachment.

Bentley has denied having a physical relationship with Mason, who is married, and had repeatedly vowed not to resign, saying he had done nothing illegal. She was Bentley’s lieutenant governor.

His tryst with 45-year-old former adviser Rebekah Caldwell Mason and sending seemingly endless romantic texts had Alabamians from Mobile to Huntsville shaking their collective heads.

“Over time, the nature of the Bentley-Mason relationship also became more obvious to the governor’s staff”, the report read.

INSKEEP: OK. So what happened, given that Bentley had said he was going to fight?

When Ivey initially ran for governor in 2010 before switching to the race for lieutenant governor, she faced scrutiny for her role overseeing the Prepaid Affordable College Tuition (PACT), a program that allowed Alabama parents to pay college tuition years in advance. “I hate to use the term ‘culture of corruption, ‘ but we seem to have more than our share of these things”.

Some Alabama politicians also feel that the position of United States Senator, now held by Bentley appointed Luther Strange, should be elected by the people. He says that, when he started going after the governor on these issues, road projects in his district were suddenly cancelled.