Questions swirling around the capitol Tuesday now that former Governor Robert Bentley is out of office and former Lt. Governor Kay Ivey is now the 45 Governor of the state of Alabama. Mason was appointed by former Gov. Robert Bentley (R-Ala.) back in 2011, and he was sacked this morning. I pray every morning for wisdom and guidance and forgiveness for the sins that I commit.
The outgoing governor, who is leaving office in the middle of his second term, has been plagued by scandal since the revelation of an affair with his former senior political adviser, Rebekah Caldwell Mason, came to light past year. While audio footage of the telephone discussions suggests a physical relationship, he denied the allegation, and only admitted to the "mistake" of sexually suggestive talk.
"We have referred some additional things to Ethics - we are in constant contact with Ethics", Merrill said.
"Baby, let me know what I am going to do when I start locking the door", Bentley told Mason, the Huffington Post reports. "We literally had to start from scratch", said Sen.
In August of that year Bentley's wife Dianne filed for divorce and in September an agreement was finalized.
She added: "To get elected, Republicans told Alabamians they were the party of integrity and family values, yet they govern by fattening their own pockets, having love affairs, and disrespecting the founding principles of our government". In one text, the governor accidentally sent a message meant for Mason to his wife of 50 years.
It is not clear as to whether church discipline was exercised and the two were expelled, or whether they voluntarily left. "I continue to pray for each of them".
But a series of events unfolded over the past few days that intensified the pressure on the Republican Governor to make a decision about whether to keep defending himself in a state House and state court or to step down.
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A month after the affair evidence came to light, lawmakers moved to impeach Bentley since he refused to resign.
"There are no grounds for impeachment, and I will vigorously defend myself and [my] administration from this political attack", he tweeted.
The 72-year-old Ivey is from Wilcox County, the same rural area where U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions grew up.
What happened within the Bentley-Mason affair is that the governor gradually surrendered the integrity and power of his office to an aide with whom he had romantic feelings.
"If you've got something good, people want to be part of it", he said. Among the legal particulars against him were a charge of using campaign funds to pay legal bills for Mason, and a House Judiciary Committee report which concluded that the governor created an "atmosphere of intimidation" to cover up the relationship.
In taking the plea deal, Bentley avoids jail time. He also added that he can not subject his family, friends as well the dedicated staff and the cabinet to face the consequences of his actions in the past. We need leaders who respect and understand the needs of the people.
Zeigler is asking Governor Kay Ivey to void the special senate election declared by former governor Robert Bentley.
"Today is a dark day in Alabama, but also it's one of opportunity", she said during the ceremony. Her first priorities as governor, she said during a short televised speech, are to "steady the ship" and to improve Alabama's image. Join us in a conversation about world events, the newsgathering process or whatever aspect of the news universe you find interesting or important.
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