Bentley, 74, was booked into the Montgomery County Jail on Monday afternoon, charged with two misdemeanors. It would take a felony charge to remove him from office.
— Shawn Reynolds (@ShawnWTVM9) April 10, 2017
There was also a text reading "I love you Rebekah,” which Bentley, a grandfather of six, had accidentally sent to his now-ex-wife Dianne.
The governor is accused of threatening staffers, greeting hotel staff in his underwear thinking that it was Mason, misusing state resources during his affair, and firing the state’s top law enforcement official Spencer Collier, who has alleged that he lost his job for his refusal to help cover up the affair.
“Governor Bentley directed law enforcement to advance his personal interests and, in a process characterized by increasing obsession and paranoia, subjected career law enforcement officers to tasks intended to protect his reputation,” the impeachment report states.
“I do not plan to resign. I have done nothing illegal,” Bentley told reporters. “If the people want to know if I misused state resources, the answer is simply no. I have not.”
Over the past year, a bipartisan group of lawmakers has called for the lovestruck governor to step down for violations of ethics laws and campaign finance violations. On Sunday, the Alabama Republican Party joined the call.
Last week, the Alabama Ethics Commission found probable cause that Bentley had broken state laws. Over the weekend, the state’s Supreme Court ruled that impeachment hearings could go ahead.
