Last week, a panel investigating Bentley’s actions released a scathing report, as NPR’s Debbie Elliott reported:
“It lays out in sometimes sordid detail an extramarital relationship between the 74-year-old Bentley and political adviser Rebekah Caldwell Mason.
“The report accuses him of using state resources, including law enforcement, to hide the affair and protect his reputation, ‘in a process characterized by increasing obsession and paranoia.’
” ‘Governor Bentley’s loyalty shifted from the State of Alabama to himself,’ [special counsel Jack] Sharman wrote in an executive summary. He said Bentley ‘encouraged an atmosphere of intimidation’ to ensure the silence of his staff. …
“Political pressure for [Bentley] to resign has been growing since tape recordings were released in 2016 of him making sexually suggestive comments to Mason. Both were married at the time.
“Dianne Bentley later filed for divorce. The report says her suspicions of an affair were confirmed when Bentley mistakenly sent his wife a text that read ‘I love you Rebekah’ with a red-rose emoji.”
Also last week, the Alabama Ethics Commission found “probable cause” that Bentley improperly used campaign funds in connection with the alleged affair, among other ethical and legal violations.
NPR’s Debbie Elliott notes that Bentley is the third Alabama official to lose his job in a year. Roy Moore was suspended from his post as chief justice of the state Supreme Court when he ordered state judges to disregard the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision supporting the legality of same-sex marriage. Mike Hubbard was removed as speaker of the state House after being convicted of ethics charges.
Article Appeared @http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/04/10/523328717/alabamas-governor-resigns-amid-scandal-over-affair-and-cover-up