Robert Bentley says he won’t resign

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During a Friday morning press conference, Alabama Governor Robert Bentley announced he has no plans of resigning.

“I do not plan to resign,” said Bentley from the steps of the state capitol in Montgomery. “I have done nothing illegal. If the people want to know if I misused state resources, the answer is simply no, I have not.”

On Wednesday, the Alabama Ethics Commission found probable cause the governor had violated both ethics law and campaign finance law.

Bentley, 73, has long maintained his innocence. However, last spring he admitted making inappropriate remarks to his senior political adviser, Rebekah Caldwell Mason, who has since resigned. The admission came after former Alabama Law Enforcement Secretary Spencer Collier, a day after being fired by Bentley, accused the governor of having an affair with Mason and of interfering with law enforcement investigations. Bentley has denied both accusations.

Following the news, twenty-three representatives signed articles of impeachment, accusing Bentley of willful neglect of duty and corruption in office. The impeachment investigation followed.

On Friday, the Alabama House Judiciary Committee is scheduled to receive a report detailing the findings of the nearly year-long investigation.

“Those who are taking pleasure in humiliating me, in shaming me and shaming my family, shaming my friends, well I really don’t understand why they want to do that,” Bentley said Friday morning. “It may be out of vengeance, it may be out of jealousy, it may be out of anger, it may be out of personal political benefit. I don’t know. But I would ask them to please stop.”

The House of Representatives is scheduled to begin impeachment hearings on Monday.