Robert Bentley admits making inappropriate remarks to staffer; denies affair
Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley is admitting that he made inappropriate remarks to a female staffer two years ago but says he never had a physical relationship with the woman. Bentley spoke to reporters Wednesday after the state’s former top law enforcement official made a series of accusations. That official, former Law Enforcement Secretary Spencer Collier, had been fired Tuesday. He said during a news conference that he believed the governor had an inappropriate relationship with a female staffer. Collier says another law enforcement officer played a recorded conversation for him in which Bentley makes sexual remarks to a woman. The governor divorced last year after Dianne Bentley said their marriage had suffered a breakdown. Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
Alabama becomes latest state to advocate lifting Cuban trade embargo
On Tuesday, the Alabama House of Representatives passed SJR43 from Sen. J.T. Wagonner (R-Vestavia Hills), which urges Congress to lift the Cuban trade embargo that has been in place for more than 50 years. The resolution has been unanimously passed by both chambers. Last October, Bentley joined with governors from eight other states – Arkansas, California, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Texas – to urge Congress to drop the embargo, which has stifled American trade with the caribbean island for half a century. Already, Alabama is making its place in Cuba – Cleber, LLC, the Alabama-based agricultural equipment manufacturer, will be the first U.S manufacturer in Cuba. “The Alabama legislature is sending a loud and clear message that Alabama is paving the way for a new relationship with the Cuban people,” James Williams, President of Engage Cuba, said in a statement Tuesday. “Lifting the embargo and expanding commerce opportunities will benefit Alabama businesses and help improve the lives of the Cuban people. It is time for Washington to listen to the majority of Americans and Cubans to end the embargo.” With its earlier passage by the Senate, the resolution’s next stop is the desk of Gov. Robert Bentley.
Mobile delegation opposes amendment to allow vote on minimum wage hike
The House Committee on Mobile County Legislation met Wednesday to discuss a slew of local legislation, including HB248 from Rep. Napoleon Bracy (D-Mobile). The constitutional amendment would allow Mobile citizens to vote on whether or not to raise the county’s minimum wage to $10.10 an hour. Bracy brought forth the bill in the form of a constitutional amendment in order to skirt around legislation passed earlier this session. HB174 from Rep. David Faulkner (R-Birmingham), also known as the Alabama Uniform Minimum Wage and Right to Work Act, was filed to thwart efforts by the Birmingham city council to gradually raise that city’s minimum wage to $10.10 an hour over three years. After being signed into law by Gov. Robert Bentley, the bill effectively bars in Alabama city or county from raising its minimum wage. If passed, the amendment would have been voted on by Mobile County voters in the upcoming November election. At the time of the committee’s vote Wednesday, eight committee members were present. The four representatives who voted against the bill, causing voting to end in a tie and causing the bill to gain an unfavorable report, were Reps. David Sessions (R-Mobile), Victor Gaston (R-Mobile), Margie Wilcox (R-Mobile) and Jack Williams (R-Mobile). The four Democrats on the committee voted in favor of the measure. Because of its failure to garner a favorable report in the committee hearing, the bill will not be heard by the full House of Representatives.
Fired Spencer Collier alleges Governor Robert Bentley affair happened
Tuesday night, within hours of being fired Spencer Collier gave the first on the record comments about the alleged affair of Governor Robert Bentley and a married long-time staffer. According to AL.com’s John Archibald, Collier gave detailed accounts of the relationship and discussed the contents of a recording of the couple that he allegedly heard but no longer was in possession of. The account of recording included suggestive personal, if not sexual language. I believe I can speak for most of the state that we could have gone our lives without ever dreaming up the 73 year-old governor ever using said language. In the world of TMZ, tabloid gossip sites and social media it’s hard to remember that there are boundaries to the amount of personal information of celebrities and politicians we are entitled to. With fame or power comes a higher level of scrutiny and even expectations but at the end of the day everyone is human and their personal relationships however flawed, immoral or complicated aren’t anyone’s business but their own. In the case of Governor Bentley, as I said when the allegations first surfaced, the rights of the people of Alabama are clear: we deserve and must demand answers. As residents, tax payers and voters we are entitled to know if any laws were broken or any improper use of the office or resources occurred. Are we entitled to the sordid details of the alleged relationship? No. Does anyone really want the visual of the governor’s sex life? No. If the allegations prove true and laws were broken then those involved should be held accountable. If the allegations prove true and no laws were broken than, while voters can rightfully be upset that they voted in a man who trumpeted his faith and family while not living up to the standards he set for himself. The fact is in the scheme of things that the faith based promises be just added to the long list of ways in which the governor has disappointed conservatives but is not much different than the broken promises of not raising taxes or not expanding Medicaid (his next efforts should this scandal not lead to his resignation). This is a man who hardly let a moment pass between his reelection and going about breaking nearly every promise he ran on to be reelected. If you’re angry and throwing a fit now but weren’t angry about the policy promises you’re clearly not thinking straight. We will continue to cover the investigation into the legal questions prompted by the most recent claims but that will be the extent of our coverage.
Steven Kurlander: Donald Trump will grow up to be a great president
I forced myself the other night to watch in totality Donald Trump speak at two rallies in Ohio before that state’s primary — and initially I had great reservations about voting for him. At these rallies Trump rarely spoke more than five or six words in a sentence. When he was not repeating his canned slogans against Mexicans and the Chinese, he embraced an exaggerated confrontation with demonstrators, urging his security forces to “get ‘em outta here.” You would expect more from a 69-year-old billionaire with his background and intelligence. Up to now, Trump has been the “wise guy” candidate who spits out wisecracks and who masterfully plays on the frustrations of the average American. This “Trumpist” strategy has worked well so far. A political phenomenon, he has so far badly beaten a crowded GOP field of candidates. Trump has separated himself as the “anti-politician” in the race through callous rhetoric and manipulating the media. His arrogance was not countered effectively by the younger candidates such as Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, or Chris Christie. There was no older wise man or woman in the GOP contest. Instead, most showed a remarkable lack of maturity and depth. All of Trump’s opponents, except maybe John Kasich, failed to understand what ails America. Trump, on the other hand, continues to say what most Americans think, but don’t say because they fear it might be politically incorrect. It’s a brilliant gimmick that is working well. Growing old makes most people a bit wiser. Reflection and learning are the key to gaining wisdom. At the time the Constitution was written, our forefathers made sure to impose what was at the time a high age requirement on elected federal officials. Article II, Section 1, Clause 5 of the U.S. Constitution provides: “No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty-five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.” The average life expectancy during that time was close to the age required to be president, so obviously the framers wanted American presidents to be reflective, wise old men. Indeed, many of our founding fathers were truly wise in their writings and their actions. In the 21st century, the presidency of the young and charismatic Barack Obama proved the opposite — he was a decade or more too early to be a great president. I regret that Trump and his shallow, reality television approach toward politics (that I would define as “Trumpistic,”) so far is chiefly characterized by a lack of innate wisdom. It’s made me have grave reservations about his candidacy. But there’s something inside me that says that Trump will prove himself — that he will be an evolutionary politician that will lead America into an era of prosperity and democratic leadership in the world. Despite his rhetoric, Trump is a great man already. He has achieved remarkable accomplishments as a developer and entertainer. He has experienced great personal and business failure too, which in my book is more important. That’s because old men often learn from their mistakes. So at the wise old age of 58, I can forgive Trump for all his nasty crap and vile gimmicks displayed in his campaign. It’s a shtick, that’s all. Deep down, I think Trump is the anti-Obama who will prove once he steps into the Oval Office that he has the same attributes that the founding fathers had. It’s that instinctual thought of mine, which is (secretly) shared by many angry Americans like myself, that will cause me and many others to vote for Trump. We’re not interested in a worn-out Hillary Clinton, despite Trump’s nasty theatrics on the campaign trail. *** Steven Kurlander blogs at Kurly’s Kommentary (stevenkurlander.com) and writes for Context Florida and The Huffington Post and can be found on Twitter @Kurlykomments. He lives in Monticello, New York.
Martin Dyckman: Smart Republicans need to start thinking, acting on their own
In 1789, as the new United States of America was just taking root, Thomas Jefferson wrote to a friend that “If I could not go to heaven but with a party, I would not go there at all.” The quotation is making one of its frequent rounds on the Internet. The remark was ironic, if not to say hypocritical, considering Jefferson’s subsequent energetic role in organizing the anti-Federalist movement into what he called the Democratic-Republican Party. Present-day Democrats claim him and Andrew Jackson as co-founders. But the full context — rarely quoted — of what he wrote makes great sense now as a trenchant description of how the party system has gone off the cliff. “I never submitted the whole system of my opinions to the creed of any party of men whatever, in religion, in philosophy, in politics, or in anything where I was capable of thinking for myself,” Jefferson explained. “Such an addiction is the last degradation of a free and moral agent. If I could not go to heaven…” Party discipline, the plague that Jefferson deplored, gives us a U.S. Senate whose majority party leader refuses even to permit the body to consider fulfilling its constitutional duty to approve or reject a president’s nominee to fill a vacancy on the nation’s highest court. Moreover, in rationalizing why he would not allow it even in a post-election session should there be a Democratic president-elect, Mitch McConnell had this to say: “I can’t imagine that a Republican majority Congress in a lame duck session after the American people have spoken would want to confirm a nominee opposed by the NRA, the NFIB, and the New York Times says he would move the court dramatically to the left. This nomination ought to be made by the next president.” What he really was saying is this: Even if the next president is a Democrat, and even if the Republicans lose their Senate majority, they’ll fight hard, they’ll fight long, they’ll fight dirty, and they’ll filibuster to keep anybody opposed by the likes of the gun lobby and the National Federation of Independent Business from replacing Antonin Scalia at the Supreme Court. He neglected to mention the Koch brothers. One of their front organizations declared war on any Barack Obama nominee even before he selected one. Now I cannot find in the Constitution — nor can McConnell — anything that says a president’s second term is for only three years rather than four. Or anything to say that lobbies unelected by the people or billionaires whose father was a John Bircher have veto power over what used to call itself the “greatest deliberative body in the world.” Nor is anything to be found in the New York Times online files where the newspaper ever asserted that Merrick Garland‘s confirmation would “move the court dramatically to the left.” What the paper did say, in an article describing Garland as essentially a centrist, was this: “Conservative groups, who said Judge Garland would move the court sharply to the left, raised questions about his commitment to gun rights, although they based their objection on fairly thin evidence.” (Emphasis supplied) McConnell can’t even get his sources right, let alone his constitutional duty. (For the record, the NRA’s objection to Garland appears to owe entirely to his vote in one case: the challenge to the District of Columbia’s strict firearms law. After a panel of three other judges voted 2-1 to overturn it, Garland voted in the minority that the entire court should rehear the case. Such a procedural vote does not necessarily predict how he would vote on the merits. The case went directly to the Supreme Court instead, where Scalia wrote the opinion in a 5-4 decision rejecting the law — and a century’s worth of precedents — by finding an individual constitutional right to own firearms.) The Republican Senate’s pathetic submission to McConnell and the right-wing lobbies is reason enough for voters to elect a Democratic majority. And now that Marco Rubio has returned to his Senate duties, owing his party nothing, it would be a good time for him to join the handful of other Republican senators who have said they would be willing to give Garland the hearing that he — and the American people — deserve. This isn’t to suggest that the Democrats are virginal on the question of senseless party discipline. At their 1992 convention in New York, they infamously kept Pennsylvania Gov. Robert P. Casey off the speaker’s rostrum because he wanted to say how it was possible to be both liberal and opposed to abortion. But not since Robert Bork‘s nomination in 1987 have the Democrats defeated a Republican President’s Supreme Court nominee. Even in Bork’s case, two Democrats defected in his favor despite the prevailing view that he was an extremist. Six Republicans voted no. The majority party also gave him the floor vote he demanded despite the Judiciary Committee’s disfavor. The nation will need Republicans to break ranks en masse in the eventuality that the uncouth, erratic, self-centered and dangerously demagogic Donald Trump becomes their nominee for president. Already, such hack party figures as Florida Gov. Rick Scott and Attorney General Pam Bondi are crawling aboard the perceived victor’s bandwagon for whatever favors a President Trump might bestow. Republicans who truly respect their party, on the other hand, will not want a chronically dishonest racist with no coherent policy proposals to symbolize the party of Abraham Lincoln to the nation and to the world. One Nixon was enough, and he was a gentleman compared to Trump. Some Republicans oppose Trump because he has strayed from their ideologies in the past, others because they fear they couldn’t control him, and others because he simply disgusts them. That last reason is the compelling one. As another Republican president, Rutherford B. Hayes, said at his inaugural, “He serves his party best who serves his country best.” *** Martin Dyckman is a retired associate editor of the St. Petersburg
Paul Ryan slams ‘ugliness’ in politics amid Donald Trump-driven chaos
House Speaker Paul Ryan on Wednesday decried ugliness and divisiveness in American politics, delivering a veiled but passionate rebuke to GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump and the nasty tone of the presidential campaign. “When passions flair, ugliness is sometimes inevitable. But we shouldn’t accept ugliness as the norm,” Ryan told an invited audience of congressional interns on Capitol Hill. “If someone has a bad idea, we tell them why our idea is better. We don’t insult them into agreeing with us,” he said. The Wisconsin Republican never mentioned Trump’s name or that of any other candidate, Republican or Democratic. But his targets were clear in a sometimes frightful campaign season that’s featured insults, sucker-punches and near-riots as often as substantive policy debates. “It did not used to be this bad, and it does not have to be this way,” Ryan said. “We are slipping into being a divisive country,” he said. “If we’re going to keep this beautiful American experiment going we’re going to have to stay unified.” Some of Ryan’s comments nearly echoed remarks last week from President Barack Obama, who voiced dismay at the violence and “vulgar and divisive rhetoric” of this presidential race, and issued a plea for civility. Still, Democrats wasted no time in criticizing Ryan’s remarks, noting that while remaining officially neutral in his party’s presidential primary, Ryan has repeatedly promised to back the eventual GOP nominee. The speaker has also avoided any outright denunciation of Trump even while criticizing several of the businessman’s more extreme positions, such as barring Muslims from entering the country. “Speaker Ryan’s words will ring hollow until he backs them up with action and withdraws his support from Donald Trump,” said Adam Jentleson, spokesman for Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada. Ryan’s outwardly neutral stance comes even as other GOP leaders have openly searched for ways to prevent Trump from clinching the nomination before or during the party’s July convention in Cleveland. Ryan, his party’s 2012 vice presidential nominee, has said he is not interested in becoming president and has dismissed growing talk of a contested convention that could turn into a free-for-all for the nomination. Yet Ryan similarly claimed he never wanted to become speaker. He ended up with the job anyway after John Boehner, R-Ohio, was pushed out by conservatives last fall and a leadership vacuum resulted. Ryan delivered his remarks Wednesday in the lofty hearing room of the Ways and Means Committee, which he previously chaired. The speech came on the final day of congressional work ahead of a two-week spring recess. Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
Mike Rogers: We must support Israel
As both an American and a Christian, I believe in defending freedom – especially when it comes to Israel. It is critical the U.S. stands up for Israel, supporting our greatest ally in the conflicted Middle East. Israel’s national security should be a top concern since we are linked to them culturally, politically and historically. The Obama Administration’s relationship with Israel over the past seven years has been strained close to the breaking point. President Obama has neglected Israel and left them without many of the resources they need. This is evident by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu canceling his trip to the U.S. earlier this month. Rather than President Obama’s position of apologizing for American values, I believe we should actively stand strong with Israel and protect her interests. Those interests are especially in jeopardy because of Obama’s highly questionable deal with Iran. When talking to folks across East Alabama, the importance of Israel is one issue I consistently hear about for religious, historic and defense-related reasons. I am working hard to make sure that this important issue remains a priority in Washington. As Chairman of the House Armed Services Strategic Forces subcommittee, I have the great honor to directly work with Israel on their defense capabilities. This subcommittee amongst other things oversees the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, which leads our cooperative development efforts, co-production and procurement programs with Israel. For instance, I have worked closely on their Iron Dome short-range rocket defense system. This system serves as one of Israel’s main defenses against hostile rocket and mortar attacks along with several other missile systems. I am also proud to note that Alabama will take part in helping protect Israel as production of Iron Dome parts will take place in our great state. Earlier this week, I was given the opportunity to speak on two panels at the AIPAC Policy Conference—the largest conference for policy minds and Members of Congress to discuss ideas solely focused on improving relations between the United States and Israel. The focus of my remarks at the conference centered on U.S.-Israel missile defense cooperation and that our strong relationship with Israel should never be in question. • • • Mike Rogers is a member of U.S. Congress representing Alabama’s 3rd Congressional District.
Mark McKinnon says The Circus will evolve when presidential race becomes two-person contest
Mark McKinnon is a man of many hats. Cowboy hats, that is, which is his signature look. He’s done a lot of things in his life, but he’ll probably always be best known for his association as an ad man for George W. Bush‘s presidential campaigns. He’s also the co-creator, co-executive producer and co-host of “The Circus,” a weekly Showtime documentary series on the presidential campaign. The show is a co-production between Showtime and Bloomberg Politics. FloridaPolitics.com spoke with McKinnon last week from Columbus, Ohio, on Super Tuesday III. We mentioned to him how we’ve seen him twice on the campaign trail this year – A week earlier at the Tampa Convention Center for a Marco Rubio rally, and in Derry, New Hampshire when Barbara Bush came out in a much-publicized announcement for a campaign appearance with son Jeb. Florida Politics: You’ve been constantly covering the campaign for The Circus since mid-January. Do you ever get home these days? Mark McKinnon: I get home about one day every couple of weeks. This has been such a circus, and a fascinating one. We got really lucky picking this election to do this, but there’s been no absence of drama. So yeah, I’ve been kicking around in New Hampshire like you were, in Florida where you are, in Columbus today. Sometimes I don’t know until 11 p.m. at night where I’m going to be, which was the case before last, where I thought I was going to Florida, then I got a call that Romney was going to be with (John) Kasich, so I just flipped my plans at midnight and went to Ohio. FP: How big of a crew do you have to capture so much footage for your show each week, and get it edited each Sunday night? MMK: Well, it’s a massive challenge. When I pitched this to television networks – I could write a whole book about how that works – I had the idea 10 years ago. That’s how long it took to get on. The real challenge, and what scared most television executives, was this notion of doing it weekly. Because they’re used to seeing shows months ahead of time. In this case, Showtime only sees it hours before it airs, and at that point, they can’t change much. But to me, the whole idea behind the concept was to produce a great documentary that shows this fascinating world of a presidential campaign. The public sees maybe 1 percent of what really goes on the news. So there’s all this other stuff that happens which is really interesting and entertaining and informative, so I thought it’d be fascinating and dramatic for viewers to see this and see sort of human side of politics and what these people go through. Also importantly, I thought it needed to be in real time as much as possible. So that people were not only seeing an interesting world, but seeing it as it was unfolding, so that it was topical and they feel like they were kind of up on what’s happening. I thought the political junkies would love it — which they do — but people who are casually interested in politics would love it as well because of the way in which every Sunday night they can tune in and in a way that’s much more interesting than a Sunday talk show or reading the newspaper, they can get up to speed on what’s happening. We have 60 people working on this and four crews spanning out across the country, and we have to make a full-blown documentary every week and then wake up every Monday morning, and make another one. So, the production challenge, I mean, it’s a crushing schedule. The logistics of managing of the schedules and moving these crews around is incredible, but Showtime gave us the best in the business, and we’re really excited to be doing it. FP: One of the most interesting scenes to date in the show is one I viewed online dealing with the Trump phenomenon and the general freaking out by the Republican Party establishment. You showed this private lunch in D.C. with of GOP establishment figures, lamenting the rise of Trump and discussing, what if anything can be done about it (Those six men were Ron Hohlt, Vin Weber, Ron Kaufman, Ed Rogers, Ed Goeas and Mike Duncan). MMK: That scene has been one of the most provocative of the season, and it’s gotten a huge response. The idea was that we would find what’s left of the establishment and take them to lunch, and it turns out that there’s six guys left who are the establishment, and we found them, and they’re right out of central casting: They couldn’t be less diverse (laughs). It’s just a bunch of old white guys who have been around Washington forever, and they’re super smart, and they’ve been in every presidential campaign as far back as you can remember, and they’re movers and shakers, and they’re the go-to guys. If you randomly picked 100 people and said who were the six most influential guys, they’d picked these six guys. But the fascinating thing was they agreed to join us at a classic Washington restaurant with black leather and chrome and martinis, but they just opened up and they were completely candid, which you feel sort like you dropped in on a Mafia Boss meeting. But what was surprising about it was A) how candid they are in the situation they find themselves in, but B) that they were very clear that they don’t have a clue about what to do. They have no clear idea or consensus how to approach it. In fact, all six at the table basically had six different ideas on what to do. FP: Your show began in January, when there was so much interest heading into Iowa. We’ll see how soon this race turns into a one-on-one race between the Democratic and Republican nominee. Right now there’s still so much to cover, but do you have any concerns when it slows down to two people and one race. Will the show be able to
Senate passes bill banning abortion clinics located near schools
On Tuesday, the Alabama Senate passed a bill that would prohibit abortion clinics from being within 2,000 feet of a school, which will directly impact a clinic in Huntsville stationed across the street from Edward H. White Middle School. The Alabama Women’s Center for Reproductive Alternatives moved to its current location in 2014 when it was forced to vacate its old location to comply with the Women’s Health and Safety Act, HB57, which required that clinics meet “all ambulatory health care occupancy standards.” The new facility is near Huntsville Hospital’s emergency room, which puts it in compliance with the law’s requirements. SB205 from Sen. Paul Sanford (R-Huntsville) directs the Alabama Department of Public Health not to reissue licenses for any clinic within 2,000 feet of a school, effectively closing down the Huntsville clinic in its new location. “If we currently protect a physical buffer between students and liquor stores, it is common sense that we would protect them from attending school near an abortion clinic,” Sanford said in a statement release Tuesday. “This will not mandate any abortion clinic to shut down, but I have no problem if it forces a clinic or two to move away from our kids.” With passage of the bill, Alabama will become one of the first states in the nation to have a school proximity provision for abortion clinics. “Abortion clinics can attract unrest and protest – from people on both sides of the issue – and therefore can pose a public safety risk to young students,” Sanford added in the release. “Having an abortion clinic so close to an elementary school that children are required to walk on the sidewalk past the clinic is not in their best interest.” An floor amendment changed the bill to where a clinic could stay open if a school is built near an already-operating facility.
Senate approves bill to give tax breaks to state ports
Keeping with their previously announced agenda, Senate Republicans passed a bill Tuesday that will provide tax breaks for Alabama ports with an eye toward increasing state revenue and creating new jobs. HB34 from Rep. Mac McCutcheon (R-Capshaw), which was carried in the Senate by Sen. Greg Reed (R-Jasper), builds upon the “Made in Alabama” legislation passed last year, which provided “additional, pay-as-you-go incentives for existing business expansions and new industrial projects.” Also known as the “Alabama Renewal Act,” the new legislation creates the “Growing Alabama Act” tax credit to address economic development needs in the state and establishes procedures by which tax credits can be applied for and ascertained by relevant parties. According to a statement released Tuesday afternoon, the bill will “increase the availability of shovel-ready land sites for job creation” and “stimulate cargo traffic at the state’s port facilities and connect Alabama businesses to new opportunities around the world via a new Port Credit.” “Our economy is improving and the legislature is committed to doing everything possible to create more jobs, especially in rural Alabama,” Reed said in a press release. “The Alabama Renewal Act will help us achieve this goal while being fiscally responsible to taxpayers.” “Creating jobs by incentivizing companies to invest in Alabama will mean more of our citizens get to take home a respectable paycheck,” McCutcheon noted in the statement. “That is the most important job we have at the Statehouse.” Because most states already offer such incentives, the new legislation will make Alabama more competitive by providing more options for luring in large companies and new jobs. “The Alabama Renewal Act will enhance the competitiveness of our economy,” Greg Canfield, Secretary of the Alabama Department of Commerce, said in the press release. “We are thankful for the legislature giving our state another tool we can use to facilitate growth and expand Alabama’s employment base.” A floor amendment added to the bill will send it back to the House of Representatives before being sent to the governor’s desk for final approval.
Robert Bentley terminates Spencer Collier as head of Alabama Law Enforcement Agency
Following reports from multiple news agencies that an internal investigation had uncovered a possible misuse of funds in the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, Gov. Robert Bentley announced the termination of ALEA Secretary Spencer Collier Tuesday. According to a statement from Bentley’s office, Collier was placed on medical leave a few weeks ago to recover from back surgery. It was during that time that Acting Secretary Stan Stabler uncovered “several areas of concern in the operations, policies and procedures at ALEA.” An internal review by the ALEA Integrity Unit discovered the possible misuse of state funds, though further details are scarce at this time. “Spencer Collier and I have served together a long time, dating back to my time in the Alabama House of Representatives,” Bentley said in a press release. “He is a friend of mine, and led the implementation of the consolidation of state law enforcement functions into one singular agency, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA). I appreciate Spencer’s service to the State of Alabama.” Collier contends that he has done nothing wrong and believes an outside investigation by the Attorney General’s office will prove that. Stabler has been appointed to the top spot in the department effective immediately. Since the announcement of Collier’s termination, he has accused the governor of instructing him to lie to the Attorney General’s office in regard to the ongoing corruption scandal surrounding House Speaker Mike Hubbard (R-Auburn). Bentley asserts that such allegations are unfounded.
