Alabama Governor Robert J. Bentley is likely to face prosecution for violating state ethics. A state ethics panel on Wednesday also concluded Bentley’s involvement in breaking campaign finance laws besides playing with state ethics.

The Alabama Ethics Commission observed that there is “probable cause” to make it believe that Alabama Governor Robert J. Bentley has violated the Alabama Ethics Act and Fair Campaign Practices Act. The commission’s findings took a year to investigate the matter and come to that conclusion. The commission referred the impeachment investigation issue to the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office.

While the commission ruled that the Alabama governor has violated the ethics and misused funds, his lawyer, Bill Athanas, said that his client maintained innocence. He also stated that there was no strong evidence that could lead to the levying of charges on Robert J. Bentley.

“We disagree strongly with the result, but I think it is important to keep in mind that it is a finding of probable cause, not finding of a violation… The battle goes on,” ABC News quoted Athanas as saying. “It’s important to keep in mind, this is simply a finding of probable cause. It’s not a finding of a violation,” Athanas added.

The state ethics commission said that officers were asked to interrogate almost 45 witnesses. The district attorney office’s people analyzed around 33,000 documents to investigate the matter. According to law, if a person is found violating the two acts — Alabama Ethics Act and Fair Campaign Practices Act — intentionally, he will have committed Class B felonies. People found guilty under Class B felonies have to face two to 20 years of imprisonment for each violation plus a penalty of up to $20,000.

The Alabama Ethics Commission also found that the “nice guy” of the state was not that nice. It also took into consideration the audio recordings that have been obtained as evidence in the matter. In the video, Robert J. Bentley is apparently heard having a sexually-motivated conversation with a former aide, Rebekah Mason.

The 2014 audio recording was one of the major issues that drew the attention of authorities, thereby leading to the impeachment investigation last year. The commission also found that the Alabama Governor misused state resources for his alleged affair.

“I worry about loving you so much,” Robert J. Bentley says as heard in the audio. “When I stand behind you, and I put my arms around you, and I put my hands on your breasts, and I put my hands [unintelligible] and just pull you real close. I love that, too.”

The affair came into focus when the wife of the Alabama governor filed a divorce in September, 2015, after 50 years of marriage. According to reports, the audio recording was made public by the Bentley family, who were believed to have captured the voices to find out if Robert J. Bentley really had an affair. The revelation made Mason resign.

Though Robert J. Bentley admitted that he made a mistake as he had an affair, he denied having a physical relationship with his former aide at the same time. After the release of the audio recording, the Alabama governor conducted a press conference. There he said that he had never taken the law for granted and hence he had not done anything legally wrong. He admitted making a mistake in his personal life and made an apology to the state and his family.

“I made a mistake. Two years ago, I made a mistake,” Robert J. Bentley said in 2016. </s> CLOSE Background on accusations against Gov. Robert Bentley.

Alabama Governor Robert Bentley exits out of the back of the RSA Union Building in Montgomery, Ala., on Wednesday April 5, 2017 as the Alabama Ethics Commission meets in executive session looking into allegations against him. (Photo: Mickey Welsh / Advertiser)

MONTOMGERY, Ala. — After more than nine hours of testimony and deliberations Wednesday — and over a year after the filing of the first complaint — the Alabama Ethics Commission found "probable cause" that Gov. Robert Bentley violated the state's ethics and campaign finance laws.

The commission referred the charges to Montgomery County District Attorney Daryl Bailey. If indicted and convicted, Bentley could face up to 20 years in prison for each violation and a fine of up to $20,000 on each charge.

Bill Athanas, an attorney for the governor, called the vote disappointing, but said Bentley planned to fight.

"There is not a basis to find the governor violated any law, much less the ethics act or the campaign finance act," Athanas said after the decision Wednesday. "The battle goes on."

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The decision adds to Bentley's legal ordeal over allegations about his personal and professional relationship with former staffer Rebekah Caldwell Mason, charges that could lead to his removal from office. The House Judiciary Committee could begin impeachment hearings against Bentley next week, and the committee's special counsel should file an investigative report on the governor by Friday. The Alabama attorney general's office is also investigating Bentley, though it's not clear if that probe relates to the Mason charges or another matter.

Bentley left the RSA Union building, where the hearing was taking place, early Wednesday evening. Athanas declined to say if he testified before the commission.

Reporters also saw potential witnesses in the building, including former Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Secretary Spencer Collier, who made the allegations against Bentley last year. Collier's charges formed the basis of a complaint State Auditor Jim Zeigler filed with the commission last year, though others followed.

State Auditor Jim Zeigler announces legal action intended to void a $47 Million contract during a news conference at the state capitol building in Montgomery, Ala., on Friday July 22, 2016. (Photo: Mickey Welsh)

"I have mixed emotions," said Zeigler, who was on a witness list but did not testify Wednesday. "Pleased that the governor is finally going to face accountability, but sad for the state of Alabama that we've had to go through this for the past year-and-a-half."

Under state law, the Alabama Ethics Commission acts as a grand jury when a public official faces accusations of breaking the state's ethics law. The commission cannot press charges but can find probable cause and refer cases to the Alabama attorney general or a district attorney — usually the one in Montgomery County — for prosecution. Testimony and deliberations take place in private, but votes are public.

Commissioners approved charges that Bentley improperly used public resources "to further his personal interest;" a charge that he improperly used campaign money to pay Mason's legal bills; accepted a campaign contribution outside the established time limits for doing so, and made a loan to his campaign outside those time limits.

The commission approved the vote on a series of 3-1 and 4-0 votes. Commissioner Butch Ellis abstained from the votes.

Athanas said he would seek a meeting with Bailey as soon as possible.

"It’s a finding of probable cause, which is one of the lowest legal standards we apply in these cases," he said. "We certainly disagree there was evidence to support a probable cause finding. We definitely disagree there was enough evidence to support a finding beyond a cause of reasonable doubt."

Bailey said in a statement Wednesday he had not yet received the commission's findings.

"Once received, I will review and make a decision on how to proceed," he said.

The vote could buttress other investigations based on Collier's charges. After Bentley fired Collier in March 2016, accusing Collier of mismanagement and "possible misuse of state funds," Collier hit back with accusations that Bentley, whose wife divorced him in 2015 after 50 years of marriage, had an affair with Mason, his senior political adviser; used state resources to pursue it and tried to prevent Collier from signing an affidavit in the criminal investigation of then-House Speaker Mike Hubbard, R-Auburn.

The Alabama Ethics Commission meets in Montgomery, Ala., on Wednesday April 5, 2017. (Photo: Mickey Welsh / Advertiser)

Audio of Bentley making suggestive comments later surfaced. Bentley acknowledged making inappropriate remarks to Mason, but both deny having a sexual affair or misuse of state funds.

How the allegations of sexual impropriety affected the commission's decision is unknown. Before going into executive session, commission member Stewart Tankersley moved to include sex in a list of "things of value" that, if exchanged between politicians, lobbyists or those who employ them, violate the state ethics law. The motion failed. Commission member Charles Price, a retired Montgomery County Circuit Judge, said the Legislature had to make those determinations.

Collier's allegations formed the basis of the impeachment drive against Bentley in the House. But the initial ethics complaint came from an unexpected source.

Jerry Fielding, chairman of the Alabama Ethics Commission, speaks during a meeting of the commission in Montgomery, Ala., on Wednesday April 5, 2017. (Photo: Mickey Welsh / Advertiser)

A few days after the allegations and denials flew, Zeigler sent what he termed a “report” summarizing Collier’s accusations against the governor to the commission. The auditor compiled four counts against Bentley, including Mason’s quasi-public role; Bentley using state property and resources to pursue an affair with Mason; Mason failing to register as a lobbyist despite receiving payments from an outside entity and Bentley and Mason trying to prevent Collier from signing an affidavit in the criminal investigation of then-House Speaker Mike Hubbard, R-Auburn.

The campaign finance charges appeared to come from a complaint by Stacy Lee George, a former Republican gubernatorial candidate and corrections officer. The legal payments to Mason — totaling $8,912 — did not become public record until the governor's 2016 campaign finance report was filed earlier this year. Athanas at the time said changes to the state's campaign finance law allowed those payments.

George, who the commission sequestered like Zeigler as a possible witness, praised the committee's decision Wednesday night, and called for Bentley's impeachment by the Alabama House of Representatives.

"The state house members, 105 of them up over there, they have to put up or shut up on Friday," he said, referring to the expected investigative report in the House Judiciary Committee.

Zeigler's filing last did nothing to help his Hulk Hogan-Rowdy Piper relationship with Bentley. Zeigler had already clashed with Bentley over BP money used to refurbish the governor’s mansion on the Gulf Coast. The state auditor also claimed that Bentley forced him to sit in the balcony of the Old House Chamber during the 2016 State of the State address and that he “never met” Bentley in person, a claim that was disproven in photographs shared by the governor’s office.

Zeigler later ordered Bentley to testify to him about the allegations that he misused state resources. Bentley ignored the order from the auditor, who has no powers of enforcement.

In a statement released by the Alabama Ethics Commission Wednesday evening, officials said investigators interviewed at least 45 witnesses in the investigation and analyzed 33,000 documents.

"The staff of the Commission has worked tirelessly and thoroughly to investigate every complaint that we received," the statement said. "The evidence was reviewed and tested multiple times by career lawyers."

Follow Brian Lyman on Twitter: @lyman_brian

Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/2oLoLkZ </s> Alabama Gov. Robert J. Bentley could face criminal prosecution following a state ethics panel ruling Wednesday that there might be a probable cause of infringement of ethics and campaign finance law by Bentley for his involvement in a sex-tinged scandal for over a year. The Alabama Ethics Commission voted Wednesday to refer four issues to the… </s> MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — The Latest on impeachment hearings for Gov. Robert Bentley (all times local):

Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley has resigned after pleading guilty to two misdemeanor charges of violating state campaign finance law.

The attorney general’s office announced the resignation Monday with a plea deal.

Bentley was addressing the media Monday afternoon at the Alabama Capitol. Lt. Gov. Kay Ivey’s announced that she will be sworn-in this evening as Alabama’s governor at 6 p.m.

Bentley’s voice began choking with emotion as he addressed reporters at the Alabama Capitol. He said he always tried to live up to the high expectations placed on the person who holds the esteemed office. He apologized for mistakes.

Alabama’s Ethics Commission last week found probable cause that Bentley violated state ethics laws with his handling of an alleged affair and referred the case to prosecutors.

Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley has pleaded guilty after being booked on two campaign and ethics charges in Montgomery.

Bentley appeared sullen and looked down at the floor during the Monday afternoon session.

Attorneys went over the charges as a plea agreement was signed. Bentley told a judge he understood the charges.

The agreement specifies that Bentley must surrender campaign funds totaling $36,912 within a week and perform 100 hours of community service as a physician. He also cannot seek public office again.

Jail records show Bentley was booked on two misdemeanor charges that arose from the investigation of an alleged affair with a top aide.

His office has scheduled a late afternoon appearance by Bentley at the Capitol. A person who has spoken to Bentley tells The Associated Press says he plans to resign.

Jail records show Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley has been booked on two misdemeanor charges that arose from the investigation of an alleged affair with a top aide.

A booking log at the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office website shows Bentley was processed on two campaign and ethics charges Monday afternoon.

A mugshot released by the jail shows Bentley smiling slightly, his head cocked slightly to the right. He’s wearing a coat and tie.

Alabama’s Ethics Commission last week found probable cause that Bentley violated state ethics laws with his handling of an alleged affair and referred the case to prosecutors.

A person who has spoken to Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley says he plans to resign over allegations he covered up an affair with an aide.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information.

Bentley is preparing to announce his resignation Monday during a Cabinet meeting. The person says Bentley is in good spirits over the decision to step down.

Word of Bentley’s decision comes on the first day of impeachment hearings. He is accused of abusing his state powers to try to hide his romance.

The Republican governor has acknowledged making personal mistakes but has denied doing anything illegal or anything that would merit removal from office.

The top lawyer in an impeachment investigation says Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley did not cooperate with the probe.

Special counsel Jack Sharman said Monday there was a question of the governor’s “candor.” Bentley is accused of misusing state resources to keep an alleged affair with a staffer from being exposed.

Sharman says the governor’s office turned over only innocuous text messages between him and former political adviser Rebekah Caldwell Mason. Sharman says the governor’s former wife turned over others. In those texts, Bentley repeatedly told Mason how much me loved and wanted her.

The governor’s then-wife, Dianne Bentley, was able to read the text messages because they also showed up on his state-issued iPad, which he had given the first lady. Dianne Bentley provided the messages to the committee.

It is not known if the messages were deleted from the governor’s state phone when the committee requested them.

Impeachment hearings have begun for Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley, who is accused of misusing state resources to keep an alleged affair with a staffer from being exposed.

House Judiciary Chairman Mike Jones opened the hearings Monday by saying no task was more serious than the possible removal of an elected governor.

Jones said it was time to hear evidence collected by the committee’s special counsel. The governor’s lawyers will respond to those accusations later in the week.

Special Counsel Jack Sharman opened by saying that impeachment is the “people’s check” on political excess.

The hearings are the start of a lengthy process that could end with Bentley being removed from office.

The Republican governor has acknowledged making personal mistakes but has denied doing anything illegal or anything that would merit removal from office.

A spokeswoman says scandal-plagued Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley is not personally involved in any negotiations to resign.

Yasamie August made the statement Monday morning as the House Judiciary Committee was set to begin impeachment hearings.

Asked if there were any discussions about resignation, August said the response was the same that the governor was not personally involved in any negotiations.

Bentley has struggled to shake off a scandal after recordings surfaced last year of him making romantic and sexually charged comments in 2014 to a top female aide before his divorce. The Republican governor has acknowledged making personal mistakes but has denied doing anything illegal or anything that would merit removal from office.

The hearings are the start of a lengthy process that could end with Bentley being removed from office. The committee will decide whether to recommend impeachment. If the House votes to impeach Bentley, he will automatically be removed from his duties and can only be returned to office if acquitted in a trial-like proceeding before the Alabama Senate.

Alabama lawmakers are set to begin impeachment hearings for Gov. Robert Bentley as they consider whether to try ousting the governor over accusations he used state resources to hide a romantic relationship with a top aide.

The House Judiciary Committee scheduled a week of hearings to open Monday that will culminate with a vote on whether to recommend his impeachment.

The Republican governor has acknowledged making personal mistakes but has denied doing anything that would merit removal from office.

Monday is expected to bring another round of legal filings in the escalating tensions between the governor and the Republican-controlled Legislature. The Alabama Supreme Court asked for briefs on Bentley’s claims that the proposed impeachment hearings don’t allow him to adequately respond to the accusations. </s> MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley’s political troubles mounted Thursday as lawmakers vowed to move forward with impeachment hearings and one influential Republican urged him to step down.

The developments came a day after the state Ethics Commission found probable cause that the Republican governor broke state ethics and campaign finance laws, accusations that Bentley denies.

“I hope the governor does what is best for the state and seriously considers stepping down,” state Senate Pro Tem Del Marsh said Thursday. “I don’t think it does us any good to have the House go through these impeachment proceedings.”

Bentley said Thursday that he does not intend to resign.

“I have no intentions of resigning and I am looking forward to continuing to work on important issues facing the state,” he said.

Bentley has been engulfed in scandal since recordings surfaced in 2016 of him making suggestive remarks to a female aide before his divorce. Bentley has acknowledged making personal mistakes but maintained he did nothing illegal or to merit his removal from office.

Efforts to impeach Bentley have gathered steam for months, and the House Judiciary Committee is scheduled to hold its first hearing on the matter Monday. Committee Chairman Mike Jones said Thursday that lawmakers should prepare for a long week.

“We’re at the point where it’s time to put this in front of us. Let’s address it and let’s get it behind us,” said the Republican from Andalusia.

The Alabama Ethics Commission’s probable cause findings were referred to the local district attorney, who will decide whether to prosecute. The ethics complaints filed against him have accused Bentley of misusing campaign funds and state resources, partly to pursue a relationship with the aide.

The commission did not give much further detail in its Wednesday announcement, but said it found probable cause that he used public resources, including “subordinate personnel, equipment and time all under his discretion or control to further his personal interests.”

Bentley Legal Adviser David Byrne argued Thursday there was important context and explanation for the findings of the Alabama Ethics Commission.

For example, Bentley is accused of improperly accepting a loan when he was not a candidate. Byrne said Bentley loaned money to his campaign last year so he could pay legal bills and hire a lawyer to represent him in the matter.

The scandal has tarnished the reputation of the 74-year-old dermatologist and former Baptist deacon who attracted voters to his longshot Republican primary campaign in 2010 with his nice-guy image and promises not to accept a gubernatorial salary. While Bentley won re-election in 2014 by an overwhelming margin, his popularity has plummeted after the accusations.

“We’ve got a black eye all over the state of Alabama because of him,” said Stacy George, who filed one of the ethics complaints against Bentley. George is a prison guard and former county commissioner who ran against Bentley in 2014.

The Ethics Commission’s findings could also give political ammunition to lawmakers who want to impeach him. Twenty-three lawmakers last year filed impeachment articles against Bentley accusing him of corruption and neglect of duty. The effort started with lawmakers who clashed with Bentley on matters such as the governor’s push to raise taxes, but has gained more support in recent weeks.

The top lawyer in the impeachment investigation said last month that he would release a report of his findings to the House Judiciary Committee and the public on Friday.

“What I’m hearing is the report is going to be extremely embarrassing for us as a state,” said Rep. Ed Henry, the lawmaker who spearheaded the impeachment articles.

Ross Garber, the lawyer representing Bentley in the impeachment investigation, has urged lawmakers to be cautious. Garber said that since 1929 only two governors have been removed by impeachment and both were under criminal indictment.

“What you saw yesterday, and the consequences of it, are not the kinds of things that result in impeachment of a governor,” Garber said. “It’s not.” </s> MONTGOMERY — After a long, drawn out legal battle with state legislators and the Alabama Ethics Commission, sources have confirmed with the Tribune that Alabama Governor Robert Bentley has resigned following an emergency cabinet meeting called for 3:30 p.m. Lieutenant Governor Kay Ivey was sworn in to become the state’s second female governor following at 6 p.m. today in the old Senate chamber. She becomes the state’s 54th governor.

Ivey promised honesty and and an open administration. She also promised no disruption in state business. While she said she was prepared for this moment, she did not want the situation to arise.

Bentley left the state capitol after meeting with his cabinet and headed to the Montgomery County Courthouse where he reached a deal with prosecutors today that allows him to plead guilty to two charges related to campaign finance and avoid jail time, according to sources in Montgomery. From there, he went to the Montgomery County Jail for processing. He was fined $2,000 and ordered to repay the state $8,000 and surrender all campaign funds to the state. Bentley will serve 12 months of unsupervised probation.

Saying he could no longer put his family and staff through the trouble caused by his actions, Bentley resigned effective immediately in the Old House Chamber. To the people of Alabama, he said, “I have let you down.”

A 74-year-old dermatologist and former Baptist deacon, Bentley has been involved in a sex scandal for several months. Last year, he and his wife, Dianne, divorced, and recordings of Bentley making suggestive remarks to his top aide, Rebekah Caldwell Mason, surfaced. Since the proceedings began to impeach the governor, more details of their relationship have emerged, including text messages between them.

Following the release of those audio recordings in March 2016, Senator Shay Shelnutt and Representative Danny Garrett both called for Bentley’s resignation.

“I don’t see how the governor can be the strong and effective leader our state needs at this time,” Garrett said at that time. “I would urge him to step aside and allow the state to move forward.”

Shelnutt said Republicans often talk about holding state employees, teachers and elected officials accountable for their actions and he thinks Bentley, as the leader of the state, should be the example by walking the walk.

“I ask my fellow legislators to join this call for the governor’s resignation in order that we may move past this distraction and do the job we were elected to do by the citizens of Alabama,” Shelnutt said last year.

The Tribune will add statements from Bentley, Shelnutt and Garrett when available. </s> Only an hour after being arrested on two campaign finance misdemeanors, embattled Alabama Governor Robert Bentley resigned.

Bentley’s resignation comes on the same day that the Alabama House of Representatives opened impeachment hearings against the Republican. The 74-year-old dermatologist-turned-politician was accused of misappropriating state funds in an effort to cover up an affair with Rebekah Caldwell Mason, his political advisor and one-time Sunday school student.

Prior to Bentley’s resignation, he was arrested and charged with failure to file a campaign finance report and failure to disclose information on a statement of economic interest. Bentley pleaded guilty to the two charges and was immediately sentenced to 100 hours of community service as a physician and barred from seeking public office in the future. He must also surrender more than $36,000 to the state and serve one year of probation. In exchange, the state has agreed to not file felony charges against Bentley.

After his appearance in court, Bentley made his way to the Alabama Capitol’s old House chamber and announced his resignation.

As CNN reports, Bentley opted to make a short statement and did not field questions.

Shortly after Bentley’s press conference, a copy of his official resignation was made available online.

News of Bentley’s resignation had been swirling for most of the day. AL.com reported that Bentley’s attorneys had spent part of Sunday and Monday negotiating Bentley’s resignation.

Today’s resignation comes only days after Bentley held a news conference where he stated he would not resign and maintained his innocence.

Bentley’s possible impeachment was only part of the scandal-plagued politician’s problems.

Last week, the Alabama Ethics Commission found probable cause that Bentley had violated ethics and campaign laws. Their findings, which included four possible felonies, were turned over to prosecutors in Montgomery County. If convicted, Bentley would have faced 20 years for each count.

For more than a year, Bentley had faced calls for his resignation from state officials, both Republicans and Democrats.

Bentley’s resignation brings to a close a messy scandal that began shortly after his wife of 50 years filed for divorce on August 28, 2015. Dianne Jones Bentley’s abrupt divorce filing led some state officials to ponder whether Bentley’s divorce was tied to rumors of an affair with Mason.

One week after divorce papers were filed, a member of the Alabama House filed a letter with the state’s attorney general’s office calling for Bentley to be investigated for possible misuse of public funds in connection with his divorce and alleged affair.

Bentley hit back in an interview with AL.com, where he continued to deny an affair with Mason.

“There were people on blogs and people in the press who crossed the line. They truly crossed the line. People on talk radio crossed the line. There were many people – my own family and there were a lot of other families – many people, people that I love, that I care about, they went through some difficult times because people were able to say whatever they wanted to say. They were just ridiculous. I don’t know how anyone could ever believe them.”

On March 22, 2016, Bentley fired the Secretary of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Spencer Collier. The following day Collier held a small press conference and confirmed that Bentley had been carrying on an affair with Mason, his chief advisor. Collier admitted that he had known about the affair for more than two years and had advised Bentley to end his relationship with Mason.

During the press conference, Collier alluded to possible misuse of state funds, including chartering a private plane to keep Mason’s name off of flight records.

The Alabama House Judiciary Committee hired a special investigator to look into Bentley. It was during that investigation that embarrassing text messages and audio recordings between Bentley and Mason hit the press.

Bentley continually denied that he had committed any crimes, but facing the possibility of 80 years in prison, decided that it was in the best interest for all involved to resign. Collier concurred.

Lt. Governor Kay Ivey was sworn in shortly after Bentley’s resignation as the 54th Governor of Alabama. The Republican will become Alabama’s second female governor. </s> (CNN) The time has come for the Alabama Legislature to decide if it wants Gov. Robert Bentley to keep his job.

On Friday, the state's House Judiciary Committee will receive a report detailing the findings of an impeachment investigation led by the committee's special counsel, Jack Sharman.

The report, along with impeachment hearings slated to begin Monday, are aimed at resolving the two-term governor's yearlong saga, which began with allegations of a sex scandal involving his former adviser, Rebekah Mason.

The Alabama Ethics Commission announced Wednesday that it had "found probable cause to believe" Bentley violated campaign finance and ethics laws . The panel had received two complaints alleging that the septuagenarian "Luv Guv" -- as he's been dubbed by local media outlets and bloggers -- misused state resources to facilitate his affair.

Bentley has repeatedly denied having an affair with Mason, even after audio recordings surfaced purporting to capture Bentley telling Mason he loved her and enjoyed putting his hands under her shirt.

On one tape, he is heard suggesting, "If we're going to do what we did the other day, we're going to have to start locking the door."

The governor has acknowledged making inappropriate remarks to a staffer, but nothing more. Mason resigned last year, the same year Dianne Bentley, the governor's wife of 50 years, saw her divorce made final.

On Tuesday, a year to the day since articles of impeachment were first brought against the governor, the Alabama Ethics Commission met in secret to discuss Bentley, according to two state officials who asked not to be named.

The meeting agenda said the body planned to "discuss matters relating to the character and reputation of certain public officials or employees as well as matters covered by the Grand Jury Secrecy Act."

Asked before the meeting for a guarantee that the commission would not discuss Bentley's job performance, in contravention of state law, the commission's executive director, Thomas Albritton, told CNN in an email, "I don't really understand your question, but what I can tell you is that we will not violate Alabama's Open Meetings Act."

Following its meeting, the Ethics Commission announced that a yearlong investigation -- involving 45 witnesses and 33,000 documents -- indicated there was probable cause to believe Bentley violated the Alabama Ethics Act and Fair Campaign Practices Act.

Bentley, through attorney William Athanas, maintained his innocence. "There's a great distance between probable cause and beyond a reasonable doubt," Athanas said.

The House committee's parallel effort to investigate the governor hasn't been without its own drama. The panel halted its probe in November when then-state Attorney General Luther Strange asked that his office be able to take over "related work."

But in February, before the attorney general office's investigation was done, Bentley appointed Strange to the US Senate seat vacated by Jeff Sessions, whom President Donald Trump nominated to become attorney general of the United States.

House leaders last month directed Sharman to get back to work. He sent the governor's lawyers a letter last week laying out a tentative schedule for impeachment hearings. If the House votes to impeach, it would kick off a trial in the Alabama Senate, which acts as a jury and could remove Bentley from office.

The governor's attorney, Ross Garber, condemned Sharman's schedule, claiming Bentley was being denied due process and expressing confidence that the Judiciary Committee "will not allow their proceedings to be hijacked and turned into a kangaroo court."

"I would want to resign if that was me," Harbison said. "I would want to end it."

But with only days to go before the impeachment hearings, Bentley has stood firm. Here's the origin of each article of impeachment.

The first impeachment article charges Bentley with neglecting his gubernatorial duties and breaking the law in an attempt to "promote his own personal agenda."

According to Henry, the malfeasance charge stems from allegations made by the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency ex-Secretary Spencer Collier, before Bentley fired him.

After his dismissal, Collier sat down with reporters and told them he'd seen proof of Bentley's affair and accused the governor of using state resources to cover it up.

This allegation stems from what investigators call "credible evidence" that the governor misused state property to facilitate his relationship with Mason.

In addition, it states that the governor made important "administrative decisions" solely to foster his affair and conceal it — a reference to Collier's ousting on March 22, 2016.

"He was using his office to basically blackmail and strong-arm individuals into not disclosing any of his extramarital affairs," Henry said.

Another issue was the lack of transparency surrounding Mason's compensation. According to AL.com, Mason moved from the governor's office to Bentley's reelection campaign in 2013, working through her private consulting firm, RCM Communications. The campaign paid her $426,978, according to the Bentley campaign's expenditure report.

Because she was no longer on the government payroll, Mason wasn't subject to financial disclosures. Critics, including Henry, consider the move evidence that Mason and Bentley were trying to circumvent campaign ethics laws.

This one addresses Bentley's repeated blunders and his failure to deal with the scandal and its fallout effectively, Henry told CNN.

"He is not capable of running the state with the decisions he is making," Henry said. "Time and time again he has poor judgment and continues to make these decisions that are detrimental to the people of Alabama."

Henry points to Bentley's continued interactions with Mason even after she resigned. Most recently, the pair traveled to Washington D.C. to attend Donald Trump's inauguration. Mason's husband, Jon, accompanied them.

"We're still hearing stories of cabinet members having to have very intense conversations with him about continuing to allow her to travel with him," Henry said. "It never stops."

The term "moral turpitude," in this case, means that while Bentley's extramarital affair is not an illegal act by itself, his "inherently immoral" behavior shows he is unfit to be the governor, according to the allegation.

It's a snub for a governor who in his inauguration speech praised the state's fresh ethics laws because, in his words, "The people of this state are counting on us to focus on them, not ourselves."

Bentley's scandal has hijacked the political apparatus, and all the focus is on him, critics say. Harbison, who didn't originally support impeachment but has since changed his mind, feels nothing will get done until they address the elephant in the governor's office.

"We have a lot of important issues we need to be dealing with. I just don't think we can deal with them if Bentley's in office because of the trust level of people in Alabama," he said. "This is kind of like a road block. A lot of people I've talked to, they don't want to see him in prison. ... They want to move on from this." </s> Alabama Governor Robert Bentley has won a delay in impeachment hearings that were due to start next week in the state legislature.

He's been fighting in court to avoid facing embarrassing charges that he misused his office to cover up an alleged affair.

Lawyers for the two-term Republican have won a temporary restraining order delaying impeachment proceedings that were set to begin Monday in the Alabama House Judiciary Committee. A Montgomery circuit judge granted Bentley more time to respond to the allegations.

The last-minute legal maneuvers come amid a damaging report released by the panel's special counsel, Jack Sharman. It lays out in sometimes sordid detail an extra-marital relationship between the 74-year-old Bentley and political advisor 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," Sharman wrote in an executive summary. He said Bentley "encouraged an atmosphere of intimidation" to ensure the silence of his staff.

Earlier Friday, Bentley appeared in a hastily called news conference on the steps of the Alabama Capitol. He apologized for letting the people of Alabama down, but rejected calls from GOP legislative leaders to step down.

"I do not plan to resign," he said. "I have done nothing illegal."

Political pressure for him 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.

Diane 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.

The Alabama House Judiciary Committee sought the investigation ahead of considering impeachment articles against the governor for willful neglect of duty and corruption in office. The chairman says the panel will meet Monday despite the court order, which he is trying to get overturned.

Earlier this week the Alabama Ethics Commission found probable cause that Bentley should face criminal ethics and campaign finance charges, and handed the case to the Montgomery County District Attorney for possible prosecution.

Bentley, a former Baptist deacon, used the language of his religion during his Friday public appearance, acknowledging "personal struggles" and asking for prayer.

"I asked God to take these struggles and to help me carry these burdens," he said. "And I found freedom in that."

Bentley first met Mason, a former television reporter, at their Tuscaloosa church where he taught a couples' Sunday school class. She served as press secretary for his campaign for governor in 2010, and later joined his administration. During his second term, her salary was paid with campaign funds and through a separate advocacy non-profit organization set up by Bentley.

Her husband, Jon Mason, was appointed by Bentley as executive director of the Governor's Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives.

The couple recently accompanied Bentley on a trip to Washington, D.C., for President Trump's inauguration.
The Alabama Ethics Commission finds there is probable cause that Governor Robert Bentley violated the state's ethics and campaign finance laws, and refers the case to Montgomery County District Attorney Daryl Bailey.