Alabama governor tries to block impeachment

Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley sued a state legislature committee today to block potential impeachment proceedings surrounding a sex scandal. The Alabama House Judiciary Committee was expected to release a special report on the ongoing investigation into Bentley today. In a statement today, Bentley apologized to the state, but also called the impeachment process “fundamentally unfair,” asking the court to block the release of the potentially embarrassing report. Bentley, 74, has been engulfed in scandal since 2016, when someone released recordings of him making suggestive remarks to a female aide. He and his wife of 50 years divorced in 2015 and the female aide, Rebekah Mason, resigned in 2016. This week Bentley also learned he could face criminal prosecution after the Alabama Ethics Commission found probable cause that he broke ethics and campaign law. Bentley maintains that he did nothing illegal and that the impeachment process, with an initial hearing set for Monday, is moving too fast.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.