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UPDATED: Speaker Mike Hubbard responds to indictment, says it's politically motivated

Speaker Mike Hubbard talks with supporters at a candidates forum in Auburn (Jim Little | Community Reporter)
Speaker Mike Hubbard talks with supporters at a candidates forum in Auburn (Jim Little | Community Reporter)

State Rep. Mike Hubbard, speaker of the Alabama House of Representatives and representative from Auburn, was indicted by a Lee County grand jury and charged with 23 class B felonies, including four counts of using his office for personal gain.
Hubbard helped lead the Republican Party to a majority position in the Alabama State Legislature in 2010. He was first elected to the Alabama State House of Representatives from Auburn in 1998.
Hubbard denied any claims of wrongdoing, calling the grand jury a "political witch hunt."
The seven-page indictment alleges Hubbard violated Alabama law when he used his position as head of the Alabama Republican Party in 2010 to spend party money with the Auburn Network, Craftmaster Printers and other businesses he owns.
If convicted, Hubbard could face up to 20 years in jail for each count, according to a statement released by special prosecutor W. Van Davis.
Davis was appointed to oversee the investigation after Attorney General Luther Strange recused himself in January 2013.

During a press conference at the Hotel at Auburn University and Dixon Conference Center held on Oct. 21, Hubbard's attorney Mark White told reporters the indictment was repugnant and an attack on the right of a private citizen to make a private investment.

"Mike Hubbard will not resign," White said. "Mike Hubbard will not step aside as speaker."
White also said his legal team would advance the case as quickly as possible.
"I think it is only appropriate and being a graduate of the great institution that is across the street for me to tell you that our team will be running a hurry-up offense," White said.
Hubbard, with his wife standing next to him and surrounded by other members of the Alabama Legislature wearing "I like Mike" stickers, briefly spoke to reporters blaming the indictment on politics.
"We have made monumental, substantive changes that is definitely shaking up the status quo," Hubbard said.
Congressman Mike Rogers was also at the press conference and insinuated Strange was trying to stop Hubbard from running for governor in 2018.
"It's not rocket science, but I'll tell you what it is, it's Chicago-style gutter politics and it's got no place in Lee County and the State of Alabama," Rogers said.
Later, White was asked if they were referring to Strange. He confirmed they were.
"I cannot figure out when General Strange is the Attorney General and when he is not," White said.
Strange said in a statement he was not involved in the investigation.
"I made the decision to recuse myself from the matter involving Speaker Hubbard several months ago," Strange said. "I did so on recommendations of our career prosecutors and to completely remove any appearance of politics being involved in the matter."
After posting bond on Oct. 20, Hubbard attended a candidate forum in Auburn hosted by the League of Women Voters of East Alabama. No mention was made of Hubbard's indictment.
Hubbard is being challenged by Democrat Shirley Scott-Harris in the Nov. 4 election.
Scott-Harris called the allegations against Hubbard serious, but she trust the judicial system will handle it.
"People want government that's honest, and they want government that's truthful," Scott-Harris said. "Alabama is ranked as a state with high corruption and that's a bad tag to have."
In a video posted on Facebook, Hubbard called into question the timing of the indictment.
"This has been going on for two years, dragging on and on, and here they come two weeks before an election and make these allegations," Hubbard said.
Davis' statement on Hubbard's arrest




Hubbard's indictment


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