The committee charged with investigating allegations against Gov. Robert Bentley Thursday issued subpoenas to the embattled governor, his top former aide Rebekah Mason — with whom he is accused of having an affair — and others connected to the allegations.
The House Judiciary Committee issued subpoenas to eight individuals in an attempt to gather information, including cell phone records, travel manifests, purchase receipts and invoices, among other things.
Jackson Sharman, the committee's special counsel, requested approval for 65 pages of subpoenas following a hearing on Tuesday, during which the committee passed a new set of rules concerning the investigation. The rules essentially granted the committee authority to issue subpoenas.
How those subpoenas will be enforced, however, is another question entirely. At the hearing Tuesday, Sharman said he believes the committee has an inherent power to enforce the subpoenas — a power implied in the Alabama Constitution.
Others, including the governor's attorney Ross Garber, said the committee has no power to enforce.
"These individuals and corporations have until 5:00 p.m. on Monday, Oct., 2016, to deliver the requested documentation to the special counsel," Jones said Thursday in a press release. "If they fail to comply, we will take appropriate action.”
The committee also subpoenaed Bentley's gubernatorial campaign; Mason's husband, Jonathan Mason; a pro-Bentley dark-money group, the Alabama Council for Excellent Government; JRM Enterprises and RCM Communications, Mason's communications firm.
Garber made no promises that the governor's office would comply with the subpoenas.
“The Judiciary Committee does not have subpoena authority,” Garber said. “There’s no statute granting it. There’s not constitutional provision granting it. This committee has no more subpoena authority than you do. … We’ll certainly look at them and evaluate them.”
Members of the subpoena subcommittee unanimously approved Sharman's subpoena proposal.
Sharman said he needs the subpoenas to move forward with the investigation. On Tuesday, he said the governor's office essentially ignored his requests for documentation and other information.
"Some witnesses have been less cooperative," Sharman said. "Some of these witnesses have simply declined to respond to us or meet with us without offering any particular reasoning. Other witnesses have declined to produce documents on a variety of different theories, including the breadth of the particular request."
However, Bentley's legal team turned over more than 1,500 documents Tuesday morning with information related to former ALEA Secretary Stephen Collier, Mason and the allegations against the governor.
But Sharman said Bentley's team turned over those documents just to be able to say they cooperated.
Bentley has denied allegations that he misused state funds, and he has denied a physical affair with Mason. However, he has apologized for "inappropriate" remarks found in phone recordings that surfaced earlier this year.
Full list of subpoenas: #alpolitics pic.twitter.com/my9m3XyAkG
— Chip Brownlee (@chpbrownlee) September 29, 2016
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
