Alabama gov faces calls to resign as impeachment report released

The speaker of the Alabama house is calling on Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley (R) to resign over a sex scandal, CNN reported.

“Let’s end this embarrassment to our state right now,” Alabama House Speaker Mac McCutcheon (R) said Friday. “It’s the only way to avoid taking our state on a long, painful and embarrassing journey whose ending is likely already known to us all.”

{mosads}The scandal has plagued Bentley since 2016, when recordings from 2014 emerged of him making sexually explicit comments to one of his advisors, Rebekah Mason.

The Associated Press reported early Saturday that Bentley’s attorneys stopped next week’s scheduled impeachment hearings from occurring.

A report on the impeachment process released on Friday claimed the governor “encouraged an atmosphere of intimidation” in order to keep his relationship with Mason quiet, the AP said.

Bentley on Friday said he does not plan to resign.

“I have done nothing illegal. If the people want to know if I misused state resources, the answer is simply no, I have not,” he said.

An ethics panel earlier this week referred its investigation to the district attorney.