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Mike Hubbard Update
By Donald V. Watkins
©Copyrighted and Published (via Facebook) on August 9, 2016
©Copyrighted and Published (via Facebook) on August 9, 2016
In the aftermath of his June 10, 2016, criminal conviction on 12 ethics charges, former House Speaker Mike Hubbard is having second thoughts about not taking the plea deal that was arranged for him. Our Facebook news team described the plea deal in a May 2, 2016, article titled, "Hubbard Plea Deal Finalized".
We reported that all aspects of Hubbard's plea deal with state prosecutors had been finalized, as first reported on the morning of May 2nd byTheMeck.blogspot.com. Under the deal, Hubbard would: (a) resign from public office; (b) plead guilty to certain ethics charges; (c) agree to an 18-month sentence, 12 months of which would have been served in the Lee County jail and 6 months of which would have been suspended; and (d) be allowed to register as a lobbyist without objections from prosecutors after serving his sentence. As part of his deal, Hubbard would cooperate with state and federal prosecutors investigating allegations of public corruption by Governor Robert Bentley, former governor Bob Riley, and Senate President Del Marsh.
The Hubbard deal was to be publicly announced after the regular session of the legislature adjourned. The plea deal was supposed to be announced in open court on or before the start of Hubbard's May 16, 2016, criminal trial.
After we published our story, Hubbard's attorney, Bill Baxley, vehemently denied the existence of any such deal and proclaimed Hubbard's innocence.
Our sources stood by their account of the plea deal. The May 2nd article was based on information from multiple sources that I have used for several decades. Two of them guided me through former federal judge Mark Fuller's 2014-15 wife-beating scandal and the Robert Bentley-Rebekah Mason "sex for power" and racketeering scandal with remarkable accuracy. All of them are familiar with the players in Mike Hubbard's case. Individually and collectively, they have a 100% rating for credibility, reliability, and accuracy.
The deal described in the May 2nd article was an incredibly attractive one for Hubbard and prosecutors. It would have allowed both sides to declare victory.
I have never been a "guilty plea" lawyer. I won all of my criminal cases. In Hubbard's case, however, it would have been very difficult to allow Hubbard walk away from this deal. I predicted that if Hubbard tried his case and lost, he would lose big and go to prison for a long time.
Hubbard proceeded to trial and lost big. Upon conviction, Hubbard lost his legislative seat and House Speaker position. He was sentenced to a minimum of 4 years in prison, followed by 8 years of probation. He was also fined $210,000. Hubbard is now seeking a new trial in his case.
In the aftermath of Hubbard's conviction, our Facebook news team has learned that: (a) the deal we reported in May was, in fact, on the table, and (b) Hubbard's pride would not allow him to accept the deal. The deal was a "top secret" option for Hubbard that had been worked out behind-the-scenes by his powerful Republican friends.
Hubbard balked at taking the deal and dug in after TheMeck.blogspot.comand my Facebook news team reported the story. After the deal was made public, Hubbard's legal team felt it had no choice but to proclaim his innocence and get ready to try the case. For reasons that defy my experience as a lawyer, Hubbard thought he was above a criminal conviction.
We have since learned that only four people (besides Hubbard, his legal team, blogger/journalist David Meck Meckley and me) knew of the plea deal. Because of the accuracy of our May 2nd article, the Hubbard team thinks prosecutor Matt Hart leaked the plea to me. He did not.
Hubbard rolled the dice and lost. Today, he is now a high profile felon. Not to worry, Hubbard still has friends in high places who are more than willing to shower him with tangible economic benefits.
Meet Auburn City Schools Superintendent Karen DeLano. Just 19 days after Hubbard was convicted, she signed a contract awarding the ACS Athletics broadcasting rights to the Auburn Network LLC, which is owned by Hubbard. The contract was awarded to the Auburn Network despite the fact that Hubbard's company did not offer to pay ACS for the rights to broadcast athletic events for the five-years period from June 2016 to June 2021. Competitors, Tiger Communications and iHeart Media, also submitted bids for the rights and offered to pay thousands of dollars to the school system.
Tiger Communications offered to pay at least $11,500 per year for the five-year term agreement. iHeart Media offered to pay $5,000 for the rights - $1,000 per year. These bids were rejected in favor of convict Hubbard's no-money deal.
In Alabama, all things are possible for big-time convicts like Hubbard.
Donald V. Watkins
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