Monday, April 10, 2017
BREAKING NEWS -- Governor Robert Bentley Is Resigning - Donald V. Watkins
https://www.facebook.com/donald.v.watkins/posts/10212531194377013
BREAKING NEWS---
Governor Robert Bentley Is Resigning
By Donald V. Watkins
©Copyrighted and Published (via Facebook) on April 10, 2017
©Copyrighted and Published (via Facebook) on April 10, 2017
It started with a special series of exclusive investigative articles published on this Facebook page. This first series of articles was titled, "Forbidden Love – Robert Bentley's Secret Love Affair". This historic four-part series was published on September 4, 9, 11, and 13, 2015. It detailed Governor Bentley's secret love affair with Rebekah Caldwell Mason, his "senior political adviser". Both lovers were married when the affair started.
Alabama's mainstream media organizations ran from this story and attacked our reporting of the love affair between Bentley and Mason as "questionable". They also accused our Facebook news team of trafficking in unsubstantiated "gossip". Not one of these organizations had the courage to break the Bentley-Mason love affair or ask the governor hard questions about the affair after we broke the story.
On September 16, 20, and 25, 2015, and October 2, 2015, we published our second four-part series of investigative articles. These articles focused on Bentley's use of tax dollars, campaign funds, and "dark money" to finance his high-flying romance with Rebekah Mason. This series of articles was titled, "Executive Betrayal-Robert Bentley's Fleecing of Taxpayers and Donors".
Governor Bentley went ballistic after we published these exclusive news articles. Using his official position as "Chief Magistrate of Alabama", Bentley and his friends in state and federal regulatory agencies launched investigations targeting me by the Alabama Banking Department, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (after the departure of former ALEA chief Spencer Collier, who refused to investigate me), and other governmental agencies. Bentley was determined to stop further publication of my Facebook news articles on his "sex for power" scandal with Rebekah by using any and all means at his disposal.
In the end, none of Bentley's retaliatory tactics was successful in stopping the publication of our articles on his growing "sex for power" scandal. We continued to break new stories that showed the magnitude and depth of the scandal.
The House Judicial Committee's Report, which was released Friday, mirrors our groundbreaking journalism in "Forbidden Love" and "Executive Betrayal". The Committee has scheduled impeachment hearing for this morning.
On Saturday, the Alabama Supreme Court overturned an injunction issued Friday by Montgomery state court Judge Greg Griffin, a Bentley appointee, and unanimously ruled that Bentley's impeachment proceedings could move forward in the Legislature.
Robert Bentley will be gone soon. He is resigning as governor. The entire Republican and Legislative leadership hierarchy of Alabama has finally asked the governor to step down.
Bentley spent the weekend trying to negotiate a leniency deal with state and federal prosecutors in exchange for his resignation.
Rebekah Mason's reign as "de facto" governor of Alabama will end the moment Bentley leaves office. She, too, spent the weekend huddling with criminal lawyers.
Our news team's job of exposing public corruption in Alabama state government is not finished. Luther Strange remains on the loose. Strange allowed Robert Bentley and Rebekah Mason to go free on criminal charges in exchange for Bentley's gubernatorial appointment to a U.S. Senate seat. This smelly quid pro quo deal cannot stand. Strange must be brought to justice as well.
Stay tuned.
Donald V Watkins
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