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It's Time to Begin the Trial of The People of Alabama v. The Hubbard 99 in the Court of Public Opinion
By Donald V. Watkins
©Copyrighted and Published (via Facebook) on June 14, 2016
©Copyrighted and Published (via Facebook) on June 14, 2016
Yesterday, my cell phone rang nonstop after I published our "Help Wanted" article in which I asked for the public's help in identifying the Alabama lawmakers in a photograph showing them standing with former House Speaker Mike Hubbard at his post-indictment press conference on October 21, 2014. The day before, Hubbard had been indicted by the state of Alabama on 23 counts of felony ethics law violations.
Last Friday, Hubbard became a convicted felon after a jury convicted him on 12 of these 23 charges. Twelve Lee County jurors, who saw Hubbard's public corruption up close during his criminal trial, used their power to stop it.
The callers demanded that we commence a trial in the court of public opinion for the 99 House members who voted to re-elect Hubbard as Speaker of the House in the aftermath of his criminal indictment. I refer to these lawmakers as the "Hubbard 99".
The re-election vote occurred more than two months after Hubbard was indicted. In their moment of truth, the Hubbard 99 chose to stand with an indicted public corruption crook rather than the good and decent people of Alabama. This choice was appalling in light of the fact that state prosecutors graphically described Hubbard's crimes against the people of Alabama in his indictment.
Hubbard's crime spree occurred in plain view of his colleagues in the House of Representative. It was an open secret in legislature. Hubbard's "House Speaker for Sale" swagger permeated the Statehouse. Lawmakers who witnessed Hubbard's unethical practices simply smiled admiringly and politely ignored them. None of the Hubbard 99 lawmakers tried to stop Hubbard's public corruption.
During his crime spree, Hubbard robbed Alabama voters of their right to honest government services. We are the innocent victims of his crime spree. As measured by his trial jury's 12 "Guilty" verdicts, Hubbard engaged in a pattern and practice of ethics violations against his victims.
Hubbard's trial is over. Judge Jacob Walker will sentence him on July 8th. I am confident that Hubbard will receive a long prison sentence because of the serial nature of his crimes.
Hubbard did not act alone in committing his crimes. Hubbard had plenty of accomplices in the legislature who milled around the crime scene during his crime spree and helped Hubbard out by their silence in the face of a sworn duty to uphold the laws of the state of Alabama. These accomplices are the Hubbard 99 lawmakers who voted to re-elect Hubbard as Speaker of the House.
Now that Hubbard has been convicted in a court of law, it is time for Alabama voters to commence the trial of The People of Alabama v. The Hubbard 99 in the Court of Public Opinion. The Hubbard 99 defendants are charged with: (a) aiding and abetting Hubbard in betraying the public trust; (b) reckless endangerment of the public's right to honest government services; (c) willfully failing to report Hubbard's ethics violations while his crime spree was in progress; (d) aiding and abetting Hubbard's efforts to frustrate state prosecutors in the performance of their duties by re-electing Hubbard to the highest position of power in the House of Representatives; and (e) threatening fellow legislators who did not support Hubbard with eternal political damnation. Finally, the Hubbard 99 lawmakers knew that Alabama voters were the innocent victims of Hubbard's crime spree and personal greed, and they simply did not give a damn about the crime victims.
Based upon a sampling of phones calls, texts, emails and private messages I received from friends, supporters and surrogates of the Hubbard 99 accomplices on yesterday, the Hubbard 99 lawmakers have pleaded "Not Guilty" to the charges for a variety of reasons. Some have said they were too afraid of political ostracism and retaliation from fellow lawmakers to do anything about Hubbard's public corruption. Others have said they were worried about losing their coveted committee chairpersonship positions. Many have characterized Hubbard's criminal conduct as one of the perks that comes with the House Speaker's job. Unbelievably, nearly all of them prayed for Hubbard's acquittal. Most of them saw nothing wrong with what Hubbard was doing. A couple of them pleaded "Not Guilty by Reason of Political Insanity".
Not one of the Hubbard 99 accomplices is ready to enter a "Guilty" plea in the Court of Public Opinion. Not one of them is prepared to accept personal responsibility for his/her role in Hubbard's daring and fairly open crime spree. None of them has expressed any willingness to support the innocent victims of Hubbard's public corruption crimes by pushing the voter-led ethics reform initiatives unveiled by C.A.R.E. (Citizen Advocates for Reformed Ethics) on Memorial Day. These reforms can be found on CARE's Facebook page at:https://www.facebook.com/groups/1634472746876574/
In the coming weeks, we will present the case against the Hubbard 99 in the Court of Public Opinion. We will publish the names and House district numbers of the Hubbard 99 defendants. These lawmakers will be tried as a unified bipartisan and biracial group of 99 willing accomplices to Hubbard's public corruption crimes.
They have a right to remain silent, or they can defend their support of Hubbard in the Court of Public Opinion. They have a right to counsel as a mouthpiece, or they can defend themselves in this court.
The voters of Alabama constitute a "jury of their peers" in the Court of Public Opinion.
If the Hubbard 99 accomplices are found guilty of the charges outlined in this article, then we would ask Alabama voters to remove these convicted lawmakers from public office during the 2018 election cycle. In this event, they should receive long sentences in the trash bin for disgraced politicians.
Finally, members of the Hubbard 99 may be eligible for a political pardon prior to the 2018 elections. This opportunity, however, must be earned through a sincere showing of contrition for their steadfast support of convicted felon Mike Hubbard and a demonstrated commitment to support CARE's ethics reform legislation.
In the end, we sincerely hope that jurors in the Court of Public Opinion case of The People of Alabama v. The Hubbard 99 match the courage shown by jurors in Mike Hubbard's criminal case.
Donald V Watkins
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