Robert Bentley
Gov. Robert Bentley's mental health appears to be cracking under the weight of a federal investigation into apparently rampant corruption in his administration. (See here and here.) Now, we have new evidence that Bentley, in fact, is out of touch with reality. And if an Alabama legal expert's account is correct about the deluge of criminal charges that likely will be leveled against the governor in the coming weeks, Bentley's mental health probably will not improve anytime soon.The latest evidence of Bentley's thin grasp on reality comes in an al.com article last week titled "Gov. Robert Bentley: People of Alabama 'not interested in impeachment.' To claim Alabamians don't care about the possible impeachment of their governor is nutty in itself. But Bentley does not stop there. Consider this from the al.com piece:
"We're going to be very cooperative with the legislature," Bentley said. "We have nothing to hide. We have no charges against us at all. We have nothing to hide. The truth always has a sound. And I can tell you, we tell the truth and we've done nothing wrong. We'll work with them and it's really not a problem. They are trying to feel their way through this process so we'll let them do that."
The truth always has a sound? Has the governor been listening to his collection of Grateful Dead records? More importantly, Bentley portrays himself as an honorable guy who tells he truth--when we have indisputable evidence that he and the truth have a fractured relationship, at best.
In December 2015, Bentley told al.com reporter Chuck Dean (has he gone into a witness-protection program?) that the two citizen journalists -- attorney Donald Watkins and yours truly -- who broke the story of the governor's affair with advisor Rebekah Caldwell Mason got it wrong. Bentley declared "the rumors were not true," that "people on blogs" had "crossed the line," that the bloggers were "just ridiculous," and he did not know "how anyone could believe them."
In March of this year, audiotapes surfaced of Bentley speaking rapturously about fondling Mason's breasts and exploring her nether regions. Hmmm . . . it seems the "bloggers" weren't so "ridiculous" after all. Mason promptly stepped down, and new reports suggest another batch of tapes are out there, much more graphic than the first ones.
So Bentley claims to be a truth teller, despite a mountain of evidence to the contrary. What would a truth teller have done when former First Lady Diane Bentley took a walk on the beach and set up a cell phone to capture Bentley and Mason engaged in "dirty talk?" Well, here's what a really truthful guy would have said when Mrs. Bentley returned from her walk: "Hey honey, guess what. I just got off the phone with my mistress, Rebekah--you know, the one who is young enough to be our daughter--and we had the best time talking about those special moments when I fondled her breasts and caressed her . . . well, you know, down there. I told her that no 50-year marriage to an old crone like you could compare to the thrill of taking in her lustrous young flesh. Just wanted to keep you posted because I am one truth-tellin' guy."
The Alabama House Judiciary Committee began impeachment proceedings against Bentley last week. But Watkins, who surely is one of the most skilled criminal-defense and civil-rights lawyers Alabama ever has produced, says impeachment is relatively minor compared to the roaring freight train that is bearing down on Bentley and his colleagues. Writes Watkins, in a Facebook post titled "Bentley's indictment more important than his impeachment":
I am not worried about Governor Robert Bentley's impeachment. His indictment on racketeering and public corruption charges is coming soon. The only real question is who will help him make his sky-high bail. I think Bentley is a flight risk and should be denied bail. He will be "perp walked" out of the governor's office since he will not leave on his own.
The number of criminal charges against Bentley is expected to establish a record for a federal racketeering case. I can't wait for Bentley's post-indictment press conference to see which public officials stand by Bentley's side to proclaim his innocence.
Ouch, it hurts just to read that. But as you can tell from the video below, taken last week at a ceremonial groundbreaking in Huntsville, the guv seems to have no clue about what likely awaits him:
