Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature currently requires accessing the site using the built-in Safari browser.
Reaction poured in from around the state after the arrest today of House Speaker Mike Hubbard of Auburn...
...Hubbard, 52, was indicted by a special grand jury in Lee County and charged with 23 felony ethics violations.
Ending months of investigation, accusation and speculation, Alabama House Speaker Mike Hubbard Monday surrendered to authorities Monday after being indicted on 23 counts of using public office for personal gain.
If convicted, Hubbard faces a maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment and fines of up to $30,000 for each count, which are all Class B Felonies.
The sweeping indictment, issued Friday, stems from more than a year and a half of jury proceedings that became the great known unknown in Montgomery political circles. The Auburn Republican is charged with using his role as House speaker and prior position as head of the Alabama Republican Party to steer business to companies under his control and solicit investments in those firms.
The speaker, who helped engineer the Republican takeover of the state Legislature in 2010, is also accused of soliciting help with his business from some of the most prominent names in the state. The list includes former Gov. Bob Riley; his daughter Minda Riley Campbell, a prominent lobbyist; Business Council of Alabama president Billy Canary; Jimmy Rane, owner of the Great Southern Wood Co., Auburn trustee and major political contributor...
...The charges include four counts of using the chairmanship of the Alabama Republican Party — which Hubbard held from 2007 to 2011 — for personal gain; one count of voting for legislation where he had a conflict of interest; 11 counts of soliciting or receiving a thing of value from a lobbyist or principal; two counts of using his office as a member of the Alabama House of Representatives for personal gain; four counts of lobbying an executive department or agency for a fee and a count of using state equipment for private gain.
Mike Hubbard, the powerful Republican speaker of the Alabama House of Representatives, was indicted Monday by a grand jury and accused of using his political offices for personal gain.
The 23-count indictment shakes the state’s political establishment only weeks before Mr. Hubbard was expected to win re-election. It is part of a broader public corruption probe of state elected officials, conducted by former St. Clair County District Attorney Van Davis, who was appointed by the Republican state attorney general.
Mr. Hubbard, who led the GOP to a historic takeover of the Legislature in 2010 after more than a century of Democratic control, decried the indictment as a “political witch hunt” in a video posted on Facebook ....
...
On Monday, Mr. Hubbard was booked at Lee County jail. If convicted of the felony charges, he faces two to 20 years in prison for each count. So far, he hasn’t been forced to resign his legislative seat or speakership. A call and email to his attorney weren’t returned.
According to the indictment, Mr. Hubbard used his position as chairman of the state Republican Party to secure business for his companies, including Craftmaster Printers, a printing company, and Auburn Network, a multimedia production company.
It accuses him of using his position as a member of the Alabama House to land business for the Auburn Network from entities such as the Southeast Alabama Gas District, a public utility. And it charges him with soliciting things of value from various lobbyists.
