MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) – Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley toured a women’s prison Thursday and tried to focus on his political agenda, despite being dogged by questions about his relationship with a former aide.
Pressure has mounted around the governor ever since he acknowledged last week that he made inappropriate sexual remarks to his former aide, who stepped down on Wednesday. Bentley has denied having an affair with Rebekah Caldwell Mason and for much of the week he kept up his schedule of public appearances while becoming a political punching bag for a few fellow Republicans who have called for his resignation or impeachment.
Asked about that Thursday, Bentley said: “I just want the people of Alabama to know there is nothing there, nothing illegal there, there is nothing that has been done that would affect the people of Alabama for my job.”
He made the remarks after touring the overcrowded Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women in Wetumpka. The governor is seeking to build legislative support for an $800 million prison construction project that he believes is critical to solving the state’s overcrowding problem, which has been blamed for two violent uprisings in the past few weeks.
The prison, built in the 1942, houses 950 female inmates in a facility originally built for 550. The number of media attending the event was far more than any similar previous engagement, suggesting that Bentley would remain under fire.