AUBURN, Ala. (AP) – Alabama House Speaker Mike Hubbard said Tuesday he will focus on winning re-election in November and then capturing another term as speaker, one day after his indictment on 23 ethics charges his lawyer described as a ploy to destroy Hubbard’s political future.
More than 30 supporters, including members of the Legislature and U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, surrounded Hubbard at a news conference in Auburn, where he said he has given no thought to resigning since being indicted Monday on accusations of misusing his public offices for the benefit of himself and his businesses.
“I’m not going to let any outside forces determine who the representative is for District 79 or who the speaker is,” Hubbard said.
Defense attorney Mark White and Hubbard have contended for weeks that a Lee County grand jury investigation led by Attorney General Luther Strange’s office was a political witch hunt, but they had not said by whom. That changed Tuesday.
“I am talking about General Strange and the people that are working for him,” White said.