Alabama governor sues over impeachment process

Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley speaks to the media during a news conference, Monday, Sept. 19, 2016, in Hoover, Ala. Bentley issued a state of emergency in Alabama after a pipeline spill near Helena, Ala. Gas prices spiked and drivers found "out of service" bags covering pumps as the gas shortage in the South rolled into the work week, raising fears that the disruptions could become more widespread. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley speaks to the media during a news conference, Monday, Sept. 19, 2016, in Hoover, Ala. Bentley issued a state of emergency in Alabama after a pipeline spill near Helena, Ala. Gas prices spiked and drivers found "out of service" bags covering pumps as the gas shortage in the South rolled into the work week, raising fears that the disruptions could become more widespread. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) -- Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley simultaneously filed suit to block potential impeachment proceedings and apologized to voters Friday, saying he has let them down but assuring them he has done nothing illegal and won't resign because of a sex-tinged scandal.

The governor's office filed the lawsuit against the House Judiciary Committee moments before Bentley addressed members of the media on the marble steps of the Capitol.

"Let me say to the people of this state how sorry I am," Bentley said in a statement without taking questions. His comments came ahead of the planned release of a special counsel's report in the ongoing impeachment investigation.

In the lawsuit, Bentley called the impeachment process "fundamentally unfair" and asked a court to block the release of a potentially embarrassing report by the Judiciary Committee's special counsel.

A judge was holding a hearing on the governor's lawsuit Friday morning.

Bentley, 74, has been engulfed in scandal since recordings surfaced in 2016 of him making suggestive remarks to a female aide before his divorce. Bentley has acknowledged making personal mistakes but maintained he did nothing illegal or to merit his removal from office.

In the statement, he continued to deny any wrongdoing. "I have done nothing illegal. If the people want to know if I misused state resources, the answer is simply no. I have not," Bentley said.

Bentley criticized unnamed people for "taking pleasure in shaming" him and his family.

"The people of this state have never asked to be told of or shown the intimate embarrassing details of my personal life and my personal struggles," Bentley said.

His comments came two days after the state Ethics Commission found probable cause that the Republican governor broke state ethics and campaign finance laws.

"I hope the governor does what is best for the state and seriously considers stepping down," state Senate Pro Tem Del Marsh said Thursday. "I don't think it does us any good to have the House go through these impeachment proceedings."

Efforts to impeach Bentley have gathered steam for months, and the House Judiciary Committee is scheduled to hold its first hearing on the matter Monday. Committee Chairman Mike Jones said Thursday that lawmakers should prepare for a long week.

The top lawyer in the impeachment investigation said last month that he would release a report of his findings to the House Judiciary Committee and the public on Friday.

"What I'm hearing is the report is going to be extremely embarrassing for us as a state," said Rep. Ed Henry, the lawmaker who spearheaded the impeachment articles.

Ross Garber, the lawyer representing Bentley in the impeachment investigation, has urged lawmakers to be cautious. Garber said that since 1929 only two governors have been removed by impeachment and both were under criminal indictment.

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