Alabama Governor Robert Bentley on
Monday resigned rather than face impeachment over a sex scandal.
“I have decided it is time for me to
step down as Alabama's governor,” Bentley, a Republican, said in a
brief statement that left out why he had resigned.
According to The New York Times,
Bentley on Monday pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor charges: failing
to file a major contribution report and using campaign contributions
for personal use.
Lt. Gov. Kay Ivey succeeded Bentley.
Bentley has repeatedly said that he
said inappropriate things to Rebekah Caldwell Mason, a former top
aide, but denied they had a physical relationship. Whether Bentley
abused his position to cover up an affair was the subject of several
investigations.
As governor, Bentley strongly defended
the state's ban on same-sex marriage. In a filing to the U.S.
Supreme Court, Bentley's lawyers argued that such unions should be
seen as “social experiments” and that allowing gay couples to
marry destroys the “rights of children to be connected to their
biological parents.”
Last year, Alabama Chief Justice Roy S.
Moore was effectively removed from the bench for defying the Supreme
Court in a case that struck down Alabama's ban on same-sex marriage.
(Related: Alabama
Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore suspended for remainder of
term.)