Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley (R) has “no intentions of resigning” from office, despite the growing outcry from state officials over his admittedly “inappropriate” relationship with his former top aide.
“My intentions are to try to make this state better,” Bentley said in a Wednesday interview with The New York Times. “My intentions are to try to work through all the difficulties that we’re going through.”
The embattled governor apologized in a tense press conference last week for making “inappropriate” comments to his former chief adviser, Rebekah Mason. Bentley insisted that he and Mason did not engage in any “sexual activity,” however.
Mason stepped down on Wednesday, saying that she wanted to spend more time with her family.
The affair allegations now have prompted an investigation by the State Ethics Committee, according to the Times. State Rep. Ed Henry (R) said this week that he plans to move forward with a resolution to impeach Bentley, too.
The 73-year-old governor acknowledged to the Times that the revelations were “a shock to people,” but said his conduct has not been “all that egregious.” Bentley suggested that a fuller account of his relationship with Mason, which he has thus far been reluctant to share, would assuage Alabamans’ concerns.
“I still feel that, in time, all of this will come out, and everything will be exposed,”
Bentley said.
“All I can say is that I think I let people down, and that disturbs me more than anything else,” he continued.
