After wrecking his marriage and ruining his reputation by using taxpayer dollars to carry out an illicit affair with one of his staffers, Governor Robert Bentley finally resigned Monday afternoon. No one is more relieved, no doubt, than Alabama Senator Luther Strange.
That new senator has had a hard time shaking rumors that he owes his seat to the Bentley’s scandal. But Bentley’s resignation has finally brought Strange some political exoneration.
“It’s frustrating when people question your integrity,” Strange said while sitting in the newsroom of the Washington Examiner last week. And the former attorney general faced plenty of criticism. Before accepting a special Senate appointment from the governor, Strange was investigating Bentley, leading many to accuse him of turning his back on the state.
Beset by pundits north and south of the Mason-Dixon, Strange could only express confidence in the team he left behind. “I think it’ll just play out the way it should,” the 6-foot-9 senator said. “I’m very confident the right people are going to do the right thing.” Today, events justified that confidence.
A report by the Alabama Ethics Commission found probable cause that Bentley violated ethics and campaign finance laws. Those findings were subsequently forwarded to the squad Strange left in charge at the attorney general’s office. Then, earlier this afternoon the disgraced governor was arrested, booked, and charged. Strange appears vindicated.
The welcome news is the best-case scenario for the senator nicknamed “Big Luther.” He made a gamble two months ago when he tied his fate to a man local press mock as the “luv guv.”
If Bentley beat the charges and held onto power, Strange would never escape the appearance of impropriety. Now that the governor’s headed into early retirement and possibly prison, Strange can emerge from the unusual circumstances that brought him to Capitol Hill.
Philip Wegmann is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
