KIM CHANDLER
Associated Press
OPELIKA, Ala. (AP) — Powerful Alabama House Speaker Mike Hubbard has been arrested on felony ethics charges, accused of using public office for personal gain.
Hubbard was indicted by a grand jury on 23 charges accusing him of misusing his speaker’s office and his previous post as chairman of the Alabama Republican Party. Acting Attorney General Van Davis announced the indictment Monday.
Hubbard says the charges, weeks before the November vote in which he’s favored for re-election, constitute “a political witch hunt.”
If convicted, Hubbard faces from two to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $300,000 on each count.
The charges are latest corruption allegations against Alabama politicians to make headlines.
The 52-year-old Republican led the GOP’s takeover of the Legislature in 2010, ending 136 years of Democratic control.
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