Alabama Politics » Legislature

Grand Jury Back in Action

Erin Dixon — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 19:44:33 +0000

Round three for the Federal Grand Jury investigating bribery at the Alabama Statehouse began this morning in Montgomery. Jerry Bassett the director of the legislative reference service at the Alabama State House spent three hours with the jury discussing the process of drafting legislation. Here is the video of Mr. Bassett’s exit interview.

Rasmussen: State Lawmakers to Blame for Budget Woes

Rick Journey — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 16:00:52 +0000

A national Rasmussen Reports survey out this morning finds 75% of Americans say state budget problems are due to politicians unwilling to cut spending.

Eighty percent polled say they live in a state facing budget problems.

Only 19% questioned say they are willing to pay higher taxes to resolve those budget problems.

Read the questions and top lines here.

Read more of Rick Journey’s blog here.

Rep. John Rogers: Riley Must Protect All Jobs

Rick Journey — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 16:39:10 +0000

Rep. John Rogers (D-Birmingham), chairman of the Black Legislative Caucus, is on the road to Eutaw where he will join other members to call for job creation in Greene county.

“If you are going to take jobs away, you’ve got to replace those jobs,” Rogers says of the Governor’s Task Force on Illegal Gambling.

The task force arrested 16 people, including fellow caucus member Sen. Bobby Singleton (D-Greensboro), this morning during a prolonged raid of Greenetrack.

While wearing hand cuffs and sitting on a white Department of Corrections bus, Singleton called the arrest “symbolic” in a telephone interview live on FOX6 WBRC Good Day Alabama.

Rogers says he’s “outraged” by the actions of “two bullies picking on the little people of this state.”

Those bullies, Rogers says, are Gov. Bob Riley and his task force commander, John Tyson.

Greene county unemployment is 13.2%

The state unemployment is currently 10.8%.

Rogers and fellow caucus members plan to call for increased efforts by the governor for economic development in Greene county following the loss of jobs from the raid of Greenetrack.

Rogers says Riley is spending time fighting for jobs lost due to the BP gusher on the Gulf Coast.

“He should be fighting for them everywhere in the state.”

The caucus news conference takes place at 1pm at Greenetrack.

Read more of Rick Journey’s blogs here.

Final Grand Jury Testimoy for the Day-Joe Perkins

Erin Dixon — Wed, 26 May 2010 18:27:39 +0000

Closing out grand jury testimonies for today, Joe Perkins spoke with the media about his time with the feds. Here is the video below. Perkins also addressed comments by Congressman Artur Davis about what his appearance before the grand jury means for the Ron Sparks campaign.

UPDATED: Grand Jury Testimonies continue

Erin Dixon — Wed, 26 May 2010 14:57:20 +0000

Lobbyists continue to flock to the federal courthouse today for their turn testifying before the federal grand jury. Here is video of lobbyist Joe Perkins with the Matrix Group and Rick Hertsill with Direct Communications entering the courthouse.

Lobbyists continue to file in one by one

Erin Dixon — Tue, 25 May 2010 20:58:58 +0000

A steady stream of lobbyists continue to march into the federal courthouse today. Lobbyist Don Gilbert testified before the Grand Jury this morning and following him was Johnny Moore a lobbyist for the Porch Creek Indians. See the video below.

Lobbyist Michael Sullivan testifies to FBI agents

Erin Dixon — Tue, 25 May 2010 16:31:13 +0000

Lobbyist Michael Sullivan spoke with FBI agents this morning at the federal courthouse in connection with the federal probe into bribery allegations at the AL State House.

Federal Grand Jury Returns, Lobbyists Testify

Erin Dixon — Tue, 25 May 2010 16:18:07 +0000

Lobbyists return to Montgomery to testify before the federal grand jury. This morning at least 4 lobbyists have walked into the federal courthouse. See video below of Michael Sullivan, enterin the federal courthouse and Noope Cosby exiting. Cosby said he did not testify before the grand jury, he rather sat down with federal agents.

Grand Jury: Sen. Scott Beason breaks the record for longest testimony

Erin Dixon — Wed, 05 May 2010 23:36:19 +0000

The final testomy of the day came from Sen. Scott Beason (R) who sat with the grand jury for a whopping hour and forty-five minutes. Beason said that in the spring of 2009 he had a conversation with a lobbyist at the AL State House that made him feel uncomfortable. He stated that after the conversation he contacted the FBI. Beason said that he has been working with the FBI ever since. He also noted that he is coorporating fully and would not want to hinder the investigation in any way. See the video below as Beason exited the federal courthouse grounds.

Grand Jury: What the lawmakers had to say after their testimony

Erin Dixon — Wed, 05 May 2010 00:14:13 +0000

Below are links for interviews with Senators Ben Brooks (R), Phil Poole (D), and Charles Bishop (R), and Representative Jim Barton (R) following their testimony today before a federal grand jury investigating bribery allegations during the March BINGO vote in the Alabama Senate.