Retired ethics chief: Alabama speaker often got 'the drill'
Source: Associated Press
Retired ethics chief: Alabama speaker often got 'the drill'
Kim Chandler, Associated Press
Updated 1:54 pm, Tuesday, May 31, 2016
OPELIKA, Ala. (AP) — The retired director of the Alabama Ethics Commission testified Tuesday that he often gave "the drill" to House Speaker Mike Hubbard, cautioning him about actions that would violate the state's ethics law.
Prosecutors called Jim Sumner to give jurors a tutorial on the law and to try to show that Hubbard willfully ignored his advice.
Sumner said Hubbard often sought informal ethics advice from him or general counsel Hugh Evans. He testified that they generally told Hubbard his consulting contracts would be legal as long as he didn't use the "mantle of his office" to benefit his clients and businesses.
"We always got to the point: I would say, or Hugh would say, 'You remember the drill. You can't use your position to benefit yourself, your business or your family,'" Sumner said.
Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/crime/article/Testimony-to-resume-in-Alabama-House-speaker-s-7953926.php
