By Bill Britt
Alabama Political Reporter
Over the last eighteen months or so, the Special White Collar Crimes Division of the State’s Attorney General’s Office has been conducting an investigation into the possible wrongdoings of Alabama’s Speaker of the House, and those surrounding him.
This investigation is being led by Special White Collar Crimes Prosecutor Matt Hart.
Hart a career prosecutor is widely known as a dogged agent of law-enforcement whose integrity is unimpeachable.
He is also appreciated for his intense investigative skills, fact gathering efforts and willingness to follow the long-winding trail of with systematic examination.
This all means that justice is not necessarily swift but it is thorough.
Generally, we don’t think of a year and a half as a long time, but we have become so accustomed to television crime dramas being neatly wrapped in a bow in under an hour that we forget that real white collar crimes take painstaking research and scrutiny.
It is said that the wheels of justice grind slowly but grind exceedingly fine; this is what we should understand and hope. We should desire the millstone of justice to move in such a way, that it ensures that all crimes and guilt are verified and that all parties concerned stand before the high court. We should wish above all else that justice is served. In a case as complex as the one surrounding Speaker Hubbard, time is required, and patient, slow investigation is a necessity. Hubbard’s career is a long and shadowy one, with layers of activities under multiple schemes, involving many people.
In such investigations, generally, documents are the the first vital pieces assembled. Then people must be challenged in a grand jury to corroborate or deny the information. Again, all of this takes precious time to verify. Grand Jury testimony almost always leads to an expansion of the investigation, because more evidence usually comes forward and some people have a tendency to lie…even to a Grand Jury. It is important to remember in public corruption cases it is often the cover-up that puts so many people behind bars.
It has been said that Hubbard told his soldiers to stand firmly together, and that they will all survive through solidarity. Of course, human nature demands self-preservation and that means that people are talking. Hubbard is a bully, a thug and an evil man, but he is also a cunning politician. He knows how to win a campaign.
First he attacked the messenger, that being alreporter.com.
Then he quieted other media that might follow on with threats from his clever criminal defense attorney, J. Mark White.
Hubbard has even tried to smear the lead investigator, Matt Hart, by saying he was fired from the US Attorney’s office (which he was not) and by saying he was “unstable.”
This style of aggression has not served to help Hubbard, so recently, the rumor has been floating that there was something amiss about Hart’s military service.
It is certain that Hubbard has called in every political favor he is owed to save his skin.
The political pressure being placed on Hart and his team must be beyond what any citizen could imagine.
It is also been rumored that pressure is being brought to bare of Attorney General Luther Strange to put a swift and favorable finding for Hubbard and his minions.
Rumor is that Hubbard and his boys have a “Second Act” for Strange. Indicating that they have a plan to damage the popular Attorney General. It is worthy to note that Luther Strange has recused himself from this case and to reinsert himself in anyway could be considered a crime.
But, the most persistent rumor is that law-enforcement would never dare arrest Hubbard, because he is too powerful. There are many who believe that the Alabama Justice system is so corrupt that it will whitewash this investigation and that Hubbard will be exonerated. It is enough to worry about what devious men like Hubbard might do but it is perhaps more frightening to think that perhaps “the good guys” are cooperating to protect the guilty.
People say that Hubbard is the most powerful man in Alabama politics. I disagree. I believe he is the weakest man. Thuggery, dishonesty and using your office for personal gain is not power, it’s extreme cowardice.
Hubbard’s dealings are at once complex and yet simple. His book, Storming the State House, serves as a roadmap to many of his corrupt activities because, like so many with narcissistic personality disorder, Hubbard can’t help but brag about his accomplishments. (Not being a specialist in personality disorders I cannot say with absolute certain what might be Hubbard’s exact pathology but NPD is one that fits in my opinion.) But, there is no doubt that the wheels are turning and Hubbard and his allies are under the heavy millstone of justice.
One day soon, Mike Hubbard will have to stand before the court and bear witness of himself.
And anyone who aids Hubbard by hindering prosecutions will be found out and exposed for the their treasonous behavior.
