By Bill Britt
Alabama Political Reporter
MONTGOMERY—Deputy Attorney General Henry T. “Sonny” Reagan’s exit from the Attorney General’s Office reveals yet another chapter in what appears to be an ongoing conspiracy to thwart justice in the investigation and prosecution of Speaker of the House Mike Hubbard.
A picture showing officers of the court, including Reagan, actively working to undermine the case against Hubbard, grows clearer with each unfolding event.
Hubbard, who stands accused by the State of 23 felony counts of public corruption, has been given what may prove to be illegal aid from those within the justice system.
In an internal memo first revealed by this publication on November 11, Attorney General Luther Strange states that Reagan, “forged relationships with persons, outside the Office of Attorney General, who had an interest in undermining the Lee County Special Grand Jury’s investigation.”
Strange further states that among those relationships, were those he shared with Rep. Barry Moore and Speaker Hubbard, through their attorneys. Court documents show that Moore’s attorney Bill Baxley, also represents Reagan.
As this publication has previously reported, Rob Riley, the son of former governor Rob Riley, also represents Reagan as well as Hubbard.
In his statements on Reagan, General Strange writes, “Mr. Reagan shared legal counsel with Speaker Hubbard, who was the subject of the grand jury’s investigation. The representation of Mr. Reagan by Speaker Hubbard’s attorney was, likewise, related to the Lee County Special Grand Jury. By sharing legal counsel with the subject of the grand jury’s investigation, Mr. Reagan again created a situation in which his duties of loyalty and confidentiality to the State of Alabama and to the Office with respect to the Hubbard investigation, conflicted with and were compromised by his own personal interests.”
The public face of Hubbard’s legal team has been J. Mark White, but the attorney of record is, and has been, Rob Riley. This was confirmed by Riley’s office. It is believed that Riley is the one who suggested that White represent Hubbard and that Baxley defend Moore.
Strange’s memo makes it clear that Reagan’s representation by attorney’s allied with Moore and Hubbard, created an “irreconcilable conflict of interests,” that compromised his, “duties of loyalty and confidentiality to the State,” and undermined grand jury’s investigation for “his own personal interest.”
Strange describes a situation where a sitting Deputy Attorney General is sharing confidential information with attorneys, who, under the guise of attorney/client privilege are free to use this information to protect and defend their clients in a manner the law never imagined.
Here, a cast of characters all linked to former Gov. Bob Riley through relationships, both familial and financial, are talking to Reagan and each other through their attorneys.
It has been revealed that not only did Reagan conspire to reveal confidential information to those under indictment or investigation, but that he also participated in an attempt to have white collar crimes chief Matt Hart removed from the case by means of a bogus personnel complaint. It is widely believed, by those inside and outside the Attorney General’s office, that Reagan drafted the complaint against Hart with the help of those who had been actively engaged in advising Hubbard. As with other actions possibly taken by Reagan and the attorneys such a collusion would not fall under attorney/client privilege or the ethics code of the State. And certainly privilege does not extend to lawyers aiding clients in furtherance of a criminal activity.
Strange told his staff that the decision to terminate Reagan was based, “upon the fact that Mr. Reagan breached his duty of loyalty to the State of Alabama and this Office, failed to safeguard the confidences of the Office, and violated the trust of his colleagues, all in violation of the policies of this Office and the Rules of the State Personnel Board”
Reagan’s conduct became public after the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals refused to seal documentation that Reagan had unsuccessfully tried to quash his subpoena to testify before the Lee County Grand Jury.
It had been known for months that Reagan worked in concert with others inside the Attorney General’s office to lay the foundation for a bogus complaint against Hart. It is not known at this time if Riley or Baxley had any influence in the plot to remove Hart, but it is not outside the realm of possibilities given Strange’s statement. It has been said by a number or political operatives that Rob Riley allegedly reached out to Gov. Bentley as well as a sitting federal judge in an attempt to thwart the Hubbard investigation.
It is believed that the Attorney General’s Chief Deputy Kevin Turner was instrumental in Reagan’s scheme to oust Hart and that he is still causing friction within the office designed to slow the investigation.
In the inter-office memo, Strange reiterates his “confidence in the integrity and professionalism of Acting Attorney General Davis” and also that he is “absolutely certain that the members of the Special Prosecutions Division have conducted themselves with a high level of professionalism and will continue to do so.”
This should send a clear message to the rumor mongers who have made the false assertion that Davis is going to be fired or that he is leading a rogue prosecution.
With the Attorney General’s strongly-worded condemnation on Reagan’s action, and the statements made earlier this year by Davis, it is believed that Reagan, as well as others, may face criminal indictments in the very near future.
Far from a rogue prosecution.
It would appear that in actuality, a rogues’ gallery within the justice system seeks to exonerate Hubbard, by whatever suspect means they can contrive.
