By Susan Britt
Alabama Political Reporter
MONTGOMERY—On Tuesday, the Prosecution filed a supplement to Hubbard’s Renewed Motion to Dismiss, attaching one more affidavit. The affidavit is the testimony of the Chief of Staff for Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA), John Taylor, Exhibit A.
In the affidavit, Taylor says that he was contacted by Hubbard’s attorney, Lance Bell, “on behalf” of Baron Coleman on January 5, to arrange a meeting between Coleman and ALEA Secretary Spencer Collier.
In the filing, Acting Attorney General W. Van Davis states that the Prosecution “only contacted Secretary Collier and Special Agent Jack Wilson because it believed they were the only individuals with knowledge about Baron Coleman’s meeting with ALEA.” It says that Coleman claimed on his February 15 radio show that Collier’s affidavit was “incorrect in stating that Coleman contacted law enforcement to arrange a meeting regarding his allegations against [Matt] Hart.” Coleman referenced a text message exchange between himself and Taylor. The State says, based upon that information, they reached out to Taylor and took his affidavit.
Taylor also states in his affidavit, that Bell had telephoned him for the first time in “early 2015.” He said he was familiar with Bell since Taylor had served as a substitute on Mike Hubbard’s protective detail. Bell told Taylor that Gene Sisson “had information related to wrongdoing on the part of Deputy Attorney General Matt Hart.” Taylor said that Bell asked for him to contact someone in the FBI and have them contact Micky McDermott, Sisson’s attorney. Sisson’s allegations were later rejected by the Ethics Commission.
Taylor said that when Bell contacted him, Bell had been speaking with Coleman about possible wrongdoing by Hart. He said he was “acting on behalf” of Coleman and asked that Taylor arrange a meeting between Secretary Collier and Coleman.
“Coleman said that he only wanted to speak with Secretary Collier, because he was worried that his contact with ALEA would become known, if too many people knew of [his] interaction with ALEA,” stated Taylor.
Taylor refutes Coleman’s statement in his affidavit where he said he was “contacted” by law enforcement. “It was Coleman and Mr. Bell who contacted law enforcement seeking an interview between Mr. Coleman and Secretary Collier about Deputy Attorney General Hart.”
He says that he relayed the request to Secretary Collier who arranged for Coleman to be interviewed by an ALEA agent.
Taylor said, “Based on the interview, it was determined that no investigation of Deputy Attorney General Hart would be opened by ALEA.”
Taylor said that Coleman never alleged any violation of criminal law.
The State argues that the evidence that Bell contacted Taylor on behalf of Coleman to arrange a meeting with Secretary Collier was “absent from both the Renewed Motion and the Coleman affidavit because it would have interfered with the defense’s manufactured narrative that law enforcement contacted Coleman about the allegations in his affidavit.”
The filing also states that Taylor’s affidavit proves, “Sisson was the defense’s mole in the Attorney General’s Office” and this is another attempt by the Defense to “manufacture the narrative that the prosecution is under investigation since the inception of this case.”
According to Alacourt documents, the Defenses’ Renewed Motion was filed 2 hours following Judge Walker’s order denying motions concerning the constitutionality of the ethics laws and selective and vindictive prosecution.
