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Matt Hart

State

Former prosecutor: Ethics commissioners should rein in investigators

Former prosecutor Matt Hart wrote to AEC commissioners that changes need to be made to rules to ensure basic rights are honored.
October 29, 2024

And justice is served…

On Friday, April 10, 2020, the Alabama Supreme Court upheld Mike Hubbard’s conviction on six counts of felony ethics violations. It was not a complete victory, but justice was served. And even though the Court looked craven and reluctant in its ruling, it did, in fact, acknowledge Hubbard’s guilt and also maintained his sentence. He … Continued
April 13, 2020

Longtime prosecutor Van Davis has passed away

Early on Wednesday morning, Pell City attorney William “Van” Davis died. He was age 66. Davis was the longtime District Attorney for both St. Clair and Blount Counties, later the two jurisdictions were split and he became the DA in just St. Clair County. After Davis had retired and was in private practice in Pell … Continued
September 5, 2019

House passes safe harbor for economic developers bill

Thursday, the Alabama House of Representatives passed HB 289, sponsored by Rep. Alan Baker, R-Brewton. The bill protects economic developers from having to register as lobbyists. HB289 is similar in some respects to last year’s HB317, which passed last year but has a sunset provision that it expires this month. HB289 has no sunset provision. … Continued
April 5, 2019

Send Mike Hubbard to jail

It is often repeated that we are a nation of laws and not men. We are also told that the law trumps politics. Both of these statements are mere platitudes that most often only comfort those who indulge in the shameful practice of rank partisan power politics. Such bromides might sooth the conscience of those … Continued
February 14, 2019

Claims of selective prosecution, a new attorney roil case against former Trump EPA administrator

A series of defense motions filed in Jefferson County court early this morning ask that charges against Scott Phillips and Onis “Trey” Glenn III be dismissed. Glenn, until his indictment in November, served as President Donald Trump’s Southeast EPA administrator. Phillips is a former Alabama Environmental Management commissioner. Both men, according to a statement from … Continued
February 11, 2019

Nine stories to keep an eye on in 2019

9. Who will challenge Sen. Doug Jones in 2020? It may have been only a year ago that Doug Jones won in a historic victory that sent a Democrat from Alabama to the U.S. Senate for the first time in a quarter century, but he’s up for re-election in 2020. With that election just around the corner, … Continued
December 31, 2018

Alabama’s top 5 political new stories of 2018

As usual, 2018 was a busy year for state political news in Alabama. From indictments and scandals to big election wins and controversial legislation, here are the top five political stories of the past year. 5. Superfund convictions  After months of embarrassing stories for Alabama politicians, a federal grand jury finally brought some closure to … Continued
December 28, 2018

The fight against public corruption isn’t lost yet

This will likely not surprise you: I get a lot of correspondence. Emails. Twitter direct messages. Facebook messages. Text messages. Every day. All day long. They come rolling in, usually from someone who disagrees with something I’ve written or has taken issue with something I said on TV or who wants to say something bad … Continued
December 10, 2018