A judge in Lee County today denied a request made by attorneys of Rep. Barry Moore (R-Enterprise) for his case to be dismissed without proceeding to trial. Moore was indicted in April for allegedly perjuring himself during grand jury testimony, but his attorneys had filed a motion asking for the charges to be dismissed because of procedural issues related to the indictment. That request was denied.
While testifying before the grand jury, Moore was asked to recall the details of a conversation he had with his attorney Josh Pipkin approximately seven months before. Unbeknownst to Moore, Pipkin had recorded the conversation, and prosecutors felt he was not sufficiently accurate in his recollection of the call during his testimony.
Moore has maintained that the indictment was politically motivated. Pipkin went on to unsuccessfully run against Moore in this year’s Republican primary.
“Confidential details (of the AG’s investigation) have been freely used in his campaign,” Moore’s attorney said of Pipkin at the time of the indictment. “The timing of today’s charges, and the facts and circumstances surrounding this case are a clear indication of the political undertones of this prosecution.”
Leaks have become a major point of tension throughout the grand jury proceedings, which fall under strict secrecy laws. The reason Moore and other elected officials were even in Lee County to testify has been the source of speculation over much of the last year.
Some of the speculation may have been put to rest today in the judge’s ruling in the Moore case. For the first time, House Speaker Mike Hubbard’s name was listed in court documents as the focus of the grand jury investigation.
Included in the judge’s ruling was a letter from Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange to Pell City attorney Van Davis.
In the letter, Strange gives Davis the authority to supervise the AG’s Special Prosecution Division “in current investigative matters relating to State Representative Mike Hubbard, to include all criminal matters arising from that investigation,” because Strange had recused himself from the case.
“By this letter, you are hereby authorized to exercise the full powers vested in me in those matters,” Strange wrote.
The exact reason for Strange’s decision to recuse himself from the case is unknown, but he indicated in an interview with Huntsville talk radio host Dale Jackson in May that he was apprehensive about getting in the middle of a spat between two factions inside the Alabama Republican Party.
The letter was dated January 31, 2013, meaning the investigation has been ongoing now for over 16 months and almost two entire Legislative sessions.
Follow Cliff on Twitter @Cliff_Sims
