Friday, April 7, 2017

Heather Hannah, former aide to First Lady Dianne Bentley, received death threats and other intimidation because of her suspected role in Bentley/Mason tapes


Heather Hannah
(From linkedin.com)
An aide to Alabama's former first lady, suspected by administration officials of helping record intimate conversations between Gov. Robert Bentley and adviser Rebekah Caldwell Mason, received death threats after the tapes became public in March 2016.

That is among the key findings from a House Judiciary Committee impeachment report released late this afternoon.

Heather Hannah, who had been an assistant to Dianne Bentley prior to the first lady's divorce from Gov. Bentley after 50 years of marriage, became the target of an intimidation campaign from the governor's office. It included at least two confrontations with Gov. Bentley himself.

The 131-page report broadly found that Gov. Bentley used law-enforcement personnel to help cover up the affair with Mason. From the report:

Governor Bentley directed law enforcement to advance his personal interests and, in a process characterized by increasing obsession and paranoia, subjected career law enforcement officers to tasks intended to protect his reputation.

The most stunning example of the administration's "obsession and paranoia" involved Heather Hannah. From the report:

The first evidence of this obsession occurred in the Spring of 2014 and involved Heather Hannah. At the time the recordings were made, Hannah was just a few months shy of her departure from Ms. Bentley’s staff, which occurred after the Republican Primary in June. As Hannah describes it, Governor Bentley blamed Hannah for the existence of the tapes because he believed there was no possible way Ms. Bentley could have made them without her help. As the existence of the recordings became known, Hannah began to hear through other staff members and officials that Governor Bentley perceived her as problematic due to the existence of the recordings.

That led to two encounters with Gov. Bentley, labeled "The Kitchen Confrontation" and "The Parking Lot Confrontation." From the report, about the first encounter:

Hannah testified that Governor Bentley’s suspicion of her was so great that he personally confronted her on two occasions at the Governor’s Mansion. One confrontation took place in front of a wall of refrigerators in the kitchen of the Mansion. Governor Bentley pointed his finger in Hannah’s face and threatened, “You will never work in the State of Alabama again if you tell anyone about this (the affair).” Hannah relates that she was not intimidated by this encounter but believes intimidation was Governor Bentley’s intent. She described his demeanor as angry and that he was speaking to her in a loud tone of voice.

Gov. Bentley's intimidation efforts did not stop there. From the report:

The second Bentley confrontation of Hannah occurred shortly thereafter when she came face-to-face with Governor Bentley in the parking lot of the Mansion. Then, Governor Bentley confronted her about his suspicion that she had bugged his office to listen to conversations between him and Mason. Hannah relates that Governor Bentley warned her to “watch herself,” that she “did not know what she was getting into,” and that because he was the governor, people “bow to his throne.”

Hannah was set to testify in a deposition before the Alabama Ethics Commission in June 2016, and she soon had reason to fear for her safety:

In June 2016, Heather Hannah provided deposition testimony to the Alabama Ethics Commission regarding her knowledge of the Bentley-Mason relationship. In that same month, she was the victim of two separate incidents of vandalism at her residence. She related that the first incident occurred before her testimony to the ethics commission and the second occurred shortly thereafter. Both incidents were reported to law enforcement after the second incident . . . 

The two acts of vandalism are described in the report as "The Vehicle Incident" and "The House Incident." The first came just before Hannah's deposition, and the second came afterward:

Within a few days of Hannah’s deposition, she believes on or about June 6, 2016, Hannah was outside of her new home watering plants when she heard what sounded like her bushes rustling. Unsure of the source of the noise, she walked to the front of her house where she noticed “scribbles” on the windows of her vehicle. She stated that at the time she could tell the scribbles were some sort of writing, but she had difficulty reading it. She took photographs of the writing on her windows, and it showed up much clearer in the pictures. Hannah provided the two pictures to Special Counsel, which are attached to this report and contained in Exhibit 9A at 217-218. The first photograph is of writing on what appears to be the driver side windows of her vehicle, and it appears to read, “Bitch Die.” The second photograph is of writing on the windshield, and it appears to read, “You will fucking die.”

From the report, about the second incident:

On June 15, 2016, Hannah was at her home preparing for bed. She turned off the light in her kitchen and was walking to the back of her house when she heard the sound of breaking glass. She walked back to her kitchen where she believed the sound originated and saw a rock lying on the floor. She also observed a broken panel in a large window on the front of her house. Hannah immediately called the police, who came to her home and took a police report at twenty minutes after midnight. At that time, Hannah also advised the officers of the vandalism of her vehicle. The police report reflects that Hannah told the officers at the time that she believed both incidents were related to her recent deposition.

Hannah testified during her deposition by Special Counsel that she believed both incidents were related to her testimony before the Alabama Ethics Commission. She based that belief on two facts. First, she could recall no personal or business conflicts outside of her service in the Office of the Governor. Second, her residence was located in a Birmingham suburb with an exceptionally low crime rate. It is also important to note that she had recently moved to the residence, and to her knowledge, her address had not been officially changed. However, she had sent a text message to a number of friends, updating her address. She stated that the distribution list of her text would have included friends with “pretty strong connections to the capital.”

The full investigative report is embedded below:





18 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good for Heather- she stuck to her guns no matter what, SC

Anonymous said...

Our "family values" governor was threatening this young woman? Sickening.

Flicker said...

I don't know of Ms. Hannah is married, but she certainly is someone's daughter, probably someone's sister. Luv Guv has no respect for that?

Anonymous said...

For the record, Heather H. is babelicious, much better looking than "Home Wrecky Becky." Surprised Luv Guv didn't put a move on Heather.

Anonymous said...

Imagine how disgusting Luv Guv would be if he wasn't such a committed Christian. Yikes!

Elle said...

9:25 -- Luv Guv probably sensed that Heather has integrity, and that repulsed him. Not joking. I'm convinced reptiles like Luv Guv have an extra sense that helps them sniff out honest people, and they try to stear clear.

Anonymous said...

Imagine how bad this would sound if Bentley's office had not obstructed at every opportunity?

legalschnauzer said...

@9:47 --

You probably hit on the most important angle to this story. The Bentley admin hardly cooperated at all with the investigation, responded to only a fraction of requests for information. In other words, they've been covering up for months.

That's why Bentley's lawyers are full of s--t with their due process argument. Also, why judge's ruling to put impeachment hearing on hold is a political decision not a legal decision.

Anonymous said...

Reading what Bentley did to this women tell me all I need to know about this small man. He should not be in charge of anything, not even the out house!!!!

Anonymous said...

Isn't Heather Hannah related to the Alabama football Hannahs? John, Charley and Dave Hannah?

Freaky Becky Home Wrecky and Doctor "Gangster of Love" Bentley have done fallen face first into the dogshit if they got caught going after the daughter of Alabama royalty! With actual threats of violence no less.


DaleCarter said...

Flicker - a man that will cheat on his wife has no respect for anyone, not even himself.

Anonymous said...

Aboard the Eliza Battle the crew was discussing Sharman's report with Beka and Bentley. Mary Mac said that their behavior reminded her of high school kids.The star quarterback gives a love letter to a girl who has "cooties"- some one steals the letter-and the Quarterback threatens people to get the letter back. Admiral Tyron reminded Bentley that history was on his side. The Captain of the Camperdown survived and so will Bentley. Sheldon said that after reading Watkins' articles, he was surprised that the report did not include the crimes Bentley's cabinet was supposed to have committed. The Stranger in The Shadows replied that Watkins' articles are based on what his sources tell him. By reading his articles about the female soldier killed in Iraq, you realize some of his sources are on the Federal level. Mike's only avenue to introduce the scenario that the Obama justice dept and their Tube Sock Puppet Big Luther were corrupt, was the impeachment inquiry. The alleged crimes by Bentley's cabinet came from the Federal sources trying to get Bentley's cabinet to shut down the impeachment inquiry and not help Mike. When that threat did not work, Obama had his Tube Sock Puppet Big Luther shut down the inquiry. Dr Foreman asked how Mike convinced Collier to betray Bentley- a man he loved like a father- and risk the wrath of Big Luther. The Stranger replied that Collier was a father also , and the Obama Justice Dept. had prosecuted Collier's son, two brothers, a nephew and former sister in law concerning the Deepwater Horizon oil spill funds. The Stranger continued that the impeachment is no longer needed ,therefore the Ethics committee only had minor offenses that Bentley is alleged to have committed.
Ms Chapelle inquired about Mike's next move. The Stranger replied that Mike is working on Plan "C" which includes the local District Attorney. People underestimate Mike. He has a plan.

e.a.f. said...

soap opera time. OMG those "operatives" are stupid. Did these people not think Ms. Hannah would report these incidents to the police? Oh, well this is entertaining reading. good luck with this story and the follow up.

Anonymous said...



Fwd: What the @#!$, Chuck?!"?!?

Chuck Dean brown nosing ... and it goes from Becky directly to the old philanderer.

"Love Rebekah"



SEE PAGE 38 at http://bentleyinvestigation.com/exhibits/Exhibit5-CC.pdf

legalschnauzer said...

Thanks for sharing, @2:07. Never thought I would find myself agreeing with David Azbell on anything, but love the rip job he gave to Chuck Dean.

What does this say about rivalries within GOP? Azbell seems to be a Riley/Hubbard guy, and he seems to hold Chuck Dean (a Bentley guy) in contempt? The Bentley and Riley factions . . . they've never gotten along?

Anonymous said...

What does that little email @ page 38 say about how Chuck Dean conducted himself as a so called "journalist" employed by al.com?

It seems like there is only one way to interpret this email chain. Chuck Dean is giving the Governor's home wrecker public relations advice and scoring personal points with Becky and the Governor by passing along email communications received by Chucky at his al.com email address received in the course of Chucky's so called "journalistic" endeavors.

Who knew that contacting Chuckles at cdean@al.com was a direct conduit to the governor's office?!




legalschnauzer said...

You nailed it, @2:41. Chuck Dean was a sham journalist. A lot of that is Dean's responsibility, but the culture of al.com probably is partly to blame. He knew his "news organization" was (and is) a PR outfit for the GOP. Kyle Whitmire knew the same thing when he put the divorce info with ugly stuff about John Merrill in his desk drawer.

In Dean's case, perhaps he had realized he was wasting money at Ashley Madison, so he was using this tactic in an effort to gain entrance to "Home Wrecky Becky's" britches.

Anonymous said...

March 22, 2016:

ALEA Chief Responds to Accusation: Story is Planted

"MONTGOMERY—In response to an al.com report once again insinuating that Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) Secretary Spencer Collier or his staff had misappropriated State funds or resources, Collier issued a statement calling out reporter Chuck Dean, Governor Robert Bentley’s chief advisor Rebekah Caldwell Mason, Acting ALEA Secretary Stan Stabler, SBI Director Gene Wiggins and Stabler’s public information officer, Anna Morris.

Collier accuses Dean of being a personal news outlet for Mason saying, “ I will be damned if I will let you, Rebekah Mason, Stan Stabler (an outright racist), Gene Wiggins or Anna Morris drag my name through the mud, and hurt my family. I promise, there is much more to come.”"

...

"Collier then drops a bombshell: “I also have much more information forthcoming to include dates, times, complaints from security officers, complaints from the Governor’s Office staff, complaints from Bentley family members and audio recordings. However, there are other criminal investigations involving the administration ongoing, and I refuse to jeopardize those, but in due time it will all be made public.”

He then, once again addresses Dean directly: “Mr. Dean… Your reporting is an embarrassment to your parent company. Over the past year, I have overheard Rebekah Mason laugh at her ability to manipulate you."