Bentley will do interviews for new state attorney general

Published 10:49 am Thursday, February 9, 2017

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley says he will conduct interviews before naming a new state attorney general.

Bentley will name a new state attorney general after appointing Luther Strange Thursday to the U.S. Senate.

The governor said he will begin interviews Thursday evening and would release candidate names afterward. However, the governor has already been communicating with a number of potential candidates for the job.

Strange is taking the Senate seat of Jeff Sessions, who is the new U.S. attorney general.

Alice Martin, who was Strange’s chief deputy, will serve as acting attorney general until Bentley names a replacement. She is the first woman to hold that position.

Strange in November asked a legislative committee to pause an impeachment investigation of the governor while his office did “related work.”