MONTGOMERY (AP) — Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley’s lawyer praised a judge’s decision to halt impeachment proceedings.

Montgomery Circuit Judge Greg Griffin on Friday said he was blocking the proceedings to give the governor more time to respond to allegations that he misused state resources.

The governor has been engulfed in scandal since recordings surfaced in 2016 of him making suggestive remarks to a female aide before his divorce.

The House Judiciary Committee was scheduled to being impeachment hearings Monday. The special counsel for the committee said they will likely appeal.

Bentley attorney Ross Garber said the rule of law applies, “even in impeachments.” He Garber also criticized the release of the special counsel’s report. He said it appears to be an “amalgam of hearsay, rumor and innuendo.”