Gov. Guy Hunt says his Primitive Baptist beliefs left him no choice but to accept $10,000 in "love offerings" from churches he visited on state airplanes.
His lawyers made the argument in court papers filed on the eve of a federal court hearing Tuesday in which the attorneys hoped to head off criminal charges against the governor, who also claimed immunity from Alabama's ethics law.The Ethics Commission ruled Sept. 20 there was probable cause to believe Hunt broke the law by taking donations while on preaching trips in state aircraft.
The case was referred to state Atorney General Jimmy Evans, who was about to take the matter to a grand jury when Hunt sued in federal court to stop him.
Attorneys for the Alabama Ethics Commission and for Evans on Monday asked U.S. District Judge W. Harold Albritton to throw out Hunt's lawsuit.
Hunt said Primitive Baptists are taught to contribute voluntarily to preachers, who "are expected to accept these donations."