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ByVivianSalama and Sam Hananel TheAssociatedPress WASHINGTON JusticeNeil Gorsuch took his place in history Monday as the new- est addition on the bench of the Supreme Court, restor- ing a narrow conservative majority and marking a much-needed political vic- tory for President Donald Trump. Gorsuch was sworn in during a sun-soaked cere- mony in the Rose Garden, nearly 14 months after the seat was left vacant with the sudden death of Jus- tice Antonin Scalia. The oath was administered dur- ing the White House cere- mony by Justice Anthony Kennedy, whom Gorsuch once served as a law clerk. A smiling Trump stood be- hind his nominee. It was the second of two oaths — the first was con- ducted privately in the Jus- tices' Conference Room by Chief Justice John Roberts. "To the Scalia family, I won't ever forget that the seat I inherit today is that of a very, very great man," Gorsuch said to the audi- ence of family and admin- istration staffers, as well as all the sitting Supreme Court justices. "I will do all my powers permit to be a faithful ser- vant of the Constitution and laws of this great nation," he said. Gorsuch joins the court that is often the final arbi- ter for presidential policy. Speaking ahead of Gor- such at the ceremony, Trump said that "our coun- try is counting on you to be wise, impartial and fair, to serve under our laws, not over them, and to safe- guard the right of the peo- ple to govern their own af- fairs," hinting at his own friction with the judiciary. Gorsuch's confirmation was a badly needed boost for an administration rid- dled with controversy and misstep. Trump failed to get enough Republicans on board to support his plan to repeal and replace Pres- ident Barack Obama's sig- nature health care bill. His efforts to build a physical border wall with Mexico re- main uncertain and his at- tempts to ban certain trav- elers from entering the U.S. because they pose a security threat have been blocked by the courts. Trump was lighthearted about his latest win, say- ing that Gorsuch's success- ful nomination came dur- ing his first 100 days in of- fice and added: "You think that's easy?" Trump said Americans would see in Gorsuch "a man who is deeply faith- ful to the Constitution of the United States" and pre- dicted greatness for the 49-year-old former appeals court judge from Colorado. Gorsuch said he was humbled by his ascendance to the nation's high court and thanked his former law clerks, saying of his former law clerks, "your names are etched in my heart forever." Scalia had anchored the court's conservative wing for nearly three decades be- fore he died unexpectedly in February 2016. In nom- inating Gorsuch, Trump said he fulfilled a campaign pledge to pick someone in the mold of Scalia. Gorsuch is the young- est nominee since Clarence Thomas, who was 43 when confirmed in 1991. His 66-day confirmation process was swift, but bit- terly divisive. It saw Sen- ate Republicans trigger the "nuclear option" to elimi- nate the 60-vote filibuster threshold for Gorsuch and all future high court nom- inees. The change allowed the Senate to hold a final vote to approve Gorsuch with a simple majority. Most Democrats refused to support Gorsuch because they were still seething over the Republican blockade last year of President Barack Obama's pick for the same seat, Merrick Garland. Sen- ate Republicans refused to even hold a hearing for Gar- land, saying a high court re- placement should be up to the next president. For now, Gorsuch re- stores the court's conserva- tive tilt. But the new Senate rules allowing for confirma- tion of a justice by a sim- ple majority will be crucial if Trump gets to fill another opening and replace either Kennedy — often a swing vote — or one of the court's liberal justices. Kennedy and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg are both in their 80s and Jus- tice Stephen Breyer is 78, raising concern among Democrats that Trump may have another oppor- tunity to move the court in a more definitive conserva- tive direction. Gorsuch mirrored Scalia's originalist approach to the lawduringhis11yearsonthe federalappealscourtinDen- ver,interpretingtheConstitu- tion according to the mean- ingunderstoodbythosewho drafted it. Like Scalia, Gor- such is a gifted writer with a flair for turning legal jar- gon into plain language peo- ple can understand. Gorsuch will be seated just in time to hear one of the biggest cases of the term: a religious rights dis- pute over a Missouri law that bars churches from receiving public funds for general aid programs. The White House swear- ing-in ceremony was a de- parture from recent his- tory. Justices Sonia Soto- mayor and Elena Kagan were both sworn in publicly at the Supreme Court. For- mer Justice John Paul Ste- vens has argued that hold- ing the public ceremony at the court helps drive home the justice's independence from the White House. WASHINGTON GorsuchsworninasnewestjusticeofSupremeCourt By Kim Chandler The Associated Press MONTGOMERY, ALA. Gov. Robert Bentley resigned Monday rather than face impeachment and pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor campaign violations that arose during the investiga- tion of alleged affair with a top aide. The mild-mannered 74-year-old Republican and one-time Baptist dea- con was at peace with the decision to step down, ac- cording to a former admin- istration member who was not authorized to release the information and spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity. The sex-tinged scan- dal gathered force over the past few days and turned up on the pressure by open- ing impeachment hearings Monday. Last week, the Al- abama Ethics Commission cited evidence that Bentley broke state ethics and cam- paign laws and referred the matter to prosecutors. In a court hearing, Bent- ley appeared sullen and looked down at the floor as he pleaded guilty to misde- meanor charges of failing to file a major contribution report and converting cam- paign contributions to per- sonal to use. The agreement specifies that Bentley must surrender campaign funds totaling $36,912 within a week and perform 100 hours of com- munity service as a physi- cian. He also cannot seek public office again. Bentley's resignation fol- lows the ouster of former House Speaker Mike Hub- bard, who left office in 2016 after being convicted on ethics charges, and former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore, who was suspended from his post last year over an order op- posing same-sex marriage. Bentley, a staunch fam- ily-values conservative who won two terms partly be- cause of his reputation for moral rectitude, was first engulfed in scandal last year after recordings sur- faced of him making sexu- ally charged comments to 45-year-old political adviser Rebekah Caldwell Mason. An investigative report prepared for the House Ju- diciary Committee and re- leased last week said Bent- ley encouraged an "atmo- sphere of intimidation" to keep the story under wraps and directed law en- forcement officers to track down and seize the record- ings. The report portrayed the governor as paranoid and obsessed with trying to keep the relationship secret. The committee on Mon- day started what was ex- pected to be days of hear- ings. Bentley lawyer Ross Gar- ber had argued that im- peachment should be re- served for only the "most grave misconduct," noting that only two U.S. gover- nors have been impeached since 1929, and both were indicted for serious felonies. "It is not unusual for elected officials to have eth- ics and campaign finance issues. In fact, many gover- nors face these things. It is very rare, though, for leg- islators to try to leverage those issues to impeach a governor. In fact, it is sim- ply not done," Garber told The Associated Press in an email. Garber also represented former Gov. Mark Sanford of South Carolina and Gov. John Rowland of Connect- icut during impeachment proceedings. The last U.S. governor to be impeached was Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich in 2009. He was removed from office, and is now serving a prison sentence, for con- spiring to sell an appoint- ment to President Barack Obama's vacant U.S. Sen- ate seat. The investigative report contained text messages that the governor sent to Mason. They were inter- cepted by Bentley's then- wife, Dianne Bentley, who was able to read the mes- sages because they also showed up on the gover- nor's state-issued iPad, which he had given her. "I sure miss you. I need you. I want you. You are the only one," one message read. Dianne Bentley divorced her husband in 2015 after 50 years of marriage. At one point, according to the investigative report, the governor sent the head of his security detail to fetch the recording from his son, Paul Bentley, who re- sponded: "You ain't getting it." Dianne Bentley secretly recorded her husband by leaving her phone on while she went for a walk. The former first lady's chief of staff also charged that Bentley threatened her job because he believed she had helped his wife make the recordings. On Friday, the governor made a somber plea for for- giveness from the steps of the Alabama Capitol, ac- knowledging that he had let people down but promising that he had done nothing il- legal or anything to merit his removal from office. He has denied having a physical relationship with his former aide, though in some of the recordings he talked about the pleasure he got from fondling her breasts. GOP leaders in the House and Senate have called on Bentley to resign. SCANDALS Alabama governor resigns from office, pleads guilty to misdemeanors ALBERTCESARE —THEMONTGOMERYADVERTISER Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley speaks during a news conference on Friday outside the Alabama Capitol building in Montgomery, Ala. Bentley has resigned the governorship. EVAN VUCCI — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS President Donald Trump watches as Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy administers the judicial oath to Judge Neil Gorsuch during a re-enactment in the Rose Garden of the White House on Monday. Holding the Bible is Gorsuch's wife, Marie Louise Gorsuch. 645AntelopeBlvd.Ste15 RedBluff,Ca96080 AraceliGutierrez Life * Health * Prosperity 530-366-6195 agfinancial.php@gmail.com Vida * Salud * Prosperidad JuliFoster ExclusiveAgent 250 Walnut Street Red Bluff, CA 96080 Office 530-527-5534 Cell 530-339-1595 Fax 530-527-4808 julifoster@allstate.com CA Insurance License Number OD41159 24-Hour Customer Service ALSCO, INC. 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