The Washington Post reports Alabama senate nominee Roy Moore molested a 14-year-old girl and attempted to date other teenage girls when he was in his 30s.
If you’re not familiar with Moore, he was the Alabama judge who was removed from office in 2003 (he was the Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice) because he refused a federal order to remove a large Ten Commandments monument from the state courthouse. He was elected to the position again in 2012, but was suspended for telling Alabama judges to defy federal court orders on the legalization of same-sex marriage. He then resigned.
In addition to his discriminatory and offensive judicial decisions, the Hill shared a video in which Moore refers to Native American and Asian people as “reds and yellows.” For more context, in a 2005 interview on CSPAN-2, Moore equated gay sex to bestiality and said “homosexual conduct should be illegal.” Moore is currently running for the Senate spot vacated by current U.S. attorney general, Jeff Sessions.
As told to the Post, Leigh Corfman was 14 years old when Roy Moore approached her outside an Alabama courthouse where she was sitting on a bench with her mother. At the time, Moore was 32 years old and a district attorney. Moore kept her company while her mother went into the courthouse for a child custody hearing. Moore asked Corfman for her phone number and then picked her up a few days later for a drive to his home in the woods, where Moore kissed her.
Corfman went out with Moore a second time, and this time he took off her shirt and pants, then left the room and came back wearing only his underwear. Corfman said he touched her over her bra and underpants and put her hand on his crotch. She asked him to take her home and Moore did.
The age of consent in Alabama is currently 16, the same as it was when the reported incidents occurred. The Post reports that sexual contact with someone between 12 and 15 years old is sexual abuse in the second degree, but the statute of limitations has long expired. Three other women told The Washington Post that Moore attempted to date them when they were between 16 and 18 years old. They all reported the relationship never went past kissing.
Moore has responded in exactly the whay we have come to expect from conservative old men. “These allegations are completely false and are a desperate political attack by the National Democrat Party and The Washington Post on this campaign,” he said. His campaign added in a statement, “this garbage is the very definition of fake news.”
Sure…
Then he took to Twitter, firing off a string of tweets on Thursday night:
“The Obama-Clinton Machine’s liberal media lapdogs just launched the most vicious and nasty round of attacks against me I’ve EVER faced! We are in the midst of a spiritual battle with those who want to silence our message.”
“The forces of evil will lie, cheat, steal – even inflict physical harm – if they believe it will silence and shut up Christian conservatives like you and me.”
“I believe you and I have a duty to stand up and fight back against the forces of evil waging an all-out war on our conservative values! Our nation is at a crossroads right now – both spiritually and politically.”
“Our children and grandchildren’s futures are on the line. So rest assured – I will NEVER GIVE UP the fight!”
The Washington Post article about Moore has generated a spectrum of responses from politicians. Most Republican senators are calling for Moore to step down, but we are drowning in the sheer number of “if true” qualifiers out there. In a statement on behalf of all the Republican senators, Mitch McConnell said, “If these allegations are true, he must step aside.”
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Trump “believes we cannot allow a mere allegation, in this case one from many years ago, to destroy a person’s life. However, the president also believes that if these allegations are true, Judge Moore will do the right thing and step aside.” Let’s not forget Sanders said all the women who’ve accused Trump of sexual harassment are lying. And the fact that “mere allegations” didn’t stop Trump from becoming president.
The most disturbing of all the responses are the ones coming from Alabama politicians. One of which that stands out comes from Alabama state auditor Jim Ziegler. Ziegler told the Washington Examiner, “Take the Bible. Zachariah and Elizabeth for instance. Zachariah was extremely old to marry Elizabeth and they became the parents of John the Baptist. Also take Joseph and Mary. Mary was a teenager and Joseph was an adult carpenter. They became parents of Jesus.” Ziegler added, “There’s just nothing immoral or illegal here. Maybe just a little bit unusual.”
Moore really hits almost every point on the scumbag list: homophobia, racism, sex abuse, and whipping out a gun during a campaign event (pictured above).
Top photo via Youtube.
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