Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore once again called fake the Washing Post story that over thirty years ago, he had sexual contact with a teenage girl. Moore also said that he would file a lawsuit.
His announcement comes amid heightened pressure from withing his political party to withdraw from the race and only hours after GOP Senator Pat Toomey called on Moore to step away from the election for an Alabama Senate seat. Toomey called Moore’s explanations of the incident “inadequate” and called on the Republican Party to consider Luther Strange as a possible write-in candidate.
Moore addressed his supporters, claiming the “vicious and sleazy attacks” against him were only intensifying, and told them he was “counting on you to stand with me at this critical moment by chipping in a donation to help me bust through the vicious lies and get the truth out.”
He further asserted his supporters that the story, which quoted four women accusing Moore of sexual harassment, was “a desperate attempt to stop” his campaign. Moore restated his claims that the story was “false and untrue” and threatened to sue the Washington Post. He also raised questions as to why after so many years in public life, such allegations would only surface now.
“Why would they come now? Because there are groups that don’t want me in the United States Senate,” he said.
Senator Toomey did not exclude the possibility of unseating Moore should he win the election against Democrat Doug Jones. He pointed out that even though the allegations were old and the truth cannot be known for sure, he believed they had a lot of credibility. That is why, he added, it would be wise for Moore to “step aside.”
The entire incident raised concerns among Republican who would lose their 52-48 Senate majority if Moore lost the special election for the Senate seat formerly held by Jeff Sessions. Over the weekend several other Republicans, apart from those who called on Moore to step aside, distanced themselves from him.
“Certainly, the allegations are very, very strong. The denial was not as strong as the allegations. We have to find a way to restore trust and confidence in our elected officials in our government, and this goes in the wrong direction,” Senator Tim Scott said.
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