Moore says he’s not quitting race, repeats denials
WASHINGTON — Embattled Alabama U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore pushed back defiantly against calls to bow out of the race amid sexual misconduct allegations, calling into question accusers’ claims as more women came forward with stories of being pursued or groped by him.
“I am suffering the same treatment other Republicans have had to endure,” Moore said in a two-page open letter to conservative Fox News Host Sean Hannity last night.
Nine women have now made public claims against Moore, including Leigh Corfman, who told The Washington Post that Moore touched her sexually when she was 14 years old. Beverly Young Nelson claimed that Moore attempted to rape her in a car when she was 16 years old.
Moore accused the women of lying, pointing out that when he was a judge, Nelson appeared before him as a litigant in divorce proceedings and did not ask for him to recuse himself.
He also accused Nelson of forging a yearbook inscription from Moore she presented as evidence.
“I adamantly deny the allegations of Leigh Corfman and Beverly Nelson, did not date underage girls, and have taken steps to begin a civil action for defamation,” Moore said in a letter to Hannity, who earlier this week called on Moore to explain “inconsistencies” in his statements about the allegations or drop out of the race.
Last night Hannity responded to the letter by saying he believes Alabama voters “will make the best decision for their state.”
Meanwhile, four more women made public claims of unwanted attention or groping by Moore when they were teens and young women.
Tina Johnson told AL.com that Moore groped her buttocks in his law office in 1991, when Moore was married.
“He didn’t pinch it,” Johnson said. “He grabbed it.”
Another woman, Kelly Harrison Thorp said Moore asked her out in 1982 when she was 17, and told her “I go out with girls your age all the time.”
Two other women, Gena Richardson and Becky Gray, told the Post that Moore asked them out when they were teens working at the Gadsden Mall. Others said Roy was known to frequent the mall, and that teen girls were warned to steer clear of him.
President Trump, who returned from a trip across Asia Tuesday, declined to address the Senate race or the allegations against Moore yesterday, though a host of GOP lawmakers, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, have called for Moore to step aside.
But Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump did address the controversy.
“There’s a special place in hell for people who prey on children,” Ivanka Trump said in a statement to The Associated Press. “I have yet to see a valid explanation and I have no reason to doubt the victims’ accounts.”