Roy Moore sues PAC over ads about misconduct accusations

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Defeated Senate candidate Roy Moore has filed a defamation lawsuit against a super PAC that ran an advertising blitz focused on sexual misconduct accusations against him during the campaign, his attorney announced Wednesday.

Moore’s attorney, Melissa Isaak, said Highway 31 super PAC ran defamatory and misleading ads during the 2017 race, including one that said Moore had been banned from the mall decades ago because of his behavior toward women.

“The Moores have every intention of fighting back,” Isaak said during a press conference with Moore and his wife, Kayla.

The lawsuit names Highway 31 and related individuals as defendants, Isaak said. A spokesman for Highway 31 did not immediately return an email seeking comment.

During the 2017 U.S. Senate race, several women came forward and said Moore pursued sexual and romantic relationships with them decades ago when they were teens and he was a prosecutor in his 30s. Moore denied misconduct accusations and said he never dated underage women.

Highway 31 spent millions of dollars in advertising during the race, and many of the pieces focused on the accusations against Moore.

Moore is currently suing four of the women. One of them, Leigh Corfman, also has a defamation lawsuit against Moore. Corfman has said she was a teen when Moore, then a 32-year-old assistant district attorney, touched her sexually during an encounter. Moore has denied the allegations.