Trump all but endorses GOP’S Moore

President discounts sex assault allegations

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump all but endorsed embattled Alabama Republican Senate nominee Roy Moore on Tuesday, discounting the sexual assault allegations against him and insisting repeatedly that voters must not support Moore’s “liberal” rival.

The president said he would announce next week whether he will campaign for Moore, who faces Democrat Doug Jones in a Dec. 12 special election to fill the seat once held by Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

“Roy Moore denies it, that’s all I can say,” Trump said.

Two Alabama women have accused Moore of assault or molestation — including one who says she was 14 at the time — and six others have said he pursued romantic relationships when they were teenagers and he was

Dozens of women who worked with

Sen. Al Franken on the set of “Saturday Night Live” signed a statement pledging their support for the comedian-turnedpolitician, who was accused last week of sexual harassment.

The letter was signed by 36 women who worked on the show in some capacity during Franken’s two tenures, from 1977-1980 and 1988-1995. Most were production and crew members, save for cast members Jane Curtin and Laraine Newman.

“We feel compelled to stand up for Al Franken, whom we have all had the pleasure of working with over the years on ‘Saturday Night Live,’” the statement read. a deputy district attorney in his 30s.

Trump didn’t explicitly say he was endorsing Moore, but he said with emphasis, “We don’t need a liberal person in there. … We don’t need somebody who’s soft on crime like Jones.”

He also noted that the allegations came from behavior alleged to have happened decades ago.

“Forty years is a long time,” Trump said, questioning why it took so long for Moore’s accusers to come forward.

A White House official said later Tuesday that Trump’s attack on Jones did not amount to a formal endorsement of Moore, only that Trump was communicating that sending the Democrat to Washington would hamper his agenda.

The allegations against Moore come amid a national reckoning over misdeeds by powerful men in media, business and politics.

Just Tuesday, longtime Michigan Rep. John Conyers acknowledged that his office settled a sexual harassment complaint involving a former staffer, though he “vehemently” denied allegations in the complaint.

Buzzfeed reported that Conyers’ office paid a woman more than $27,000 under a confidentiality agreement to settle a complaint in 2015 that she was fired from his Washington staff because she rejected the Democrat’s sexual advances.

Trump said he was “very happy” that women are speaking out about their experiences.