Wenner hit as harasser
ALABAMA GOP Senate nominee Roy Moore believes allegations that he pursued inappropriate relationships with teenage girls decades ago are “politically motivated” and says he doesn’t “remember dating any girl without the permission of her mother.”
The firebrand former jurist offered a tepid denial on Friday as he spoke out for the first time since he was accused of sexual assault and harassment against at least four teens.
Moore, now 70, flatly denied reports that he molested a 14-yearold girl in 1979, but wavered when asked about dating much younger women.
Moore said he doesn’t “remember dating any girl without the permission of her mother,” but admitted that he “dated a lot of young ladies” when he returned from the military, though “not generally” 16-or 17-year-olds.
“Allegations of sexual misconduct with her are completely false. I believe they’re politically motivated,” he said. “I believe they’re brought only to stop a very successful campaign, and that’s what they’re doing.”
Moore’s denials came as a growing wave of critics from within his own party blasted him as “unfit for office.”
“Innocent until proven guilty is for criminal convictions, not elections. I believe Leigh Corfman. Her account is too serious to ignore. Moore is unfit for office and should step aside,” former GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney tweeted.
Corfman was quoted in the Washington Post Thursday saying that a 32-year-old Moore gave her alcohol, took off her clothes and molested her when she was 14 in 1979. She said they’d met while he was a prosecutor, and she was waiting to go into a custody hearing.
“I’ve never talked to her,” Moore told Sean Hannity. “I’ve never had any contact with her.”
Three other women, who were all in their teens at the time, told the paper that Moore made advances on them as well.
Moore admitted he knew several of the women, but did not “remember going out on dates.”
He admitted taking “young girls” out after he returned from serving in Vietnam, but denied serving one of the girls wine because the alleged date would have been in a dry county.
“She said she believed she was underaged,” Moore added. “As I recall she was 19 or older. I never provided intoxicating liquor to a minor. I seem to remember her as a good girl.”
A number of GOP senators — and President Trump — have cautiously said that Moore should exit the race, if the allegations are true.
Rep. Pete King (R-N.Y.) had a stricter standard. “He should drop out within the next 48 hours unless he can prove his innocence,” he told MSNBC on Friday.
But the embattled candidate has defiantly vowed to stay in the race. His brother, Jerry Moore, told CNN his sibling is being “persecuted like Jesus Christ was.”
Even if he were to drop out, his name would remain on the ballot, officials said.
Moore, who has called for homosexuality to be illegal and said transgender people don’t have rights, twice served as Alabama’s chief justice.
He has styled himself as a righteous, religious standard-bearer and moral leader in the heart of the Bible Belt. He beat Republican establishment-backed Sen. Luther Strange in the GOP primary in September to fill the seat vacated by Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
He is facing Democrat Doug Jones in a Dec. 12 special election. ROLLING STONE founder Jann Wenner is accused of sexual harassing a journalist.
Writer Ben Ryan said Wenner offered him work in exchange for sex during a 2005 meeting, BuzzFeed News reported.
Ryan, who was 27 at the time, said Wenner had offered to hear his pitches for freelance stories.
Ryan said the meeting ended with an offer of career advancement in exchange for sex.
Ryan initially met Wenner about an assignment for Men’s Journal — which he received.
Wenner asked for a follow-up meeting at his Upper West Side townhouse, where the alleged harassment took place.
“I had Jann Wenner’s tongue in my mouth,” he said. “I went along for a second but then said something to the effect of, ‘Oh please, I’m not that kind of girl,’” he told BuzzFeed News.
Wenner acknowledged the encounter to BuzzFeed but denied offering work in exchange for sex.