Photo courtesy of Politico.
Summary: Accused pedophile Roy Moore wants to sue The Washington Post for writing a story about his alleged relationships with teenagers.
Republican hopeful Roy Moore was looking to win a seat in the Senate after this December’s election, but a shocking story published in The Washington Post may hurt his chances. Last week, the publication released a story that several women claimed Moore had pursued sexual relationships with them while they were teenagers, and now the disgraced Alabama politician is threatening to sue WAPO, according to CNN.
“The Washington Post published another attack on my character and reputation because they are desperate to stop my political campaign. These attacks said I was with a minor child and are false and untrue — and for which they will be sued,” Moore said Sunday night.
The Washington Post interviewed four women who said Moore had tried to date them when they were teenagers. One woman said she was as young as 14-years-old when Moore was in his 30s. Before publication, the newspaper had interviewed 30 people who knew Moore and/or the accusers.
The Republican response to the Roy Moore sexual misconduct news has been mixed. Fox News host Sean Hannity found himself in hot water with his sponsor, Keurig, after he defended Moore’s relationships as “consensual.” Hannity later apologized for his remark, but Keurig pulled their ads for his show which resulted in a viral #BoycottKeurig campaign on Twitter. The campaign prompted some GOP supporters to destroy their expensive coffee-making machines and post images of the aftermath online.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, on the other hand, has said that Moore should step aside in his campaign and that he believed the accusers.
So far, Moore appears to not want to give up the Senate race, and according to CNN, his threat to sue The Washington Post is not an uncommon reaction. However, most public figures decline to actually follow through with those threats because the lawsuit could lead to a discovery process that could prove to be more damaging than the initial story.
In the state of Alabama, the age of consent is 16, and the women in the story said they were aged 14-18 when Moore sexually harassed or molested them. Moore will not face criminal prosecution, however, because the statutes of limitations have passed on these alleged sexual misconduct incidents, according to CNN.
The woman who said she was 14-years-old when Moore pursued her said that he had visited her at her home. She said that he had undressed both of them before he moved her hand to touch his underwear. Moore denied this allegation as well as the others published, and he said the article was “completely false.”
“These allegations are completely false and are a desperate political attack by the National Democrat Party and the Washington Post on this campaign,” Moore, now 70, said.
The Washington Post has declined to comment on this story.
- Will Billionaire Pedophile Jeffrey Epstein Face New Charges?
- 19 Hollywood Power Players Accused of Sexual Harassment or Abuse