Washington
Trump, who withstood allegations of sexual assault weeks before his own election, was uncharacteristically silent when faced with questions about the scandal, which has rattled the party and left Moore’s would-be colleagues threatening to expel him should he win. Republicans had looked to Trump as one of the few remaining hopes for pushing a fellow political rebel from the race.
Another hope was Sean Hannity, the Fox News host and one-time Moore defender. On his Tuesday evening show, Hannity gave Moore 24 hours to explain “inconsistencies” in his response to allegations of child molestation or else exit the Alabama race.
Moore responded in a letter late Wednesday: “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. Because of that, at the direction of counsel, I cannot comment further.”
In Alabama, Moore’s campaign chairman and personal attorney did address reporters, trying to undercut the story of one of the women who has accused Moore of sexually accosting her when she was in high school.
The attorney, Phillip Jauregui, demanded that Nelson “release the yearbook” she contends Moore signed. The lawyer questioned whether the signature was Moore’s and said it should be submitted for handwriting analysis. Neither the attorney nor the campaign manager addressed the original allegations from Corfman who says that Moore initiated sexual contact with her when she was 14.
The unusual news conference suggested Moore, a judge twice removed from his post as state Supreme Court chief justice, was digging in, leaving his party with two damaging potential election outcomes. His victory would saddle GOP senators with a colleague accused of abusing and harassing teenagers, a troubling liability heading into next year’s congressional elections, while a loss to Democrat Doug Jones would slice the already narrow GOP Senate majority to an unwieldy 51-49.