Roy Moore sexual misconduct allegations

In November 2017, multiple women made allegations of sexual misconduct against Roy Moore, the Republican nominee in a U.S. Senate special election in Alabama scheduled for the following month. He is a former Alabama chief justice, and district attorney. Three women alleged that he had sexually assaulted them, two of whom were minors at the time while Moore was then in his 30s.[1] Six other women recalled Moore pursuing romantic relationships or engaging in inappropriate or unwanted behavior with them while they were between the ages of 14 and 22. Moore denied the allegations of sexual assault. On November 10, he acknowledged having known two of the women. Two weeks later, he said that he did "not know any of these women," and he "did not date any of these women" and had "not engaged in any sexual misconduct with anyone".[2]

Prominent Republicans such as John McCain, Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, and Mitch McConnell called for Moore to drop out of the race after the allegations were reported.[3][4][5][6] When these allegations were reported, it was too late for Moore's name to be removed from the ballot.[7]

President Donald Trump, however, endorsed Moore and accepted his denials.[8][9] Alabama Republicans largely defended Moore.[10][11] The Republican National Committee initially cut ties with Moore after the allegations were reported but later restored funding to his campaign.[9] Moore lost the Senate special election to Democratic candidate Doug Jones in what was considered an upset in the deeply Republican state.[12] In the year following the allegations, no criminal charges were issued against Moore and the issue lost public attention.

One of the accusers, Leigh Corfman, filed a defamation lawsuit against Moore in January 2018 because he had said that her accusation was "false and malicious". Moore filed a defamation suit against Corfman and four others in April 2018.[13] On August 13, 2022, Roy Moore was awarded $8.2 million in a defamation lawsuit against the Democratic-aligned Senate Majority PAC by a jury trial; the case is currently on appeal.[14]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Stolberg was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference npr was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Peoples, Steve (November 9, 2017). "Sen. John McCain on Moore allegations: 'He should immediately step aside'". azcentral. Associated Press. Archived from the original on March 20, 2019. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
  4. ^ McCaskill, Nolan D. (November 10, 2017). "Romney: 'Unfit' Moore 'should step aside". Politico. Archived from the original on November 25, 2018. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
  5. ^ Sullivan, Sean (November 14, 2017). "Paul Ryan joins GOP calls for Roy Moore to end campaign amid sexual misconduct allegations". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 14, 2017. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
  6. ^ Sullivan, Sean; Viebeck, Elise (November 13, 2017). "McConnell calls on Roy Moore to end Senate campaign following accusations of sexual misconduct". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 13, 2017. Retrieved November 13, 2017.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference auto3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Jackson, David (December 4, 2017). "Trump endorses Roy Moore for Alabama Senate seat despite sex assault allegations". USA Today. Archived from the original on December 4, 2017. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
  9. ^ a b Fausset, Richard; Blinder, Alan; Martin, Jonathan (December 4, 2017). "Roy Moore Gets Trump Endorsement and R.N.C. Funding for Senate Race". New York Times. Archived from the original on December 4, 2017. Retrieved December 5, 2017.
  10. ^ Berenson, Tessa (November 10, 2017). "All the Ways Alabama Republicans Are Defending Roy Moore". Time. Archived from the original on November 10, 2017. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
  11. ^ Astor, Maggie (November 13, 2017). "How Senate Republicans Have Reacted to the Roy Moore Allegations". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 20, 2017. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
  12. ^ Chandler, Kim; Peoples, Steve (December 13, 2017). "Jones victorious in stunning Alabama Senate upset". Associated Press. Archived from the original on January 6, 2021. Retrieved December 13, 2017.
  13. ^ Vera, Amir (April 30, 2018). "Roy Moore files lawsuit against 3 women alleging 'political conspiracy'". CNN. Archived from the original on September 17, 2018. Retrieved September 17, 2018.
  14. ^ "A Democratic-aligned super PAC is ordered to pay Roy Moore $8.2M in a defamation suit". NPR. Associated Press. August 13, 2022. Archived from the original on August 19, 2022. Retrieved August 19, 2022.