Moore Charges As The Alabama Candidate Threatens To Sue Washington Post
jonathanturley
Former Alabama Chief Justice and U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore is facing new allegations today from yet another women who says that he pursued her as a young teenage girl. Beverly Young Nelson was 16 when she says that Moore tried to rape her after offering her a car ride home. Moore says that he does not know Nelson but the yearbook page above contains a personal message from him reading “To a sweeter girl I could not say Merry Christmas” — signed “Roy Moore D.A.” The pattern of allegations from so many women have made Moore’s continuance in the campaign untenable. Not only have GOP senators demanded his withdrawal but some are discussing an expulsion vote if he were to be elected. In the meantime, Moore is now threatening a lawsuit against the Washington Post for defamation, but the threat is curious in both its sole target and the specific fact being claimed defamatory. Notably, his wife has now said that she will also sue. There is not however an actual lawsuit at this time and the Moores are unclear on when a complaint will be filed.As noted yesterday, the accusation against Moore now includes not only numerous women but also colleagues who said that Moore (despite his denials) had a penchant for very young girls. The most serious was an allegation by Leigh Corfman, who was 14 at the time, and said that Moore undressed her and molested her.This new allegation is equally serious. Nelson said that Moore (who was in his 30s and a prosecutor in the Etowah County District Attorney’s Office) offered her a ride after she got off work as a waitress at the Old Hickory House, a restaurant 50 miles northeast of Birmingham. She said that she knew him from the restaurant and that he would often comment on her looks and pull her red hair. She says that she was 15 when he started to flirt with her.Rather than drive her home, she says that Moore drove behind the restaurant and parked near a dumpster where he groped her and tried to force her head onto his crotch. She said that she feared she was about to be raped and that he eventually gave up. She claims that he said “You’re just a child and I am the District Attorney of Etowah County, and if you tell anyone about this, no one will ever believe you.” She says that she was left with bruises around her neck. I previously noted that I often wait to see who sues when clearly someone is lying in a scandal. Moore and his wife now say that they will sue. However, Moore only cited the allegation involving the 14 year old girl not the other allegations or the accounts of his colleagues. He also said that he will sue the Washington Post as opposed to these women who he has called liars. The Washington Post, however, would likely prevail under the New York Times v. Sullivan standard governing public figures. That case imposes a higher standard for people like Moore that requires him to show that the Post published these accounts with knowledge of their falsity or reckless disregard of the truth. With so many sources, it would be highly unlikely that he could prevail. If Moore is maintaining that these are lies, the most obvious lawsuit would target the sources. One would also expect that Moore would be suing over the allegations of his pursuing young girls, though the allegation involving Corfman involves a potential crime — a per se category of defamation. As I have previously stated, this is a case where litigation could shine from needed light through discovery. However, this is fast becoming less relevant to Moore’s rapidly worsening position. Mitch McConnell has publicly stated that he believes the women and Attorney General Jeff Sessions has declared that there is no reason to doubt the women. Moore should clearly at this point withdraw and let the lawsuit expose who is lying in this sordid scandal.
