Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger called for Alabama Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore to step aside immediately, and the Senate should expel him if seated, following the recent sexual assault allegations made against him.
“I think Roy Moore needs to step aside now,” Kinzinger, from Illinois, told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “The Lead” Friday. “These allegations are disgusting and I believe them against him. And there’s no way to defend this.”
An explosive Washington Post report Thursday based on interviews with more than 30 people detailed allegations that Moore — now the Republican Senate candidate from Alabama — pursued sexual relationships with several women when they were between 14 and 18 years old and he was in his 30s, including alleged sexual contact with the 14-year-old.
Kinzinger went a step further, sharing that he thinks the Senate should take swift action to remove Moore, he wins the Senate seat.
“I think the Senate should say that they will refuse to seat him or in fact expel him if he is the Senator from Alabama,” Kinzinger said. “Look, Alabama has a right to pick their senators but this is beyond the pale, to have this kind of contact with somebody when they were 14 years old. I don’t care how long ago it was, he was an adult, and there could be more information coming forward. Who knows, but this is a bridge too far and the Republican party ought to disown every aspect of him.”
On Friday, Moore told Sean Hannity, “These allegations are completely false and misleading.”
Moore and Democrat Doug Jones will face off in a special election to fill Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ former seat December 12.