Spokespeople for Alabama Republican Senate nominee Roy Moore denied the allegations against the candidate at an event on Tuesday, refusing to answer questions as women come forward about Moore’s past.
“We believe Judge Moore,” Moore campaign strategist Dean Young said. “We don’t believe these women. It’s just that simple. And y’all can keep trotting them out if you want to.”
Young said he had advised Moore not to lend credence to the questions either and dismissed the allegations — which range from inappropriate behavior to pursuing teenage girls while he was past the age of 30 to sexual assault — as “Jerry Springer stuff.”
Ben DuPré, who identified himself as a longtime Moore ally and billed the event as a news conference, said the former judge is “above reproach.”
“We don’t believe a word of these lies,” DuPré said of the allegations.
DuPré sought to cast doubt on Leigh Corfman, who has said Moore molested her when she was 14 years old. DuPré brandished court documents and referenced a Breitbart News interview with Corfman’s mom as reasons to question Corfman’s story.
Moore previously claimed he did not know Corfman, and on Monday, Corfman said, “I wonder how many me’s he doesn’t know.”
Stan Cooke, a spokesman for Moore, disputed the account of Beverly Young Nelson, who said Moore had sexually assaulted her when she was 16. The Moore campaign attempted to cast doubt on her story last week by calling on her lawyer, Gloria Allred, to release a yearbook with an inscription Nelson said Moore wrote shortly before the assault. Cooke on Tuesday again called on Nelson and Allred to turn over the yearbook.
Cooke also took issue with a New Yorker report that Moore may have been banned from a shopping mall for pursuing teenage girls. He quoted a man who he said used to work at the mall and knew of no such ban.
Finally, Young ended the campaign event by peppering his speech with attacks against the “liberal media,” “fake news” and the GOP establishment, particularly Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. He also railed against Democratic Senate nominee Doug Jones and predicted a Moore win in the December special election, followed by Moore helping to enact the agenda of President Donald Trump, who implicitly endorsed Moore at roughly the same time as the Moore event.
“Judge Moore’s going to win,” Young said. “Judge Moore is going to go help Donald Trump.”
Jones, the Democrat, took a few questions from reporters later Tuesday about the statements from the Moore camp and the President.
“I believe the women,” Jones said.
Jones declined to label Moore a predator, saying, “I’m not going to call names,” and said he is leaving the decision on Moore’s past up to the people of Alabama. He also declined to criticize Trump, who won the state by a wide margin last year.
“My record speaks for itself,” Jones said.
