Another Roy Moore Accuser Steps Forward As Senate Republicans Turn Against Him
Another Alabama woman accuses Roy Moore of sexually assaulting him when she was a teenager.
A fifth accuser has come forward to say that Roy Moore sexually assaulted her when she was a teenager and he was an Assistant District Attorney, and Senate Republicans returning to Washington after the Veterans Day weekend are coming out against him:
WASHINGTON — A fifth woman accused Roy S. Moore, the Republican Senate candidate in Alabama, on Monday of making sexual or romantic advances toward her when she was a teenager, as senior Republicans in Washington called for him to drop out of the race and threatened to expel him from the Senate if he wins.
The new accuser, Beverly Young Nelson, told a news conference in New York that Mr. Moore attacked her when she was 16 and he was a prosecutor in Etowah County, Ala. Ms. Nelson was represented at the news conference by Gloria Allred, a lawyer who has championed victims of sexual harassment.
“I tried fighting him off, while yelling at him to stop, but instead of stopping, he began squeezing my neck attempting to force my head onto his crotch,” Ms. Nelson said in a statement she issued at the news conference. She said Mr. Moore warned her that “no one will believe you” if she told anyone about the encounter in his car.
(…)
In an afternoon statement, Mr. Moore’s campaign described Ms. Allred as “a sensationalist leading a witch hunt, and she is only around to create a spectacle.” The statement, issued before Ms. Allred’s news conference in New York, denied again “any sexual misconduct with anyone” by Mr. Moore.
Republicans here and in Alabama have been up in arms over the accusations, published last week in The Washington Post, that Mr. Moore pursued sexual or romantic relationships with teenagers when he was in his 30s. The reports have upended a race in a state that has not elected a Democratic senator in 25 years.
In a fund-raising appeal, Mr. Moore reached out to his supporters with the subject line: “Mitch McConnell’s plot to destroy me.”
“Apparently Mitch McConnell and the establishment G.O.P. would rather elect a radical pro-abortion Democrat than a conservative Christian,” he wrote.
And Mr. Moore’s wife, Kayla Moore, lashed out in a Facebook post on Monday, complaining about “a witch hunt” in Alabama and claiming that “we are gathering evidence of money being paid to people who would come forward.”
(…)
At the news conference in New York, Ms. Nelson grew emotional as she described the assault, which she said happened one night after her shift ended at a local restaurant, where she was a waitress. Her boyfriend was late that night to pick her up after work, she said, and Mr. Moore offered her a ride home. Ms. Nelson said that instead of driving her home, Mr. Moore drove to the back of the restaurant, parked his vehicle and forced himself on her.
Ms. Allred displayed a yearbook she and Ms. Nelson said is signed by Mr. Moore. The attorney said that Ms. Nelson contacted her to “enlist my help and support in coming forward publicly” following the allegations by other accusers. Ms. Allred said that her law firm spoke to Nelson’s mother and sister, who verified Nelson’s story.
The New York Times has not independently spoken to the family. Ms. Allred said that Ms. Nelson is willing to testify under oath.
Ms. Nelson said that she and her husband supported President Trump during the 2016 election, an attempt to neutralize arguments that she is making the claims for political reasons. Ms. Allred also pre-empted attacks that she is acting with partisan interests.
Here’s the transcript of Ms. Nelson’s statement, and here’s the video:
Additionally, Nelson offered Corroborating evidence that Moore and her were aquinated at the time in the form of an inscription in her High School Yearbook signed by Moore:
Roy Moore’s signature from that 1977 yearbook matches Roy Moore’s signature on his US Term Limits pledge this year. pic.twitter.com/4gQz9ytZZX
— Josh Barro (@jbarro) November 13, 2017
And here’s part of Nelson’s written statement:
Beverly Young Nelson alleges Roy Moore “began squeezing my neck attempting to force my head into his crotch.” She was 16. pic.twitter.com/dForLnaVnp
— Alex Silverman (@AlexSilverman) November 13, 2017
While Nelson was above the age of consent at the time the most serious part of her relationship with Moore occurred, her accusations are more akin to what is alleged to have happened between Moore and the woman who accused him of sexually assaulting her when she was just fourteen years old. In this case, Nelson alleges that Moore was frequently a customer at the diner where she had been working, that they had first met when she was 15 years old, and that he apparently had taken an interest in her at that point. One time when her boyfriend was late picking her up, Moore offered to drive her home and she agreed. Rather than doing that, though, Moore took her to an area behind the restaurant and came on to her. When she resisted, she says he put his hands around her neck as if to force her to comply. Before forcing her out of the car, Moore allegedly told her that she was “just a girl” and he was an Assistant District Attorney and that nobody would believe her if she told them what happened. Nelson says she woke up the next day with bruising on her neck, which she covered up with makeup, and that she didn’t tell anyone what happened because she was afraid of what Moore might do to her or her family. She did say, however, that she shared her story with family members two years later and that she later told her husband what happened. She also said that she would have never come forward with this revelation if it hadn’t been for the allegations made in last week’s Washington Post report.
This new revelation came on the same day that pressure continued to mount on Moore as Senate Republicans began turning against him in even larger numbers. Senators Lindsey Graham, Orrin Hatch, and Susan Collins, for example, both came out with statements saying that Moore should step aside rather than continuing to run for office, with Hatch suggesting that current Alabama Senator Luther Strange would make an excellent replacement for Moore on the ballot. More emphatically, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said in a statement that Moore should end his campaign and allow Alabama Republicans to put forward an alternative candidate, although it’s far too late to remove Moore’s name from the ballot and any such candidate would have to proceed via a write-in vote. Earlier in the day, Axios reported that McConnell was willing to let the seat go to a Democrat if Moore could not be persuaded to step down. Colorado Senator Cory Garnder, who heads the National Republican Senatorial Committee, went even further than any of his colleagues have to date and said that Moore should step aside and that if he didn’t and end up winning the election then the Senate should immediately vote to expel him. Under Senate rules, it would be next to impossible for the Senate to prevent Moore from taking his seat if he does win, but Senate rules would allow the Senate to vote to expel him for essentially any reason as long as there was a two-thirds vote in favor of doing so.
At this point, it’s unclear where this is all going to end. When the initial report came out last week, I had a feeling that Moore’s behavior wasn’t limited to the four women named in The Washington Post, so this newest revelation doesn’t necessarily surprise me at all. I expect it won’t be the last revelation we’ll hear about Moore either. I’m just not sure if it’s going to matter or not. In a sane world, a race between Doug Jones, who as a United States Attorney prosecuted the Klan members responsible for the Birmingham church bombing that killed four young girls, and Roy Moore, a twice-expelled Alabama Supreme Court Justice who is accused of sexual improprieties with teenage girls that clearly weren’t just limited to a consensual “dates,” would not even be a contest. Even this newest revelation, though, isn’t likely to deter the people who continue to defend Moore thanks to the mentality that motivates them. Given that, and the fact that Moore seems unlikely to step aside, we could be headed for some interesting legislative moves in December if Moore wins and the Senate does try to expel him.
Update: Post updated to include the transcript of Nelson’s statement and the full video.
What 30 year old guy signs a high school yearbook? Oh…yeah…a pedophile.
Spineless members of the GOP (Gross Old Perverts) are finally abandoning him in droves.
Given Moore’s history I’m not sure he is smart enough to get out whilst the gettin’ is good.
In fairness, Allred is doesn’t give me a comfortable feeling about the accusation. I also doubt my 2017 signature looks much like my 1977 signature, you used to be able to read parts of it. I trust someone is finding contemporary samples of Moore’s signature. That said, the above said that Moore issued a statement against Allred before the press conference. McConnell turned strongly against Moore, leaving a lot of lefty bloggers speculating this morning that he knew something was coming out. And perhaps he knew about more.
Moore signed her high school yearbook.
Another creepy shoe drops..
Called it. I said when this broke that a man who groped teenagers at 32 was unlikely to have stopped when he was 33. More is coming. This is going to get bigger and bigger and the GOP is going to look worse with each passing moment.
As described this is a sexual assault, battery and probably some version of kidnapping. I watched the video, and IMHO it has the ring of truth.
Moore is scum who is likely to be elected by people who claim to be followers of Jesus Christ. They’ll vote for him on the grounds that he is a good, moral Christian man.
You keep thinking you’ve lowered the bar as far as it will go. . .
@michael reynolds:
You could add attempted murder to this list of charges, given that manual strangulation appears to have been involved.
I inherited from my late father a deep scorn for and distrust of Bible thumpers, a legacy I appreciate more and more.
@michael reynolds:
And what’s striking is that they don’t really have a Democrat to bash this time. Last year the typical claim I heard from Trump supporters was that Trump may have his problems, but Hillary was worse. It was utter horsesh!t, but it did at least have some grounding in conventional wisdom. You had the emails, the Clinton Foundation, Wikileaks, and so on.
There’s no equivalent to that now. Doug Jones is not Hillary Clinton. As far as anyone can tell, he’s squeaky clean. Of course they could run a massive smear campaign against him to turn him into a monster, but so far they haven’t (probably because they didn’t see him as a threat up to now). This isn’t some “lesser of two evils” situation, except to people who openly say Democrats are inherently evil, like those Tweets quoted in the other thread. They really don’t have any excuse this time, and their motives are exposed as nothing more than rank, tribal partisanship. That was actually the case with Clinton last year, but they at least had a fig leaf of a rationalization; now, they don’t.
It appears that one of two things is going to happen: One, Moore does not “withdraw” in any sense from the campaign for the Senate seat. What can the Republican establishment do about it? Fund a write-in campaign for example for Luther (I am not) Strange? Moore remains on the ballot designated as the Republican nominee. Two, Moore “withdraws” somehow. He remains on the ballot as the Republican nominee. How does his withdrawal or non-withdrawal affect anything? Does anyone believe that the Republican voters in Alabama are going to make fine distinctions based on whether Moore shows up on their TV screens asking for their vote or not? The Alabama governor who doesn’t appear to be a fan of Moore, has already said she will not postpone the election.
@Kylopod: Mostly agree, and I think you’re right at the margin, which is to say the now proverbial educated suburban voters. But to the most committed of them, any Democrat is almost as bad as the dreaded Hillary.
Moore rumored to have been banned from local mall due to his habit of picking up teenage girls.
Drip drip drip…
@grumpy realist:
It wouldn’t surprise me at all, but I would love to see some documentation of the banning, irrefutable proof to the world that this sleazoid had an uncontrollable letch for young teenaged girls.
Apparently 53 Alabama pastors have signed a letter in support of Moore, maintaining that he is bulwark against abortion, homosexual marriage, and, to quote them, “an immovable rock in the culture wars.” I guess forcing himself on teenaged girls is okay with them.
Ted Cruz appears to be abandoning Moore.
@CSK:
Parents should probably supervise any contact their children have with these individuals…
@CSK:
Wasn’t that the rationale behind all those bathroom bills? Protecting our cherished daughters from sex perverts?
I guess it’s ok if it’s a straight white man doing the molesting.
@grumpy realist: Sitting on a park bench, eyeing little girls with bad intent.
/first thing that popped in my head
This is a no win for the Republicans.
If Roy Moore wins, the Senate stays exactly the same (52-48) and every congressman and senator gets to be asked if they support the latest crazy thing Roy Moore says or does. Every purple seat in congress held by a Republican can expect a barrage of negative ads. “Senator X supports crazy, homophobic pedophile Roy Moore!”
If he loses, it’s more evidence that a democratic wave is approaching. (“Sure, Virginia’s trending blue, but ALABAMA??”) And more evidence that the crazy base is running the party. And it’s one less vote for tax cuts for the rich.
Good job, guys!
@Daryl’s other brother Darryl: i know it’s not the biggest deal in the world, and some people will think it’s tedious, but there’s no evidence Moore is a pedophile until we hear that he tried to have sex with a prepubescent girl. He’s a disgusting weirdo creep, but so far not a pedophile.
I was a math teacher for many years, including a stint teaching 9th grade, and if you’re a grown-ass man trying to have sex with 14 yros there’s clearly something wrong with you.
All politics aside, Alabamians have already done serious damage to their state, and their children. The fact that so many prominent officials and religious leaders are falling over themselves in his defense is sending the unmistakeable message, “Alabama is a pedophile friendly state.” This is inevitably going to attract ministers and teachers and guidance counselors and doctors and so forth who are looking for a safer place to ply their perversions.
@Teve tory:
On technical grounds, you are correct. The word pedophilia, in psychiatry, refers only to people who have sexual attraction toward prepubescent children. In colloquial speech, however, people typically use the word to suggest a fixation on anyone younger than a fully-grown adult. Sexual attraction to teenagers is called hebephilia (early adolescents) or ephebophilia (later adolescents), and regardless of the truth of that one 14-year-old who has accused him, unless all those other people are liars there really is no question he has one of these conditions. That’s separate from the legal question of whether he committed statutory rape, as 16 is the age of consent in Alabama and many other states (it’s as high as 18 elsewhere), or for that matter whether he committed assault regardless of the victims’ age (it appears that he did).
@Franklin:
+1 for any Jethro Tull reference. It’s a rule.
@Teve tory: Indeed hebephile is probably the proper term for him.
If Moore is elected, could the Senate not immediately eject him with a two thirds vote? If McConnell called for expulsion, Dems would kind of have to vote against Moore. McConnell should be able to get twenty GOPs to vote against him. In that event does the Gov not then appoint a replacement? Maybe even Luther Strange again, or possibly someone qualified and electable, which in AL includes Jeff Sessions. And then start another special election.
This would keep the seat for the GOPs, but remove Moore as an embarrasment before the ‘18 election. It’s reported the RNC is still fundraising for Moore and has people on the ground in AL. Is McConnell making just enough of a show of opposition to Moore to cover a move for expulsion?
@Teve tory:
Indeed. My readers are on average 14 year-old girls. They’re children. Despite having probably by this point met at least 10,000 14 year-old girls, the number I was ever alone with absent a parent, teacher or librarian, is zero. This isn’t a gray area, this is pretty f–king clear. The rule is half your age plus seven years, unless the answer is 14 in which case get help you sick f-ck. And by the way, 18? Still no.
@michael reynolds: Hell I wondered if I was pushing it dating a girl almost 5 years younger than me that turns 50 next year!
Obviously I’m underachieving!
@gVOR08: I would prefer all dems vote against removing him and there’s a not so impossible chance they would.
Let them live with their new colleague.
“What 30 year old guy signs a high school yearbook? Oh…yeah…a pedophile.”
Or school staff such as teachers, janitors, cooks. Looking at my now ancient yearbook I have lots of staff signatures. So by your simplistic logic, they are all pedophiles!
Now in Mr Moore’s case (I hate to call him judge, he’s been removed), I doubt he was school staff, so yes, creepy, but maybe folks about to graduate in that area x years ago went around getting signatures from non-school folks. I do not know, nor do you. But your absolute statement is plainly absurd, damning everyone.
@gVOR08:
Yes
@R Gardner:
All right then, what the F was the DA doing that he just “happened” to be around a teenager girl when she had her yearbook with her?? It’s not like those things get touted around in purses. If it was something innocent like a visit, wouldn’t he have signed others and thus have an alibi to cite?
This man was in no way connected to the school that could be explained away like a teacher or even a janitor. I’m going to go out on a limb and bet my house the number of kids with signed yearbooks by DAs in America every year can be counted on one hand at best. An unusual signature warrants a story – so Mr Moore, what exactly were you doing that put you in a position to grant such a signature?
OT…
We are now, officially, a Banana Republic.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/sessions-considering-second-special-counsel-to-investigate-republican-concerns-letter-shows/2017/11/13/bc92ef3c-c8d2-11e7-b0cf-7689a9f2d84e_story.html?utm_term=.e0d1c432f084
@R Gardner:
Do you really want to support a child rapist?
50 Alabama pastors have signed a letter supporting this child molester.
http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2017/11/53_pastors_sign_letter_of_supp.html
Apparently, in Alabama, that does not include your neighbor’s daughter.
@Daryl’s other brother Darryl:
Or maybe not …
At the link, a lot of tweets along the same line …
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/11/sessions-tells-doj-to-evaluate-call-for-new-clinton-probes.html
@Daryl’s other brother Darryl:
If you check that link, it appears that the Moore campaign released a letter that had been signed weeks ago and made it appear as if the Pastor’s had issued it after the allegations came out:
If this turns out to be the case, it’s a really low move by Moore’s campaign and one that could lead to a lot more problems.
Another story (better sourced than the New Yorker one) about Moore and his trolling for jailbait.
I wonder how many stories have to come out before Moore’s defenders start thinking, hey, there’s something hinky about this guy….
Either they’re totally ignoring all the evidence, or they don’t think themselves that going after teenage girls when you’re in your 30s is a Bad Thing.
Jeff Sessions said this morning that he has no reason to doubt the women who have accused Moore.
The GOP back-up plan seems to involve seating Moore and then expelling him with a two-thirds vote of the Senate.
Democrats should refuse to add a single vote unless the Senate GOP unanimously votes for expulsion. Republicans made this bed, they can damn well lie in it.
Now Ryan says Moore should bow out.
This should pose an interesting dilemma for the Trumpkins. They’re all in for Moore, but they seem to have conveniently forgotten that Luther Strange was Trump’s pick.
What I’m really looking forward to is Trump’s next tweet on this subject–if he has anything to say. Being a self-confessed molester himself, can he go on the record criticizing Moore? Will that alienate his base?
@michael reynolds: Michael, I disagree on both moral and tactical grounds. Morally, the guy is a pederast and shouldn’t be seated. End of story. Tactically, any Republican that doesn’t vote to eject Moore will have a giant target painted on them. Their primary opponents or even their Dem opponents will be able to run ad after ad saying that “Senator X voted to help the pedophile”. And if the party leaders couldn’t get 19 Republican Senators (+ a unanimous Dem 48) to vote for kicking him out, it will be one news shot after another of “REPUBLICAN Roy Moore, pedophile, takes his seat”, “REPUBLICAN Roy Moore, pedophile, confers with colleagues”, “REPUBLICAN Roy More, pedophile, shakes hands with the pussy grabber in chief.” Tactically, if not morally, that would be the gift that keeps giving.
@Matt Bernius:
Well, they already sold out their Savior and His parents – why not the pastor down the street? Come on, what makes him so special?
Seriously, though these pastors are reaping the whirlwind. They threw their support behind a party that willfully and blatantly lies about the most inconsequential of things and are shocked they’re now being used as part of a lie? There’s no honor among thieves and pastors willing to support Moore for being a “pillar in the culture wars” signed up to be used as part of those wars… it’s just they’re meat shields now, not generals.
@CSK:
They’ll overlook it for the same reason his neo-Nazi and white nationalist supporters didn’t mind his belated “condemnation” of them during Charlottesville: they know he never meant it.
@Kylopod:
A “condemnation” that he later repudiated, apparently irked hat he was forced into disavowing them, even if only temporarily.
@Kylopod: There’s a world of difference btw the socially reprehensible but biologically standard attraction to pubescent teenaged humans and attraction to pre-pubescent children.
Confounding the two confounds two rather different phenomena, for the superfical pleasure of smearing / labeling the opponent.
Of course your country has gone mad with Sex Offender Registries so doubtless you see no problem.
We have heard from those who consider politics tribal, and for them, it matters not what Mr. Moore did, as long as he wins a GOP seat.
However…
To hear from REAL conservatives, well… let’s just say it is an interesting factual read.
Long Before Assault Allegations, Roy Moore Betrayed Conservatism
@michael reynolds: And the hearings! Even floor debate! It could go on for weeks!
It would be far far better for Mr Jones to win that election and leave Leader McConnell with only 51 Pachyderms.
Failing that a Moore victory has infinite possibilities for clever Dems.
@Lounsbury:
I would definitely disagree with you that there is anything “biologically standard” about a preferential attraction to people aged 11-14–the range for hebephiles. Later teens is more ambiguous. And these things aren’t black and white, as individuals vary greatly in their development. There are individual 14-year-olds who look physically indistinguishable from young adults, though I would add that the one Moore is alleged to have assaulted definitely didn’t fall into that category.
The point I was trying to make was that the word pedophilia is used colloquially to mean any sexual attraction toward any minor. This broad use of the term can get a little ridiculous, as when a 20-year-old man with a 17-year-old girlfriend is placed in the same category as a man who rapes babies. It’s highly important, also, to distinguish between feelings and actions; just because a person has certain desires doesn’t mean they have to act on them, and just because a teen looks physically like an adult doesn’t mean they have the emotional development ready to handle a sexual relationship. What’s clear about Moore is that he didn’t just have private feelings but actively pursued relationships with teenage girls, took advantage of them, and if these reports are accurate, forced himself on them. There is nothing “biologically standard” about that, and it was certainly illegal, even among those girls who were technically above the age of consent in Alabama.
Last night Rachel Maddow had an interesting bit of historical trivia. In 1992 WAPO ran a story about serial sexual abuse, mostly of staff, by Robert Packwood (R-Ore). The Senate Ethics Committee held protracted hearings and eventually issued a 10,145 page detailed indictment of Packwood and unanimously recommended expulsion. Packwood resigned. Packwood was replaced in a special election by Dem Ron Wyden. The Ethics Committee Chair, Mitch McConnell, said they thought the seat might go Dem but it was, “retain the Senate seat or retain our honor.” These days Mitch impresses me as more concerned about having a millstone for the ’18 elections than with honor, and there’s a pretty good chance of retaining the seat if they expel Moore. If Moore wins, history may once again rhyme.
(There is an issue of expulsion for actions prior to serving in the Senate, but my understanding is that’s a custom, not a legal restriction.)
@gVOR08:
I gather, based on the Adam Clayton Powell precedent, they can not simply vote to expel as soon as Moore arrives, they would need some sort of investigation and list of reasons.
How extensive that would need to be, who knows?
Even Hannity has had it with Moore.
@CSK :
I know! I spent all morning trolling the idiots who smashed their Keurigs because
Hannity told them toprinciples *demanded* it even if circumstances have *may* changed. Well, the redneck Office Space reenactment hasn’t gone over well and the flimsy justifications are simply *hilarious*. Oops, now he’s flipped and you’re caffeineless – how does it feel to be stupid and sans latte? Did he lie before or after you wasted $100+ of your hard-earned money? Can you hold out till Black Friday or will the detoxing get you before then?The schadenfreude this morning is really ruining my productivity, I’ll tell you…..
Oh look, now Moore’s claiming “new rights were created in 1965” and he’s being “persecuted” because of his “faith”. Jesus had quite a few things to say about asshats like Moore – the kindest of which was “wolf in sheep’s clothing”.
God is the last refuge of scoundrels, after all. Apparently, His parents were just like Moore so he should fit right in, amirite?
@KM: The whole Keurig smashing thing was so idiotic.
I was reminded of someone who got peeved at J. K. Rowling and said he’s going to burn all his Harry Potter books and movies and her response was basically “I’ve already got your money so here’s my lighter.”
@KM:
Translation: the election wouldn’t be close if those damn n*****s still couldn’t vote.
And if you think I’m reaching, check out this interview with his lawyer, who just out of the blue starts talking about the black reporter’s ethnic background.
https://youtu.be/5TQS0QxfrXU