Roy Moore, the Republican candidate running for Senate in Alabama, is attempting to raise money off of a bombshell report in which a woman claims he sexually assaulted her as a minor.
On Thursday, the Washington Post reported on Moore’s alleged sexual assault and sexual misconduct–including claims from Leigh Corfman, who said Moore kissed her on one occasion and touched her over her bra and underpants on another occasion when she was 14 years old. Moore was 32 years old in 1979, when Corfman says the incidents occurred. Two other women say Moore also courted them around the same time, when they were 16 and 18 years old, respectively.
Moore has denied the accusations, calling them “completely false” and “garbage.” His campaign doubled-down on the denial, accusing the Post of doing the bidding of the Democratic establishment.
“The Obama-Clinton Machine’s liberal media lapdogs just launched the most vicious and nasty round of attacks against me I’ve EVER faced,” the email reads. “I won’t get into the details of their filthy and sleazy attacks. I refuse to repeat their lies.”
The email continues to say that the country is in the “midst of a spiritual battle with those who want to silence our message,” and that the “forces of evil will lie, cheat, steal—and even inflict physical harm—if they believe it will silence and shut up Christian conservatives like you and me.”
Roy Moore is fundraising off of a story alleging he sexually abused a girl. pic.twitter.com/MTjWI2hwmA
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) November 9, 2017
The email ends by asking people to “take a stand by chipping in a donation” to let Moore know “you’ve got my back in our all-out war against the Obama-Clinton Machine.”
Several of the email’s talking points were the same as what Moore tweeted following the Post’s report.
Several conservative lawmakers have condemned Moore and said he should drop out of the race. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) called the accusations “disqualifying.”
“The allegations against Roy Moore are deeply disturbing and disqualifying,” McCain wrote on Twitter. “He should immediately step aside and allow the people of Alabama to elect a candidate they can be proud of.”
Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) called the accusations “very disturbing,” and called on Moore to step aside “if these allegations are true.”
President Donald Trump, who is currently traveling in Asia, echoed McConnell while calling Corfman’s account “a mere allegation.”
“Like most Americans, the president believes we cannot allow a mere allegation, in this case one from many years ago, to destroy a person’s life,” White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters on Air Force One on Friday. “However, the president also believes that if these allegations are true, Judge Moore will do the right thing and step aside.”
The Senate runoff election in Alabama will take place on Dec. 12.
