Lawyer: Congress can examine yearbook if hearings are held on Moore accusations

A lawyer representing a woman who accused Alabama’s GOP Senate candidate of sexual assault on Wednesday offered to hand over evidence to a Congressional committee if the committee agrees to hold hearings on the accusations.

{mosads}

Gloria Allred offered to hand over to “an independent expert” a yearbook that reportedly confirms Moore knew her client, Beverly Young Nelson, in 1977 when she was 16 years old.

Moore has denied that he knew Nelson. His attorney, Phillip L. Jauregui, on Wednesday called on Nelson to turn over the yearbook to a neutral party for handwriting analysis. 

“We also urge the committees to subpoena Roy Moore to testify under oath about his denials of the accusations made against him,” Allred said in a statement.

Allred said she sent letters to the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate Select Committee on Ethics requesting that they hold hearings on recent accusations against Moore “within the next two weeks.”

“I formally requested that those committees conduct a hearing within the next two weeks regarding the accusations made by the five women who alleged that they were victims of Roy Moore when they were teenagers,” Allred said in a statement. “In the event that either or both Committees agree to conduct our requested hearing, then we would agree to have the original yearbook examined by an independent expert or experts who would obtain exemplars of Mr. Moore’s handwriting during the period in question and compare that handwriting to that contained in the yearbook.”

The yearbook message in question read: “To a sweeter more beautiful girl I could not say Merry Christmas. Christmas 1977. Love, Roy Moore, D.A.”

Jauregui suggested that the “D.A.” next to Moore’s name were the initials of his assistant at the time, a sign that the assistant had actually stamped Moore’s signature. 

Nelson this week accused Moore of sexually assaulting her in a diner parking lot in 1977, saying he offered to drive her home before he parked and attempted to grope her and remove her clothing.

She is the second woman to accuse Moore of sexual misconduct in the past seven days. Last week in The Washington Post, a woman accused Moore of touching her sexually when she was 14 years old and he was 32. Three other woman said Moore pursued a relationship with them around the same time when they were teenagers.

A sixth woman also came forward on Wednesday, accusing Moore of grabbing her backside in 1991, when he was married and she was 28.

Moore is running for Senate in the Alabama special election taking place Dec. 12.