GOP lawmaker: Senate should expel Moore if he wins

A GOP lawmaker is calling for the Senate to refuse to swear in Roy Moore (R) if the Alabama Senate candidate defeats Doug Jones (D) in a December special election.

Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) told CNN on Friday that he believes the allegations reported against Moore are true. The Washington Post this week reported allegations that Moore initiated sexual contact with a 14-year-old girl decades ago while serving as an assistant district attorney.

“I think Roy Moore needs to step aside now, these allegations are disgusting and I believe them,” Kinzinger said. “There’s no way to defend this. And second, 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.”

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Kinzinger continued, saying that the accusations leveled against Moore go beyond voters’ right to pick their own senator.

“Look, Alabama has the 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,” he said. “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,” he added. “And the Republican Party should disown every aspect of him.”

Moore has denied the allegations, calling them a joint effort from Jones’s campaign and The Washington Post to derail his Senate race when he was ahead in the polls.

“I believe they are politically motivated. I believe they are brought only to stop a very successful campaign, and that’s what they are doing. I’ve never known this woman,” Moore said on Sean Hannity’s radio show on Friday.

Two GOP senators pulled their endorsements from Moore’s campaign on Friday as pressure mounted from the allegations uncovered by the Post.

“Having read the detailed description of the incidents, as well as the response from Judge Moore and his campaign, I can no longer endorse his candidacy for the US Senate,” Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) said in a statement.

“I am pulling my endorsement and support for Roy Moore for U.S. Senate,” Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) tweeted.