Republican Alabama Senate nominee Roy Moore in a new interview denied that he ever dated underaged women.
“But these allegations are completely false. I did not date underaged women. I did not molest anyone. And so these allegations are false,” Moore said during an interview with The Voice of Alabama Politics, a television news show affiliated with the website The Alabama Political Reporter.
Moore in an interview last month after the initial set of accusations admitted he may have dated women in their later teens during that time in his life.
{mosads}“Not generally, no. If I did, I’m not going to dispute anything but I don’t remember anything like that,” Moore told Sean Hannity during an interview on his radio show when asked about dating women “as young as 17.”
The age of consent in Alabama, both at the time of Moore’s alleged pursuit of the women and today, is 16.
Moore has specifically denied knowing Leigh Corfman and Beverly Young Nelson. Corfman told The Washington Post that Moore initiated sexual contact with her when she was 14 years old, and Nelson came forward after the initial Post story saying Moore assaulted her when she was 16.
“I do not know them. I had no encounter with them. I never molested anyone. And for them to say that, I don’t know why they’re saying it, but it’s not true,” Moore told The Voice of Alabama Politics.
Moore in the interview with Hannity acknowledged that he remembered two of the women, Debbie Wesson Gibson and Gloria Thacker Deason, who both spoke to The Washington Post for the newspaper’s first story. Gibson told the Post that she was 17 years old when Moore asked her out, while Deason said she went out with Moore when she was 18.
In the latest interview, Moore continued to deny any allegations of molestation.
“I said I did not know any of the women who have charged me with sexual allegation of molestation. And I did not know any of the women,” Moore said. “When I saw these pictures on the advertisements of my opponent, I did not recognize any of those people. I did not know them.”
His campaign has argued the accusations are politically motivated and has questioned the timing of the allegations, the first of which were revealed about one month before the Alabama special election.
Moore, who will face off against Democratic candidate Doug Jones on Tuesday, initially lost the support of multiple Republican lawmakers due to the allegations.
But some members of the GOP have appeared to soften their tone regarding Moore. After President Trump offered Moore a full-throated endorsement last week, the Republican National Committee reinstated its fundraising agreement with Moore’s campaign.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who last month called on Moore to step aside from the race, said last week that the election is in the hands of the Alabama voters.