Dem senator: Moore’s shifting denials ‘undermine his credibility’

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) on Monday slammed Roy Moore for the “shift” in his denials of wrongdoing as more women publicly accuse the Republican Senate candidate of making sexual encounters when they were underage teenagers. 

As an experienced sex crimes prosecutor I recognize the shifts in Roy Moore’s “denials”. They completely undermine his credibility. I agree with many of my R colleagues. He doesn’t belong in the Senate. Period.

— Claire McCaskill (@clairecmc) November 13, 2017

McCaskill’s tweet comes hours after a fifth woman, Beverly Young Nelson, publicly accused Moore of sexual misconduct during a press conference with lawyer Gloria Allred.

Nelson said Moore, the GOP nominee in Alabama’s special election, sexually assaulted her in a diner parking lot in 1977, when she was a 16-year-old high school student and he was serving as the Etowah County district attorney.

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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said earlier Monday that Moore should “step aside” in the Senate race to replace Attorney General Jeff Sessions, a call that has been backed by other top GOP senators like Sens. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). 

Shortly before Nelson’s and Allred’s press conference took place, Moore’s campaign released a statement blasting Allred while maintaining his innocence.

“Gloria Allred is a sensationalist leading a witch hunt, and she is only around to create a spectacle,” campaign chairman Bill Armistead said in a statement.

“We’ve said this before and we’ll say it again: Judge Moore is an innocent man and has never had any sexual misconduct with anyone,” he added.

Moore has strongly and repeatedly denied accusations that he had any improper sexual encounters with minors, instead accusing his political enemies of trying to “defrock” his campaign.

The Washington Post published a bombshell report last week that detailed the account of Leigh Corfman, now 53, who described how Moore made unwanted sexual advances with her in 1979, when she was 14 years old and he was 32.

“I don’t know Ms. Corfman from anybody. I never talked to her, never had any contact with her. Allegations of sexual misconduct with her are completely false,” Moore said on Sean Hannity’s radio show on Friday, adding that he did not “remember anything like that.” 

“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,” he said.

Moore said that he may have dated girls in their late teens when he was in his 30s, adding that he never dated a girl without their mother’s permission.

The report detailed other allegations that he tried to pursue relationships with other minors as well.