‘We Cannot Allow a Mere Allegation, in This Case One From Many Years Ago, to Destroy a Person’s Life’
Overnight President Donald Trump became the latest in a long line of Republicans to defend Roy Moore over allegations he committed child sexual assault on a 14-year old girl when he was a 32-year old assistant district attorney. Those allegations came in an extensively researched Washington Post article that included charges from three other women who say when they were teens Moore, in his 30’s, attempted sexual relationships with them as well.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders spoke for the president with reporters aboard Air Force One Thursday night.
“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,” Huckabee Sanders said as Trump traveled to Da Nang, Vietnam. “However, the president also believes that if these allegations are true, Judge Moore will do the right thing and step aside.”
President Trump endorsed Moore after the Republican candidate he had previously endorsed lost the primary race to Moore. “Judge” Moore has repeatedly vowed to not step aside, and within a few short hours of the Washington Post article’s release, Moore began to fundraise off it.
The Washington Post’s reporting includes the four women who revealed their names and personal details of their interactions with Moore. It also includes this statement: “This account is based on interviews with more than 30 people who said they knew Moore between 1977 and 1982, when he served as an assistant district attorney for Etowah County in northern Alabama, where he grew up.”
Many GOP Senators on Thursday issued or made very similar statements to reporters, statements that sounded in part like President Trump’s statement.
“If true.”
Trump and a wide swatch of the Republican Party are insisting the four women provide some greater form of proof to be believed. Trump literally said the on the record word of four women, independently interviewed, plus the word of more than 30 sources – all of whom knew Moore at the time – is just “a mere allegation” and insufficient.Â
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Washington Post: Woman Says Roy Moore Had a Sexual Encounter With Her When She Was 14, He Was 32
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