World

GOP looks for ways to end Moore’s tainted Senate run

November 15, 2017
Republican candidate for US Senate Judge Roy Moore speaks during a campaign event at the Walker Springs Road Baptist Church in Jackson, Alabama, on Tuesday. — AFP
Republican candidate for US Senate Judge Roy Moore speaks during a campaign event at the Walker Springs Road Baptist Church in Jackson, Alabama, on Tuesday. — AFP

WASHINGTON — Washington Republicans are tightening pressure on Alabama’s GOP to keep a defiant Roy Moore from being elected to the Senate next month. Many are voicing hope that President Donald Trump could use his clout to resolve a problem that Republicans say leaves them with no easy options.

With Alabama Republicans reluctant to block Moore and enrage his legions of loyal conservative supporters, national GOP leaders were turning to Trump as their best chance of somehow turning the tide. Two women by name have said Moore molested them in the 1970s when one was 14 and the other 16 and he was a local district attorney, and three others said he pursued romantic relationships with them around the same time.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, in all-out political warfare with Moore, said there’d be conversations about the anti-establishment firebrand now that Trump has returned from Asia.

He said he’d already spoken about Moore to the president, Vice President Mike Pence and White House chief of staff John Kelly.

“He’s obviously not fit to be in the United States Senate and we’ve looked at all the options to try to prevent that from happening,” said McConnell, who said on Monday that he believed Moore’s accusers. “This close to election, it’s a complicated matter.’”

Maintaining his political brand as an unrepentant outsider, Moore again denied abusing the women in an email that reminded voters of their loyalty to him: “He’s the same man you’ve always known him to be.” It added, “On to victory!”

At the “God Save America” Conference later Tuesday in Jackson, Alabama, Moore said there is a “spiritual battle” going on in American politics.

“Why do you think they’re giving me this trouble?” he asked the Baptist church audience. “Why do you think I’m being harassed in the media and people (are) pushing for an allegation in the last 28 days of the election?”

Twice removed from his post as state Supreme Court chief Justice, Moore’s candidacy in the Dec. 12 special election confronts Republicans with two damaging potential outcomes. A victory saddles GOP senators with a colleague accused of abusing and harassing teen-agers, a troubling liability heading into next year’s congressional elections, while an upset victory by Democrat Doug Jones would slice the already narrow GOP Senate majority to an unwieldy 51-49.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions told Congress he has “no reason to doubt” the women. Sessions, a former Alabama senator and still one of the GOP’s most influential voices in the state, didn’t rule out a Justice Department probe of the allegations, telling the House Judiciary Committee, “We will evaluate every case as to whether or not it should be investigated.”

The national Republican Party ended a fundraising arrangement with Moore’s campaign, Federal Election Commission documents showed. And House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., joined the pile of congressional Republicans saying Moore should drop out, saying, “If he cares about the values and people he claims to care about, then he should step aside.”

Two Washington Republicans, speaking on condition of anonymity to describe private conversations, said they didn’t know what Trump would do, but said the White House shares McConnell’s concerns about Moore. While few think Trump could persuade Moore to step aside, several are hoping he can convince the Alabama state party to take some action. — AP


November 15, 2017
HIGHLIGHTS
World
39 minutes ago

Trump’s Bible endorsement raises concern in Christian religious circles

World
43 minutes ago

Colombia expels Argentine diplomats after Milei calls Petro ‘terrorist murderer’ 

World
48 minutes ago

Bus carrying Easter worshippers falls off cliff killing 45 people in South Africa