Politics

53 Pastors Defend Roy Moore Against Sexual Misconduct Allegations

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More than 50 pastors signed a letter defending Roy Moore against accusations of sexual misconducted and hailed him as “an immovable rock in the culture wars.”

The 53 Alabama pastors urged support for Republican Senate nominee Roy Moore and claimed in the letter that the allegations of sexual misconduct levied against him are nothing more than the Washington establishment waging “all out war on his campaign.”

Five women have accused Moore of initiating inappropriate sexual contact with them when they were teenagers and he was in his 30s. One woman, Leigh Corfman, was 14 years old at the time of her alleged sexual encounter with Moore. The pastors nevertheless claim that Moore is the candidate who will stand up against “dishonesty, fear of man, and immorality” as affronts to their “convictions and our Savior.”

The pastors wrote that Moore has demonstrated “his unwavering faith in God and his immovable convictions for Biblical principles” by starting the Foundation for Moral Law, opposing gay marriage, and garnering a slew of liberal enemies. Those who support Moore, the pastors wrote, do so because of Moore’s commitment to American values.

“They know him as a father, a grandfather, a man who loves God’s Word and knows much of it by heart, a man who cares for the people, a man who understands our Constitution in the tradition of our Founding Fathers, and a man who deeply loves America. It’s no wonder the Washington establishment has declared all-out war on his campaign,” the letter reads.

Corfman alleged that Moore kissed her on one occasion and then on a second occasion removed both her clothes and his, kissed her, and made her touch his genitals over his underwear. The other three women allege that Moore made advances toward them and, in some cases, kissed them, but did not engage in sexual intercourse. A fifth woman, Beverly Young Nelson, came forward Monday, and claims Moore attempted to have sex with her one night just after her 16th birthday in 1977.

Moore has flatly denied the allegations. Alabama State Auditor Jim Zeigler also defended Moore, comparing his advances toward underage girls to the marriages between the Biblical Joseph and Mary and of Zachariah and Elizabeth.  The the Alabama pastors who signed the letter of support for him urged people to join them “at the polls to cast your vote for Roy Moore.”