Former Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore has asked supporters for financial assistance to defend against a defamation lawsuit brought by an Alabama woman who accused him of sexually abusing her when she was 14 years old.
In a Facebook post this week, Moore said his “resources have been depleted” and he has “struggled to make ends meet” due to legal fees and expenses. He thanked his supporters and encouraged them to make donations to his defense fund.
“I now face another vicious attack from lawyers in Washington D. C. and San Francisco who have hired one of the biggest firms in Birmingham Alabama to bring another legal action against me and ensure that I never fight again,” he wrote in the lengthy screed. He took the time to excoriate “gays, lesbians, and transgenders,” “the ultra-liberal media” and “the Washington establishment.”
During Moore’s campaign last year, an Alabama woman named Leigh Corfman told The Washington Post that he had touched her sexually when she was a teen and he was 32. Her story prompted other women to come forward with their own allegations about encounters with Moore that ranged in severity from sexual harassment to attempted rape. Some of them were also under 18 at the time of the incidents.
Corfman filed a defamation suit against Moore in January after he repeatedly denied her account.
“[Moore] and his campaign called me a liar and immoral when I publicly disclosed his misconduct,” she said in a statement. “By this lawsuit, I seek to do what I could not do as a 14-year-old — hold Mr. Moore and those who enable him accountable.”
A donation site for Moore has raised $32,200 out of a $250,000 goal as of Saturday. He has been asking for money since at least January, when he sent an email to supporters requesting contributions.
Moore was defeated in the Senate race by Democratic candidate Doug Jones, who was sworn into office in January. The former judge has still not formally conceded the loss.
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