Roy Moore testifies at trial: Sexual misconduct allegations are ‘purely political’

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Roy Moore testified on Monday that the sexual abuse allegations against him four years ago are “purely political”.

Moore took the witness stand for the second time in the defamation suit in a lawsuit brought by Leigh Corfman who made sexual abuse allegations against Moore while running for the US Senate in 2017. The allegations were first reported in The Washington Post. The jury is also considering Moore’s countersuit against Corfman.

The allegations are “purely political in my view,” Moore said. They were very difficult to approach politically, he said.

The testimony entered its second week after Corfman’s attorneys finished presenting his case on Friday. His witnesses included Moore.

Moore said the Washington Post article contained “a lot of misinformation.” He said he hadn’t had the chance to give his camp. He was contacted by the newspaper the day before publication and asked for a comment, which is in the story.

“All I did was deny the allegations.”

As a politician, Moore said the public owed an explanation and that’s what he was doing by denying the allegations.

Moore recounted how he helped draft child abuse legislation in 1977 as part of a project he participated in during the third year of law school.

A dozen supporters from the small community in Etowah County, Gallant, where Moore lives — including character witnesses — are seated in the gallery Monday in support of Moore.

As he did last week, Moore again denied knowing Leigh Corfman, denied having her in his home, denied having her in his car, denied calling her on the phone and denied meeting her at the courthouse. justice when she was a teenager.

Before resuming the witness stand, a series of character witnesses testified Monday morning on Moore’s behalf.

Moore’s attorneys have called eight character witnesses to the stand – including his sister and all of whom have known Moore for decades, if not their entire lives. Five of the eight said they live in Gallant, the small community in Etowah County about 16 miles west of Gadsden where Moore has lived all his life.

All testified that they never knew Moore was involved in inappropriate behavior.

Related: Roy Moore trial: Moore apologizes for ‘outburst’, Kayla Moore testifies

The only witness called who did not speak about Moore’s character, Randy Waters, was also the most controversial witness between the lawyers. Circuit Judge John Rochester even took the unusual step of clearing the courtroom for about 10 minutes so he and the attorneys could discuss a confidential matter before Waters testified.

Once Waters spoke, Corfman’s attorney, Neil Roman, raised a flurry of objections.

Waters said he was a paramedic who lives in Sand Rock – a small town about 25 miles northeast of Gadsden. He said he responded to a car accident in May 2021 when Roman raised one of his objections. Waters was only on the stand for six minutes and the gist of his testimony is that he met Corfman at the crash scene and she identified herself as “the 14-year-old girl that Roy Moore assaulted”. Waters said he heard Corfman give the same description to others at the scene.

Corfman’s attorneys did not ask Waters any questions when given the opportunity for cross-examination.

Other witnesses on Moore’s behalf included Leonard Holifield, who provided security for Moore when he was Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court from 2001 to 2003, and with Moore at the Foundation for Moral Law. , the nonprofit legal organization that Moore started.

“He’s a solid guy, a professional guy, top-notch integrity,” Holifield said. He said he left as Moore’s security guard to move to Georgia to get married.

Jimmy Flannagan testified that he was a longtime Gadsden police officer who worked closely with Moore, who was a prosecutor in Etowah County. Now the Port Authority of Mobile Police Chief, Flannagan said he and Moore have kept in touch over the years, usually by phone.

He described Moore’s character as “flawless” and that “I believe everything Judge Moore tells me”.

During brief cross-examinations of Holifield and Flannagan, Roman named by name the women who described Moore’s romantic advances during their teenage years and asked if they knew any of the girls. Holifield and Flannagan said no.

Toni Martin said she was Moore’s youngest sister and their father died when she was 8, Roy Moore – the older brother – became a ‘father figure’ to her. “He was the perfect example of a father figure,” she said.

Martin also testified that his older brother had never consumed alcohol, although during cross-examination Roman asked her if she knew that he had admitted to drinking wine on occasion during his testimony before the trial.

Elaine Connor Watson, another personality witness, testified that when she was 16, she took a job in 1976 at a bank where Moore worked and started working at a bank in Gadsden. She said she never had any inappropriate interactions with Moore. Watson began working at the bank three years before Corfman said Moore sexually assaulted her in 1979.

Watson said she does not believe the accusations made by Corfman and other women.

“I know his character and what type of person he is,” she said.

Corfman’s attorneys did not cross-examine Watson or any of Gallant’s other witnesses.

Gallant’s Jana Bryson Mayo said she played on a “ball team” that Moore coached when she was 10 or 11 and said there were never any problems.

“I admired him,” she said. “He’s really smart.”

“Roy Moore is one of the best men I’ve ever met,” said Tina Gargus, who testified that she had known Moore all her life. Gargus patted Moore on the arm as she left the courtroom after her testimony.

Connie Wilkerson of Gallant said Moore taught her son, who has Down syndrome, how to swim when he was 3 years old. “It made him a hero to me.”

Wilkerson also described Gallant’s close-knit nature, saying, “Everyone knows everything about everyone at Gallant.”

Linda Chandler of Gallant, who said she had volunteered for Moore’s previous political campaigns, described him as “the most godly man I have ever known”. She leaned down to hug Moore after her testimony as she left the courtroom.

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