- Referring to Politico story below
- Forgive our cynicism
- We are thinking Democrats and Republican establishment have not been so vociferous or “shocked” by Menendez ALLEGATIONS — bribery is getting awful close to home (also below see Status of a Senator Who Has Been Indicted for or Convicted of a Felony – Congressional Research Service)
“Step aside if true”
Yep, that’s our boy Mitch. If it’s not true, how do you defend against it before the election in December?
“Corfman recounted her story in a consistent fashion during six interviews, according to the Post.”
There’s a surprise! If you rehearse it often enough, you can be pretty damn consistent!
“According to the Post, Moore approached Corfman outside a courtroom in Etowah County. At the time, Corfman was sitting with her mother. Moore got her phone number and then days later took her to his house in the woods and kissed her. During a second visit, according to Corfman, Moore took her clothes off as well as his own and ran his hand over her body and her hand over his underwear. “
—
In 1979! With her “sitting with her mother”, Moore “got her phone number”: “Hey, what’s a beautiful, nice 14 year old girl like you doing in a place like this?” Is that your sister?
I’ll bet Chief Justice Moore had great pick up lines like that you wouldn’t believe….that old smoothie.
Who are the “four women”?
Where have they been for the last 30 years or so?
How come not even one came forward when Moore was to become Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice? As he has been so high profile thumping the Bible and all.
And, when will “if this is true” be determined? After the general election in December, like the TED STEVENS FIASCO?? Well, yeah. Like Ted Stevens…let’s have the election and then determine when it is prudent to drop the allegations …or do they even have to.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) was unequivocal. “I’m horrified, and if this is true he needs to step down immediately,” she told reporters.
One wonders if she was a little more equivocal about old dad. DLH
The Politico story:
McConnell calls on Moore to step aside if report on relations with teenagers is true
“These allegations are completely false and are a desperate political attack by the National Democrat Party and the Washington Post on this campaign,” Roy Moore said in the statement. | Brynn Anderson/AP
Moore issued a statement denying the accusations.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) called on the party’s nominee for Senate in Alabama, Roy Moore, to withdraw from the race if a new report that he pursued teenage girls in his 30’s is confirmed.
“If these allegations are true, he must step aside.”
Other Republican senators also reacted with alarm to the report by the Washington Post. It quoted several women saying that Moore initiated contact with them when as teenagers, including one woman who said she had a sexual encounter with him when she was 14 and he was 32.
“The allegations against Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore are deeply troubling,” added Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. “If these allegations are found to be true, Roy Moore must drop out of the Alabama special Senate election.”
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) was unequivocal. “I’m horrified, and if this is true he needs to step down immediately,” she told reporters.
“It’s a nasty story, I don’t know anything about it,” added Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.). Asked if Moore should withdraw, Shelby said, “Let’s see how the story runs.”
Pressed further on the issue, Shelby said, “I supported Sen. Strange, you all know that.” He was referring to Sen. Luther Strange, whom Moore defeated in a Republican primary.
The report quotes Leigh Corfman, who Moore reportedly started the sexual relationship with her when he was an assistant district attorney in 1979.
According to the Post, Moore approached Corfman outside a courtroom in Etowah County. At the time, Corfman was sitting with her mother. Moore got her phone number and then days later took her to his house in the woods and kissed her. During a second visit, according to Corfman, Moore took her clothes off as well as his own and ran his hand over her body and her hand over his underwear.
Corfman recounted her story in a consistent fashion during six interviews, according to the Post.
The Post report also said three other women it interviewed said Moore pursued them while he was in his 30s and they were teenagers. But those women say he did not try to initiate sexual contact with them.
Moore issued a statement to the Post denying the accusations.
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“These allegations are completely false and are a desperate political attack by the National Democrat Party and the Washington Post on this campaign,” Moore said in the statement.
Moore, a former controversial state Supreme Court judge, is running in the special election for Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ Senate seat. His opponent is former U.S. attorney Doug Jones, a Democrat. Moore has been heavily favored to win.
The election is on Dec. 12.
Washington Republicans including McConnell and the NRSC overwhelmingly backed Strange over Moore in the primary.
Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas), who endorsed Moore after his primary victory over Strange, said that senior Republicans are still examining what options they have — if any — ahead of the special election.
“This troubling news is so recent that people are trying to understand what hit us,” Cornyn told reporters. “I think people are trying to sort it out and figure out what the appropriate response is, including Sen. Strange.”
Cornyn also suggested that Corfman’s willingness to go on the record about the sexual contact does not yet prove Moore’s guilt.
“If it is true, I don’t think his candidacy is sustainable,” Cornyn said. “But we believe in a presumption of innocence until proven guilty. And so I think it’s important for the facts to come out.”
Pressed by reporters on the further proof he would want to view the allegations against Moore as true, Cornyn added: “I’m interested in seeing what substantiation there is for the story.”
Murkowski later told reporters that she would encourage Strange to re-enter the race as a write-in candidate, though it’s unclear whether Alabama law would allow that.
“Of course it’s possible!” said Murkowski, who won her own 2010 re-election race as a write-in contender after losing the Alaska GOP primary.
John Bresnahan, Kyle Cheney and Anthony Adragna contributed to this report.
Status of a Senator Who Has Been Indicted for or Convicted of a Felony
Jack Maskell
Legislative Attorney April 2, 2015
Summary
There are no federal statutes or Rules of the Senate that directly affect the status of a Senator who has been indicted for a crime that constitutes a felony. No rights or privileges are forfeited under the Constitution, statutory law, nor the Rules of the Senate upon an indictment. Under the Rules of the Senate, therefore, an indicted Senator may continue to participate in congressional proceedings and considerations. Under the United States Constitution, a person under indictment is not disqualified from being a Member of or a candidate for reelection to Congress. Internal party rules in the Senate may, however, provide for certain steps to be taken by an indicted Senator. For example, the Senate Republican Conference Rules require an indicted chairman or ranking Member of a Senate committee, or a member of the party leadership, to temporarily step aside from his or her leadership or chairmanship position.
Members of Congress do not automatically forfeit their offices upon conviction of a crime that constitutes a felony. No express constitutional disability or “disqualification” from Congress exists for the conviction of a crime, other than under the Fourteenth Amendment for certain treasonous conduct by someone who has taken an oath of office to support the Constitution. Unlike Members of the House, Senators are not instructed by internal Senate Rules to refrain from voting in committee or on the Senate floor once they have been convicted of a crime which carries a particular punishment. Internal party rules in the Senate may affect a Senator’s position in committees. Under the Senate Republican Conference Rules, for example, Senators lose their chairmanships of committees or ranking Member status upon conviction of a felony.
Conviction of certain crimes may subject—and has subjected in the past—Senators to internal legislative disciplinary proceedings, including resolutions of censure, as well as an expulsion from the Senate upon approval of two-thirds of the Members. Conviction of certain crimes relating to national security offenses would result in the Member’s forfeiture of his or her entire federal pension annuity under the provisions of the so-called “Hiss Act” and, under more recent provisions of law, conviction of a number of crimes by Members relating to public corruption, fraud, or campaign finance law will result in the loss of the Member’s entire “creditable service” as a Member for purposes of calculating his or her federal retirement annuities if the conduct underlying the conviction related to one’s official duties.
This report has been updated from an earlier version, and will be updated in the future as changes to law, congressional rules, or judicial and administrative decisions may warrant.
