Alabama Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore, who is facing calls to rescind his candidacy amid sexual misconduct allegations, issued a warning for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Wednesday night.
“Dear Mitch McConnell, Bring. It. On.,” Moore tweeted Wednesday night.
GOP lawmakers, including McConnell, have called for Moore to step down after a Washington Post report was published last week with allegations that Moore romantically pursued teenage girls while he was in his 30s. Others, including Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, have suggested Sen. Luther Strange, who ran against Moore in the primary runoff election, as an alternative option.
McConnell, who supported Strange in the primary, has also floated Attorney General Jeff Sessions as a write-in candidate for the seat he vacated when chosen to lead the Justice Department.
Moore has attacked McConnell before and said Tuesday his days as majority leader were numbered.
“Alabamians will not be fooled by this #InsideHitJob. Mitch McConnell’s days as Majority Leader are coming to an end very soon,” Moore tweeted. “The fight has just begun.”
The Post report which began the controversy featured four women who went on the record about their alleged interactions with Moore. One woman, Leigh Corfman, said Moore initiated sexual contact with her when she was 14 years old at Moore’s home. She said she did not have intercourse with Moore and requested to be taken home. The other three women said the former judge sought dates with them, despite the fact he was nearly twice their age and they were between the ages of 16 and 18.
Since last week, more women have come forward.
A fifth woman, Beverly Young Nelson, came forward Monday and claimed Moore sexually assaulted her when she was 16. She said Moore offered to drive her home from work one night, but instead parked in a parking lot behind her restaurant. She alleges he groped her and grabbed her neck to “force my head onto his crotch.”
Tina Johnson alleged that Roy Moore groped her while she was in his law office after conducting legal business back in 1991, AL.com reported Wednesday.
Additionally, Kelly Harrison Thorp said she was 17 and was working as a hostess when Moore asked her if she would go out with him and told her he went out with “girls your age all the time.”
Gena Richardson was allegedly approached by Moore when she was 17 and was working at the Gadsden Mall. He even called her high school to try to ask her out. When she eventually agreed, he forcefully kissed her at the end of the date, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday.
Moore, who has maintained throughout the controversy that he has not committed any wrongdoing, is up against Democrat Doug Jones next month in the Alabama special election to fill Sessions’ empty U.S. Senate seat.
