The disgraced Senate candidate hasn’t quite lost the support of his political soulmate Donald Trump, who himself survived allegations of sexual harassment and assault to make it to the highest office in the land. In statements to the press, multiple administration representatives essentially shrugged at reports that Moore habitually pursued teenage girls when he was in his thirties. The Washington Post, which broke the story, rounds up a few of the responses:
“Roy Moore is somebody who graduated from West Point, he served our country in Vietnam, he’s been elected multiple times statewide in Alabama,” [White House adviser Marc] Short said on Meet the Press. “The people in Alabama know Roy Moore better than we do here in D.C., and I think we have to be very cautious ... of allegations that are 40 years old that arise a month before Election Day.”
Short added that more evidence would have to come to light to discredit Moore. “If more evidence comes out that can prove that he did this, then sure, by all means he should be disqualified,” Short said. “But that’s a huge if.”
Separately, Kellyanne Conway told ABC’s This Week that, “I don’t know the accusers, and I don’t know Judge Moore. But I also want to make sure that we as a nation are not always prosecuting people through the press. He has denied the allegations.”
The administration’s decision to hedge places it firmly in line with much of the GOP. In statement after statement, senators have lamented that the accusations are terrible, truly terrible—if they’re true. The implication is that the women may be lying. As it so often does, Breitbart made this subtext text by sending reporters to Alabama to investigate the women accusing Moore of assault and sexual indiscretion.
What they found will truly disturb you: Washington Post reporters did journalism. They spoke to potential sources, and got them to speak on the record. These are the facts, but Breitbart isn’t interested in facts. Neither, it seems, is the GOP.