In an article today, Breitbart pre-emptively prepared its readers for The Washington Post’s explosive report that the Alabama Republican senatorial candidate had relationships with four teenage girls when he was in his 30s. Breitbart had been provided with a letter the Post sent to Moore outlining the charges, which the right-wing web site then presented in the most benign terms imaginable. This was supplemented with attacks on Moore’s opponent, Democrat Doug Jones, and the Post (for various sins of liberalism, globalism, and association with Jeff Bezos).
This is Breitbart’s account of two of the allegation:
Another woman says when she was 17 and Moore was 34, they openly dated each other in the spring of 1981. This woman also is not cited making any claims of inappropriate sexual conduct. In fact, she characterized Moore as being romantic, reading poetry to her, and playing the guitar. The woman is cited saying that physical contact only involved kissing and did not progress any further.
A third woman claims that when she was working at a local mall as a Santa’s helper when she was 14, Moore approached her. She claims he asked her to go on dates when she was 16 but that her mother would not allow it.
The defense offered here seems to be that Moore’s pursuit of underage girls in these cases didn’t result in sex. Also that with the 17-year-old, he was “romantic.” Breitbart has a more difficult time putting any sort of spin on the most serious allegation, involving the molestation of a 14-year-old. They merely summarize the accusation and Moore’s denial.
As shameful as it is, Breitbart’s defense of Moore also shows how much trouble he’s in, since even his most ardent supporters can’t find any excuse for the worst accusations.