IS AN APOLOGY ENOUGH IF THE ALLEGATIONS ARE TRUE?
by Sharon Rondeau
(Nov. 29, 2017) — An “open letter” reportedly hand-delivered to AL.com by Roy Moore accuser Leigh Corfman and published by the paper on Wednesday morning states that Moore and his campaign aides called her “a liar” and “malicious,” specifically referring to a rally Moore held in the town of Henagar, AL on Monday night.
Moore is seeking the open Senate seat vacated by Jeff Sessions, who is now U.S. attorney general. He faces Democrat Doug Jones in a special election on December 12 after garnering more votes in a runoff against Luther Strange, who temporarily filled the seat by gubernatorial appointment in February.
In a November 9 article published by The Washington Post, Corfman claimed that Moore befriended her outside of the courtroom where her own custody hearing was taking place in February 1979 and asked for her phone number, then followed up by contacting her and picking her up on two occasions in his car.
At the time, she was 14 and he was 32, an assistant district attorney in Etowah County.
The Post article’s authors do not appear to have asked Corfman to describe the inside of Moore’s home nor to affirm where it was located. Moreover, no one in the media appears to have asked why Nancy Wells, Corfman’s mother, who was divorced at the time, did not provide adequate supervision to her 14-year-old daughter who court documents obtained by Breitbart show had a behavior problem.
The custody hearing resulted in a change in Corfman’s custody to her father, who lived in a different town, effective March 4, 1979.
On November 20, Corfman was a guest on NBC’s “Today” show with host Savannah Guthrie to discuss her allegations against Moore. This morning, NBC announced that longtime “Today” host Matt Lauer had been terminated for alleged workplace misconduct of a sexual nature.
Corfman has a “messy financial history” and has been divorced three times, according to The Post, and is quoted in the article as having said, “There is no one here that doesn’t know that I’m not an angel.”
The “Today” transcript states that Corfman told Guthrie, “I was a 14-year-old child trying to playing in an adult’s world, and he was 32 years old.”
She claimed to The Post that she “prayed over” making her alleged story known now and considered doing so when Moore ran for chief justice of the state supreme court in 2000.
Details about the telephone Corfman said she had in her bedroom and where Moore allegedly picked her up “around the corner from her house in Gadsden” are contradicted by the independent research conducted by Breitbart, including two interviews with Wells.
Corfman also told The Post that after her encounters with Moore, she “became increasingly reckless with drinking, drugs, boyfriends, and a suicide attempt when she was 16.” However, Corfman’s custody reverted back to her mother in October 1980 because her behavior reportedly improved during the 20 months she spent at her father’s home.
Corfman reportedly told The Post’s reporters that at the time she allegedly met Moore, she was “a typical 14-year-old kid of a divorced family.”
While the three co-authors admit that Corfman did not approach them with the story, they do not explain how they were led to her in the first place, nor how they found the other three accusers.
As The Post & Email exclusively reported on Wednesday afternoon, an attorney reported by AL.com to have represented Corfman in some capacity no longer represents her, according to the receptionist with whom we spoke at Gentle Turner Sexton & Harbison, LLC.
As The Post & Email reported, Alabama has no statute of limitations on sexual abuse of a child under 16. Corfman does not appear to have filed criminal charges against Moore.
In her open letter, Corfman appeared to be angry that Moore denied knowing her or any of the other women who accused him of improprieties. The letter begins:
When the Washington Post approached me about what you did to me as a child, I told them what happened, just as I had told family and friends years before. I stand by every word.
You responded by denying the truth. You told the world that you didn’t even know me. Others in recent days have had the decency to acknowledge their hurtful actions and apologize for similar behavior, but not you.
So I gave an interview on television so that people could judge for themselves whether I was telling the truth.
You sent out your spokesmen to call me a liar. Day after day.
Finally, last night, you did the dirty work yourself. You called me malicious, and you questioned my motivation in going public.
Corfman said she is seeking an apology from Moore.
In a 38-minute video of the Henagar event, from introductions to closing remarks made by others, Moore defends himself against the claims made by a number of women earlier this month who say he sexually abused or made improper advances toward them more than three decades ago but does not identify any of them by name.
Moore used the word “malicious” to describe the accusations, not the people making them. The majority of the speech consists of his platform and policy positions.
Moore’s brief discussion of the accusations begins at 14:45. He stated that throughout his life of public service, “never” did any sexual misconduct accusations arise. “It’s never been brought up once, and there have been numerous investigations,” he said. “I’ve been investigated by opposition research in all these races I’ve run: five statewide campaigns and three county campaigns, and never once has it been brought up.”
The video can be viewed here: http://southerntorch.com/video-moore-holds-rally-in-henagar/
Moore has said more than once that he will file suit against The Post, although as of this writing, no filing has been reported.
What a mess. At this time, I sense Moore is a decent fellow (and had been). Being so close to the election and such a great amount of time from when the claimed event (s) were to have had occurred, the timing of such claims are questionable (to me).
Either Moore is a political threat and needs to be eliminated by any means or in this case he was less than honorable and these claims against him are true. What ever happened to due process and innocent until proven guilty?
Even the high ranking GOP have discredited Moore and deemed him reprehensible, and sought his termination from competing in the election (without evidence). Only the GOP eat their own.