New Accuser Wants Moore to Testify Before Senate Judiciary
Beverly Young Nelson said she was assaulted by Moore when she was 16
A new accuser against Alabama Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore wants him to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee about her allegation that he sexually assaulted her when she was a teenager.
At a press conference in New York, Beverly Young Nelson said Moore frequently made complimentary remarks toward her and tugged on her hair when she was a waitress at a restaurant in the town of Gadsden. Moore worked in the district attorney’s office at the time.
Eventually, when Nelson was 16, she said Moore offered to drive her home after she ended her shift and then drove her behind the restaurant, groping her and grabbing her neck toward his crotch.
“I tried fighting him off, while yelling at him to stop,” she said. “I was determined that I was not going to allow him to force me to have sex with him. I was terrified.”
Nelson said she and her husband supported President Donald Trump in the last presidential election.
At the press conference, she was accompanied by lawyer Gloria Allred, who said the Judiciary Committee should subpoena the former judge.
“I did not contact Beverly, she contacted me,” she said.
A spokesman for Senate Judiciary Chairman Charles E. Grassley said that while anyone can submit a statement to the committee, “Roy Moore is not a federal judge, [so] the Ethics Committee may be a more appropriate jurisdiction, especially if Moore were to be elected.”
“These allegations are disturbing to say the least, and all victims of sexual harassment are entitled to justice,” spokesman Justin Foy said. “Senator Grassley believes that the Senate should set a high standard of conduct and led an effort in the last couple weeks to require sexual harassment prevention training for every senator and staffer.”
Moore’s campaign attempted to get ahead of the accusations in a press release.
“Gloria Allred is a sensationalist leading a witch hunt, and she is only around to create a spectacle,” campaign chairman Bill Armistead said. “Allred was the attorney who claims credit for giving us Roe v. Wade which has resulted in the murder of tens of millions of unborn babies.”
National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Sen. Cory Gardner denounced Moore as unfit to serve in a statement.
“I believe the individuals speaking out against Roy Moore spoke with courage and truth, proving he is unfit to serve in the United States Senate and he should not run for office. If he refuses to withdraw and wins, the Senate should vote to expel him, because he does not meet the ethical and moral requirements of the United States Senate,” Gardner said.