Rep. Gwen Moore Asks for Protection for Pages if Roy Moore Is Elected
Wisconsin Democrat cites allegations against Alabama Senate candidate
Rep. Gwen Moore is asking the Senate sergeant-at-arms and doorkeeper to be proactive in protecting pages if Republican Roy Moore wins Alabama’s special Senate election on Tuesday.
In a letter, the Wisconsin Democrat asked what preventive steps are being taken to “safeguard Senate Pages from predatory conduct of U.S. Senators and Senate staff.”
Roy Moore has been accused of pursuing relationships with teenage girls, some of whom also alleged sexual assault, when he was in his 30s. The congresswoman said there were 10 allegations against him and added that he was banned from a mall and a YMCA in Alabama in 1979.
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She called his potential election a “threat to the safety of the young men and women working in the United States Senate Page Program.”
Rep. Gwen Moore said the page experience is an enriching one for high school juniors and seniors.
“However, being away from home also puts these young people in a very vulnerable position. They are away from family and their normal support structures,” she said.
“The nature of life on Capitol Hill necessitates long hours in close proximity to lawmakers and staff that can create power dynamics of which young people are not fully aware,” she added.
The congresswoman also pointed to former Florida GOP Rep. Mark Foley, who resigned in 2006 after sending explicit messages to male pages. The House page program has since been eliminated.