MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Dueling defamation lawsuits filed by failed U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore and a woman who accused him of molesting her decades ago, derailing his 2017 campaign, went on trial Tuesday with the woman’s lawyer telling jurors it was up to them to decide who to believe.
Leigh Corfman, who claimed Moore touched her sexually when she was 14 and he was 32, sat across an Alabama courtroom from Moore as jurors in the civil trial began hearing opening statements from lawyers and the initial witnesses.
The allegations overshadowed the conservative Republican during the 2017 campaign as Moore ultimately fell in a stunning red state defeat to Doug Jones, the first Alabama Democrat elected to the Senate in 25 years. Republican Tommy Tuberville defeated Jonesin the next election.
During opening statements, lawyers gave divergent views of Corfman and Moore and what happened in 1979. Lawyers for Moore told jurors that he doesn’t know Corfman, whom they described as being motivated by politics and a desire to be in the limelight. An attorney for Corfman said the woman came forward only reluctantly around the time of the Senate race when approached by a reporter.
Melody Eagan, an attorney representing Corfman, told jurors that Moore victimized Corfman twice: once in 1979 when he sexually touched her in his home when she was 14 and decades later in 2017 when he “defamed her by dragging her name through the mud.”
“He attacked her integrity, and he did so publicly, and...
You don't have permission to access "http://www.chosun.com/english/opinion-en/2026/06/22/KL3VHYBGPJCRDNIYZRPHIYQZ44/" on this server. Reference #18.4555d117.1782055411.18f612c0 https://errors.edge...