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Alabama Secretary of State Merrill Still Supports Moore

Alabama Secretary of State Merrill Still Supports Moore
(Dothan Eagle)

By    |   Tuesday, 14 November 2017 01:36 PM EST

Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill said Tuesday that he'd vote for GOP Senate Roy Moore if accusations of sexual misconduct are not proven to be true, but if the charges are proven, then he can't imagine that anybody in his state would vote for the former state Supreme Court judge.

"As of today, with the information that's been introduced to me, and if these charges are not proven to be true, then I would continue to support and vote for Judge Moore," Merrill told CNN's "New Day" program. "If the allegations are proven to be true, I don't think that there's any way that I or any other Alabamians would continue to support Judge Moore because of the way these allegations have been produced."

Five women in the past week have accused Moore of committing sexually abusive acts when he was in his 30s and they were in their teens. The Washington Post first reported Moore's alleged activities with four teenagers, including one woman who said she was only 14 years old when he allegedly had sexual contact with her.

On Monday, a fifth accuser said Moore had sexually assaulted her in a car when she was 16 years old.

Moore has vehemently denied all of the accusations, and has threatened to sue The Washington Post for its report.

Merrill said Tuesday that he thinks "it's possible" that the women accusing Moore are not telling the truth, as he has "absolutely no idea what level of validity there is."

"I don't know whether or not they're making it up or not because I don't know their intention and I don't know whether or not there are other things that have happened to them to cause them to come forward at this time," he said, adding that he finds the timing of the reports "odd."

"Judge Moore has been on the ballot eight times, different elections, primaries, run-off, general elections," said Merrill. "He has been an office holder for more than three decades in our state and not one time has any of this information ever been introduced publicly until some 30 days prior to the biggest election in his career. I just find that odd and very interesting. That's all I had said before and that's what I continue to say."

If Moore withdraws from the race or the state's Republican Party disassociates from him, the upcoming election could be declared "null and void" if he still gets the most votes and wins it, said Merrill. If that happens, the state's governor would need to set up another special election.

Sandy Fitzgerald

Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics. 

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Politics
Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill said Tuesday that he'd vote for GOP Senate Roy Moore if accusations of sexual misconduct are not proven to be true, but if the charges are proven, then he can't imagine that anybody in his state would vote for the former state Supreme...
us, alabama, secretary of state, john merrill, supports, roy moore
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2017-36-14
Tuesday, 14 November 2017 01:36 PM
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