Woman who claims she dated Moore when she was 17 speaks
A woman who says she dated Roy Moore when she was 17-years-old is speaking out for the first time on camera on the eve of the special election for the U.S. Senate in Alabama.
Debbie Wesson Gibson said in a Today show interview that she approved of Moore at the time of their romance - which was legally allowed under Alabama law - but now believes that he is a 'creeper' for dating teens.
'He is unfit for public service at the Senate level in this nation,' she said in an interview that aired Monday morning.
Gibson also accused the president, who recorded a robo call for Moore over the weekend and touted him at a campaign-style rally, of being 'willing to sell his soul for political gain' over his endorsement of the alleged sexual assaulter and harasser of teens.
A woman who says she dated Roy Moore when she was 17-year-old is speaking out. Debbie Wesson Gibson says, 'He is unfit for public service at the Senate level in this nation'
All eyes are on the race in Alabama between Moore and Democrat Doug Jones that will be decided on Tuesday
Moore will get a shove across the finish line this evening from Steve Bannon, the president's ex-chief strategist. Democrat Doug Jones (pictured) received a weekend assist from Cory Booker, a New Jersey senator expected to challenge Trump in 2020
All eyes are on the race in Alabama between Moore and Democrat Doug Jones that will be decided by the special election that takes place on Tuesday.
Both sides are making a last-minute blitz, with Moore re-emerging on Sunday to tie his candidacy to President Trump's agenda and defend himself against allegations of assault and molestation.
Moore will get a shove across the finish line this evening from Steve Bannon, the president's ex-chief strategist who returned last summer to the helm of Breitbart News.
Democrat Doug Jones received an assist from Cory Booker, a New Jersey senator who's expected to challenge President Donald Trump for the Oval Office in 2020.
Neither candidate has been able to break 50 percent outright in general election polling, although two just-released surveys from Trafalgar Group and Gravis show Moore with a four- to five-point edge.
When those who are leaning toward Moore are counted as supporters in the Trafalgar Group survey, the Republican scores 51 percent, giving him the victory in tomorrow's election.
Kellyanne Conway, the president's counselor and a former pollster, suggested in a Monday morning appearance on Fox & Friends that Moore would eek out a victory.
Speaking about national Democrats, she said, 'I think if they had polling showing Doug Jones ahead, they'd been crowing about it...and they just haven't.'
'They have a couple people down there. But really, they've spent money on this race, but they really haven't had superstars, powerhouses going into Alabama,' she stated.
Booker has been the biggest draw for Jones by design. The Democratic candidate's campaign has said it does not want Washington meddling in the GOP-controlled state's special election.
Trump has not campaigned alongside Moore. He held a rally across the border in Pensacola, Florida, on Friday, evening though, where he told his supporters who live in Alabama to vote for Moore.
He also recorded a robo call that's making its across Alabama now.
This morning, Wesson Gibson smacked Trump for his endorsement.
'There is a man, that is willing to sell his soul for political gain,' she said.
In an interview from the state, Booker told Vice News that President Trump should resign over the allegations of misconduct against him.
'Why isn’t Donald Trump doing the same thing? Who has more serious allegations against him, with more women who have come forward,' he said, referring to the announced resignation of Democratic Sen. Al Franken.
At a weekend appearance with Booker, Jones hammered Moore for his light campaign schedule in the lead-up to the election.
'What kind of senator hides from his constituencies when he runs for office? What kind of public servant hides and only goes into enclaves and doesn't address the media?' he said.
Moore has since sat down for interviews, including one with The Voice of Alabama politics on Sunday.
'I did not date underage women. I did not molest anyone and so, these allegations are false,' he said.
Trump waffled early on in his support for Moore only to endorse him last week on Twitter and in a call as he reflected on the possibility that Republicans could lose the vote for his agenda in the Senate.
Conway said Monday as she defended Trump's endorsement: 'I think the president couldn't be more clear about how he feels about this race. He has said, this is the president talking now, the president has said, go vote Roy Moore.
'He's made it very clear that he wants that vote in the United States Senate. The president has said a vote for lower taxes, more secure borders, certainly less regulations, more ISIS in defeat around the globe.'
Sen. Richard Shelby, Alabama's other GOP senator meanwhile confirmed on Sunday that he had cast a write-in vote for Tuesday's Senate special election in the state, instead of voting for embattled GOP hopeful Roy Moore.
'I couldn't vote for Roy Moore. I didn't vote for Roy Moore. But I wrote in a distinguished Republican name. And I think a lot of people could do that,' Shelby said on CNN's State of the Union.
Shelby noted that while he'd rather see the Republican win, he hoped that victor would be a Republican write-in.
Sen. Richard Shelby couldn't stomach voting for Roy Moore - nor Democrat Doug Jones - so he confirmed that he cast a write-in ballot for U.S. Senate in Alabama
CNN's Jake Tapper (left) interviewed Sen. Richard Shelby (right) on Sunday. Shelby has represented Alabama in the Senate for nearly 31 years, though won't cast a vote for the Republican on the ballot
Judge Roy Moore is being accused of preying on teenage girls, however has stayed in the Alabama Senate race. Voters head to the polls in this special election on Tuesday
When the accusations first came out against Moore – that he had preyed on teenage girls, displaying inappropriate behavior including sexual assault – Republicans had floated the idea of a write-in campaign, which included candidates like Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who had vacated the seat, and Sen. Luther Strange, who lost to Moore in the GOP primary.
However, no such effort got off the ground in part because former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon decided to stand by Moore, eventually getting President Trump to give the Senate hopeful a full-scale endorsement too.
Now Moore and Democratic hopeful Doug Jones are locked in a tight race, which should have been a cake walk for Moore in the deep red state.
'I don't know what is going to happen,' Shelby admitted on Sunday. 'You know, as a Republican, I had to vote Republican. I wanted to vote Republican.'
'I understand where the president's coming from. I understand we would like to retain that seat in the U.S. Senate, but I tell you what,' Shelby continued. 'We call it a tipping point. And I think so many accusations, so many cuts, so many drip, drip, drip, drip when it got to the 14-year-old story ... that was enough for me.'
Shelby was referring to the story of Leigh Corfman, first reported in the Washington Post, who said a 32-year-old Moore volunteered to watch after her at the courthouse as her mother stepped into a custody hearing.
Later, he picked her up and took her to his house in the woods and upon arrival 'took off her shirt and pants and removed his clothes. He touched her over her bra and underpants, she says, and guided her hand to touch him over his underwear,' the Post wrote.
Upon hearing about that, Shelby said he came to a decision: 'I said, I can't vote for Roy Moore.'
Shelby, who's represented Alabama in the Senate for nearly 31 years, also said he believed the female accusers are credible.
'I think the women are believable. I have no reason not to believe them ... they are credible, but I wasn't there, I don't know what happened,' the senator said. 'But there's a lot of stories there. There's a lot of smoke. Got to be fire somewhere.'
Dean Young, Moore's chief political strategist who was speaking on behalf of the campaign on ABC's This Week, argued the opposite, saying that he didn't believe the accusers.
Young argued that 'the people of Alabama want to know why 30 days before an election people would just come out of the woodwork and say Judge Moore did this and Judge Moore did that.'
'I'm not sure why they did it,' he continued. 'I don't believe them and the people of Alabama don't believe them.'
While Democrat Jones has held event after event, since the accusations have come out against Moore, the Senate hopeful has only held a handful of public events.
He had nothing on his schedule over the weekend, though will hold a rally Monday night, alongside Bannon and Rep. Louie Gohmert, a Texas Republican.
Young blew off the assertion that Moore was in hiding.
'Well, Judge Moore's been out for 25 years across Alabama and he's known by the people,' the campaign adviser said. 'He's talked to the people of Alabama and they are with Judge Moore.'
'That's why I believe if we get our vote out - and we will - Judge Moore will be the senator that will be going up to Washington on December 12 and helping Donald Trump with his agenda,' Young said.