A federal jury has found that a Democrat super political action committee (PAC) defamed Roy Moore, a former sheriff and U.S. Senate candidate.
The Senate Majority PAC made a false statement about Moore that was defamatory, the verdict, returned on Aug. 12, states. The PAC also published the statement despite knowing it was false or acting “with reckless regard” as to whether the statement was false, the jury said.
Jurors also found that the Senate Majority PAC invaded Moore’s privacy.
They awarded Moore $8.2 million.
“I feel this is vindication and I give thanks to Almighty God and the jurors in this case for a great victory over our corrupt political system,” Moore said in a statement.
Defamation
Moore won the 2017 Republican primary runoff election to replace Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), who then-President Donald Trump tapped to be attorney general.
Ahead of the general election, a group linked to the Senate Majority PAC ran a 30-second advertisement nearly 1,000 times on television networks in Alabama that accused Moore of “soliciting sex from young girls” at a mall, according to the complaint. The claim was based on a report from The New American Journal, which cited anonymous sources and later said was inaccurately reported.
The ad also included quotes from news articles, such as “one he approached ‘was 14 and working as Santa’s helper.’” But those articles were not talking about soliciting sex.
The juxtaposition of the quotes were meant “to create the false impression that Judge Moore solicited sex from a 14-year-old Santa’s helper at the mall. The very source they cite in the ad refutes that statement,” the complaint stated.
The Senate Majority PAC said the accusations were baseless but U.S. District Judge Corey Maze, a Trump appointee, rejected multiple attempts to throw out the case, leading to the trial.
Seat
Moore lost the campaign by about 21,000 votes to Doug Jones.
Jones ran for a full term in office in 2020. Moore, Sessions, and football coach Tommy Tuberville were among the Republicans vying to face him.
Moore received the fourth-most votes in the Republican primary, which Tuberville won.
Tuberville easily trumped Jones, earning 60 percent of the votes.
The other U.S. Senate seat representing Alabama is up for grabs in the upcoming midterm elections.
Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), who has been in office since 1987, is retiring.
Katie Britt, a former aide to Shelby, won the Republican primary over Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.). Britt is going against pastor Will Boyd.
They do this all the time, they lie, they smear, they hire accusers. These people do not like fair and square elections because they lose without lying or cheating
I think that republicans should do the same. Forget about “honesty”, “self respect”, “decency” and similar bull shit.
When you are up against enemy which has no moral values, you have to TEMPORARILY TILL DESTROYING ENEMY LOWER your moral standards little below those, enemy has. OR YOU WILL LOST THE BATTLE.
Another example that the marxiRATS are guilty of everything they accuse republican patriots of doing.
So happy he won! He has been given a rotten deal for years. I found it hard to believe how many Alabamians believed all the Liberal lies!
OMG…YOU CAN GET MONSTER COURT AWARDS FOR BEING BUTTHURT ON EITHER SIDE.
LOL