2020 election

Senate Candidate Roy Moore Disses Impeachment Proceedings, Says it Is Time for Washington to Get Back to Business

Roy Moore, with wife Kayla, filed qualifying papers to run for U.S. Senate on Oct. 31, 2019. (Source: Solomon Crenshaw Jr.)

Roy Moore said Thursday that he does not think the allegations being investigated by Democrats against President Donald Trump constitute high crimes or misdemeanors under the constitution.

“I think we need to get off impeachment proceedings and get back to the business of the country,” Moore said after qualifying to run for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate. “I think the president has every right to coordinate with foreign entities. That’s the job of the president.”

“As far as dealing with ambassadors and things that affect our foreign relations, that’s always been in the jurisdiction of the chief executive officer, being the president,” he continued. “Whether it’s a Democrat president or a Republican president, that’s the job of the president.”

Moore said he didn’t qualify for the race because he wants to scare the wits out of people in Washington.

“I think there’s something the press knows without a doubt,” the former chief justice of Alabama said. “Washington, D.C., does not like me. They don’t want somebody that will not follow their agenda and will oppose the establishment.”

“The Washington establishment doesn’t want to change,” Moore continued. “They want to keep their power. They want to keep their jobs. They want to keep their status and not do anything that really helps the country.”

Moore said Washington had a lot to do with his failure when he campaigned against Doug Jones for the Senate seat in 2017. He cited Sen. Richard Shelby’s encouraging people not to vote for the candidate of the Republican Party.

“I think there was dissention in the ranks,” he said. “I think there were a lot of false allegations that were made at the last minute.”

Moore said the sexual assault allegations that hampered his 2017 campaign will not affect this run for office. “They were false allegations, the people of Alabama recognize they were false,” he said. “We’re not concerned about that. We hope the press gets off of the scandals and things they cooked up and get back to the issues we should be talking about.”

Moore added that his campaign will not be affected if former Sen. Jeff Sessions throws his hat into the ring. Sessions stepped down when he was appointed U.S. attorney general by President Donald Trump.

“Jeff Sessions, I’ve known him for a long time. I consider him a friend,” the candidate said. “Others in Washington have urged him to get in. I don’t know whether he’ll get in or not, but it won’t affect my campaign.”