Roy Moore insists it is not his writing in a yearbook that a woman presented to bolster her claim that she knew Moore and he tried to force himself on her when she was a teenager, representatives for Moore said Wednesday afternoon.

Phillip Jauregui, who is representing Moore, in a press conference demanded that Gloria Allred, who is representing the woman, send the yearbook to an independent handwriting expert for verification.

Meanwhile, the GOP steering committee gathered in a special called meeting this afternoon but then left without talking to the press.

Moore is running for U.S. Senate in the Dec. 12 special election to fill the seat

vacated by Jeff Sessions when he was appointed attorney general.

But his campaign has been clouded with controversy in the past week as five women reported that Moore had inappropriate contact with them when they were teenagers.

Wednesday, three more women added their voices to the choir. Two women who worked at the Gadsden Mall when they were teens reported unwelcome advances by Moore to the Washington Post. One of them said Moore was such a known quantity at the mall that girls were advised to just stay away from him when they saw him.

Another woman told AL.com that Moore groped her in his law office in 1991, when she was 28 and he was married.

Beverly Young Nelson, an Alabama woman now living in New York, said in a press conference Monday that she was 15 and working in a Gadsden restaurant when Moore offered her a ride home. Instead, he drove her to the back of the restaurant and began groping her, Nelson said. She said she was afraid he was going to rape her. Nelson said she was crying and telling him to stop, and eventually he let her go.

She offered as proof her 1977 high school yearbook with an inscription she said was written by Moore, who was a regular at the restaurant.

“To a sweeter more beautiful girl, I could not say, ‘Merry Christmas,'” the inscription reads, and it is signed “Roy Moore, D.A.”

Jauregui raised questions about the handwriting, particularly the signature and the use of D.A. Moore was an assistant district attorney at the time but said he did not sign his name that way.

Jauregui said that, although Nelson said she never had contact with Moore after the incident, Moore did, in fact, issue an order years later in Nelson’s divorce case. Moore, a judge at the time, had an assistant who would stamp Moore’s signature on documents and then add their initials, D.A.

Knowing these things, I’ve got a question (for Nelson and Allred) … do you still hold that everything written in that yearbook was written by Judge Moore, or was it written by somebody else?” Jauregui said in the press conference.

He also said the order issued in the divorce case show Nelson had “contact” with Moore after the incident in the restaurant.

Nelson was the fifth woman who has come out in less than a week and said that Moore had inappropriate contact with them when they were teenagers.

Bill Armistead, chairman of Moore’s campaign, introduced Jauregui before he spoke in the press conference. Jauregui said he’s known Moore for 24 years and has never seen him act inappropriately toward women.

“That’s the man I know,” Jauregui said.

Read the day’s reports on the Moore situation.
Senate Republicans Look to Trump to Restore Order Amid Alabama Upheaval Washington Post
GOP Braces for Extended Clash in Alabama Associated Press
Fox News’ Hannity Decides Not to Pass Judgment on Roy Moore Associated Press
In Roy Moore’s Senate Race, Anonymous Threats, Deceptive Texts, Alternative Facts Washington Post
‘Absolutely Not’: Richard Shelby Won’t Vote for Roy Moore Montgomery Advertiser
Sex Abuse Allegations Put Spotlight on Roy Moore’s Allies Anniston Star
Doug Jones: Roy Moore Allegations ‘Have More Credibility Than the Denials’ AL.com
Roy Moore Announces 12 Testimonials From Women Affirming His Character AL.com
NRSC Poll: Moore Trails Jones by 12 PoliticoGOP Leaders Weigh Drastic Plan to Save Alabama Senate Seat Politico
Two More Women Describe Unwanted Overtures by Roy Moore at Alabama Mall Washington Post
New Roy Moore Accuser: ‘He Didn’t Pinch It; He Grabbed It’ AL.com

 

Read BirminghamWatch’s coverage of the controversy

Another Woman Accuses Roy Moore of Attack, Senate Leader Calls for Vote to Expel, and Pastors Publish Letter of Support

Friends of Moore’s Accuser Defend Her Decision to Discuss Allegations Now

Roy Moore Says Sexual Allegations Were Raised to ‘Defrock’ His Campaign, Fallout Continues as Some Republicans Defend Him and Others Look for Ways to Bounce Him From the Ballot

Accusations of Sexual Misconduct Against Roy Moore Throw Senate Race Into Turmoil