The Washington Post nailed down its Roy Moore bombshell by following rumors, interviewing 30 people

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published 10 November 2017

Even with the Senate at stake, it is hard to excuse the allegations leveled against Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore on Thursday by four women who say Moore initiated inappropriate relationships with them when they were teenagers and Moore a 30-something deputy district attorney. The most troubling allegation is from Leigh Corfman, who says that when she was 14, Moore, 32, took her to his secluded home, touched her bra and underpants, and guided her hand to his underwear-clad genitals.

So Republican officials, including President Trump, are not excusing the allegations; they are calling for Moore to step aside — mostly with the big caveat "if these allegations are true." Some of Moore's more strident allies say this, too. But none of them has said what would be convincing enough proof.

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Neither Corfman nor any of the other women sought out The Post. While reporting a story in Alabama about supporters of Moore's Senate campaign, a Post reporter heard that Moore allegedly had sought relationships with teenage girls. Over the ensuing three weeks, two Post reporters contacted and interviewed the four women. All were initially reluctant to speak publicly but chose to do so after multiple interviews, saying they thought it was important for people to know about their interactions with Moore. The women say they don't know one another. [The Washington Post]

On Thursday night, Fox News host Sean Hannity proposed one method to tease out the truth — he looks into the eyes of the women making the allegations — but said that we may never know the truth.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.