Alabama media outlet reporting on Roy Moore won't back down after receiving legal threats

AL.com and its parent company, Alabama Media Group, are standing by their reporting on Alabama Republican Senate nominee Roy Moore, and has rejected Moore's claim that the website has turned public opinion against him, with the company's attorney writing, "Any damage to Mr. Moore's reputation was self-inflicted and had already occurred long before AL.com's recent reporting."

Since The Washington Post first published the account of a woman who said Moore made sexual advances on her when she was 14, AL.com has done extensive reporting on the matter, interviewing additional women who have accused Moore of sexual misconduct and following up on other stories, like Moore being banned from the Gadsden Mall for bothering teenage girls. Trenton Garmon, an attorney for Moore, his wife Kayla, and their Foundation for Moral Law, sent a letter Nov. 14, to Alabama Media Group, accusing AL.com of making "false reports and/or careless reporting" about subjects related to the Moores.

In response, Alabama Media Group's attorney John Thompson sent Garmon a letter Thursday saying the company "rejects" the demand it stop reporting on Moore, writing: "Alabamians — for that matter, all Americans — have a right to know about the individuals who wish to represent them in public office. Like every political candidate, Mr. Moore is subject to scrutiny and analysis by the media and the general public regarding his fitness for public inquiry."

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Any lawsuit "would be frivolous and could not be brought in good faith," Thompson said, but if one is filed, "we are confident that litigation would not only demonstrate that AL.com exercised the utmost diligence and employed high journalistic standards in reporting these stories, but would also reveal other important information about your clients." Read Thompson's entire letter at The Washington Post.