McConnell's super PAC accused of 'defaming' Roy Moore

There are many who believe a Sen. Roy Moore of Alabama would be the establishment GOP's worst nightmare.

After all, as a twice-removed Alabama Supreme Court chief justice (once over the Ten Commandments, once over biblical marriage), he's not known for compromising on his beliefs. He contends the nation needs to return to the values of the Bible, declares Islam is dangerous, believes homosexuality should not be welcome in the military and maintains that marriage is the union of a man and a woman.

But he's considered one of two front-runners in the race to replace Sen. Jeff Sessions, President Trump's attorney general.

So it's not surprising that the establishment would fund advertising opposing his candidacy and support Sen. Luther Strange, who was appointed to fill Session's seat until the special election.

But an ad campaign launched by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's super PAC went too far, according to a board member for the Foundation for Moral Law, the organization Moore ran between his two stints as Alabama's chief justice.

A lawsuit may be in the offing.

Judge John Bentley said, as the chairman of the foundation from 2007 to 2013 and a current board member, he's asked the group's general counsel to send a cease-and-desist letter to all stations airing an ad that spotlights the foundation, Judge Moore and his wife, Kayla.

Judge Roy Moore's moral strength and legal brilliance shine through as he tells the story of his Ten Commandments monument battle: "So Help Me God: The Ten Commandments, Judicial Tyranny, and the Battle for Religious Freedom"

"Furthermore, I've requested our general counsel to prepare a defamation lawsuit against the Senate Leadership Fund in Washington and all consultants involved in the creation of this lie."

The Washington Examiner reported on some of the claims made in the ad campaign.

"Roy Moore, there's so much more," the voice-over states. "Despite being one of the highest paid judges in the nation, raking in more than $170,000 a year, Roy Moore, wanted more. So, Roy and his wife took over $1 million from a charity they ran, paying themselves $1 million and spending even more on travel, including a private jet."

Western Journalism reported the Moore campaign explained he was chief justice from 2001 to 2003 and from 2013 to 2016, and received a salary from the foundation from 2005 to 2012. His wife started working for the foundation in 2013 when he took office but had not worked there before. Her salary was $65,000.

The report said: "Further, for the eight years Moore worked for the foundation, he received $530,875, or an average of less than $67,000 per year. An additional $435,000 was booked as a liability, [but] not paid to the judge. Even if it had been paid, it will still only average approximately $120,000 per year, certainly not extravagant compensation for an attorney."

The nonprofit does not own a private jet but rented one in 2003 for a speaking engagement in Florida.

Former Alabama GOP chief Bill Armistead, Moore's campaign manager, said: "Mitch McConnell has failed to provide the leadership in the Senate to implement President Trump's agenda, including repealing Obamacare. Now his henchmen at the Senate Leadership Fund have failed to be truthful in their vicious attacks on Judge Roy Moore."

Armistead said the ad is "desperate and heavy with the stench of the Washington establishment.'

"Luther Strange should repudiate the Senate Leadership Fund immediately for these slanderous attacks, but he won't because he has gotten into the swamp with these critters," he said.

Bentley added: "Not only is the ad a complete fabrication of the facts, it is an outright attack on our belief system – that moral law is the centerpiece of our nation's founding principle. This ad goes beyond the pale of politics and calls into question the character and integrity of Judge Moore and the character of each individual that serves on the board of our foundation. The ad falsely states salaries paid over the course of a decade as Judge Moore served our foundation. Judge Moore has upheld his integrity over the course of his long career and our foundation has fought for morality in our legal system – I refuse to let some corrupt politicians spread lies about us now."

Bentley said he is calling on Strange to demand the ad be pulled from every station.

"If he fails to do so, he is personally endorsing this lie. In fact, I am so outraged that I am personally joining the request to have Gov. Ivey have the Alabama Ethics Commission look into all past and current dealings of Luther Strange. Luther has dropped to a new low by attacking our Foundation with gross distortions and untruths."

WND reported this week on how Moore's selection by Alabama voters – he's long been a favorite there – wouldn't make McConnell's job pulling his GOP ranks together any easier.

It's partly because McConnell is working with moderates such as Sen. John McCain of Arizona, who last week torpedoed an effort to repeal Obamacare, and with conservatives such as Sens. Ted Cruz and Rand Paul, who press for less government and lower taxes.

Recent polls show Moore in a statistical dead heat with Strange.

Significantly, it's the Alabama voters who will decide, not the power brokers in Washington, who are supporting Strange. It is lesser-known and much more conservative groups such as the Alabama Republican Assembly that have endorsed Moore.

That group's statement said Moore is "a proven fighter, personally and politically, and will stand strong for government that abides by the Constitution."

"I believe Judge Moore will stand like a stone wall against the tide of liberalism and immorality we see on display in the news each day," said ALRA President Jennifer Montrose.

There are nine candidates for the nomination, but Strange recently was polled at 35 percent, Moore at 33 percent and Rep. Mo Brooks at 16 percent by the Raycom News Network and Strategy Research. Others were far behind.

If no one gets more than 50 percent in the Aug. 15 election, there will be a runoff between the top two, something for which Moore already is planning.

The eventual outcome in the general election probably won't be a surprise, since some two-thirds of registered voters are Republicans.

Strange also is linked to former Gov. Robert Bentley, who appointed him to finish Sessions' term. Bentley, shortly later, resigned from office at the start of an impeachment hearing. When Bentley appointed Strange to the Senate, Bentley was under investigation by Strange's office as state attorney general.

A Politico report Monday said McConnell was "unleashing the full force of his political machine" against conservatives in Alabama.

"The Republican leader is aiming to thwart Rep. Mo Brooks and former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore in a special election in Alabama [Aug. 15]," the report said.

"His super PAC is set to spend as much as $8 million to boost his favored candidate," it continued.

His all-out effort "underscores his struggles managing his narrow Senate majority," the report said.

Moore has publicly acknowledged his differences with the Washington establishment.

"If Mitch McConnell is accusing me of being a 'conservative rebel' who won't march in lockstep behind his Big Government, big-spending agenda," Moore said, "then I plead guilty as charged!"

His website details his positions.

"Lower taxes, smaller government, and less spending"
On the Constitution, "All actions of state and federal officials must conform"
On immigration, "If a wall is our only option, then we should build it immediately."
On health care, "We do not need socialized medicine"
For the military, more funding and "homosexuality should be against military policy as was the law prior to Bill Clinton."
And, there is "no authority for federal involvement" in educational systems in states.

WND reported in May establishment Republicans were lining up behind Strange.