By Brandon Moseley
Alabama Political Reporter
Wednesday, August 2, 2017, the Senator Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) controlled National Republican Senate Leadership Committee (NRSLC) unleashed an ad attacking the ethics of Roy Moore (R) and his wife, Kayla. The ad was blasted as misleading by the Moore campaign.
Moore campaign manager Bill Armistead 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. Shame on them!”
The ad alleges that Chief Justice Moore and his wife were paid $1,030,875 plus travel, which included a private jet from their charity, the Foundation for Moral Law which provides legal assistance to people, local governments, and organization that they believe are having their rights violated. The ad does not make it clear that this was between 2005 and 2013. The ads do not also explain that the jets was for one trip to Pensacola and the travel expenses were only $140,582 and spread out between 2003 and 2014. The ad also indicates that Moore was a Judge during this entire period, which was not true because he had been removed from the Court and this was Moore’s primary income source for much of this period of time.
Armistead said, “The citations in the ad are blatantly false and misleading. Judge Moore served honorably as an advocate for the Foundation for Moral Law as he helped lead them into legal battles against liberal hate groups like the ACLU and the Southern Poverty Law Center.”
Armistead said, “The ad is desperate and heavy with the stench of the Washington establishment. For weeks now, the news has reported that Sen. McConnell would not tolerate another conservative Senator in their ranks. They have been frustrated that their hand-picked candidate Luther Strange is being rejected by Alabama conservatives and are demonizing anyone who dares to oppose him.”
State Auditor Jim Zeigler (R) said on social media, “Why can’t Luther Strange focus on his own record and platform? Instead he spends millions in Washington money attacking his opponents. His ads mention his opponents more than himself. Very strange.”
Chairman Armistead called on Luther Strange to, “Repudiate the Senate Leadership Fund immediately for these slanderous attacks, but he won’t because he has gotten into the swamp with these critters. Luther Strange was appointed to the Senate under a dark unethical cloud by our former governor who was forced out of office while he was supposedly being investigated by Attorney General Luther Strange. The sleazy politics that enabled Luther Strange to be appointed to the Senate are consistent with the rest of the corruption in Washington and indicate that Strange fits right in with the Senate insiders club.”
Armistead said, “We are in the process of sending cease and desist letters to each of the television and radio stations demanding that they take down the ads immediately for lack of supporting evidence, subject to further legal action if they continue to air.”
Former Chairman of the Foundation for Moral Law and current Board Member Judge John Bentley said in a statement on Wednesday; “As the Chairman of the Foundation for Moral Law during 2007-2013 and a current Board Member, I’ve asked our General Counsel to send a Cease and Desist letter to all stations airing this false Ad about our Foundation, Kayla Moore and Judge Moore. Furthermore, I’ve requested our General Counsel to prepare a defamation law suit against the Senate Leadership Fund in Washington and all consultants involved in the creation of this lie.”
Chairman John Bentley said, “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 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 added, “I am calling on Mr. Strange to demand this 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 Governor 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. I have known Roy Moore since 1968 and know him to be a good and Godly man. May all Alabamians take a hard look at this election and keep fighting to preserve our moral integrity.”
Strange and his powerful Washington allies have been attacking Congressman Mo Brooks for allegedly being disloyal to President Donald J. Trump (R).
Republicans across the country, many of them small donors, donate to the Senate Republican Leadership Committee (NRSLC) in order to help Republicans to build a GOP majority in the Senate.
On Wednesday, the ‘Alabama Political Reporter’ (APR) asked Brooks if he felt that McConnell was misusing the NRSLC money entrusted to him by Republican contributors by spending it in a Republican Primary.
Congressman Brooks said that Mitch McConnell is prepared to spend up to $8 million in this race to tear down Republican candidates. Instead of attacking Roy Moore and perhaps making the eventual GOP nominee more vulnerable in a general election, that money would be better spent next year to help vulnerable Republican Senators to hold on to their seats against Democrats and to help Republican challengers unseat Democratic Senators. Brooks said that McConnell was backing Strange because he was more bendable than Moore or Brooks because he lacked the strength of conservative convictions. Brooks claimed that Strange can be bent by McConnell to do deals with Democrats on legislation.
Brooks said that yesterday he had breakfast with a small group of Alabama citizens in Wetumpka. Strange was in D.C. that day having a $10,000 a plate dinner with Washington special interests who are trying to buy this election.
Judge Moore said in a statement, “Our campaign has caught fire amongst the hardworking, blue collar, everyday citizens of Alabama because I’ve proven throughout my career to be an outsider who will fight tirelessly for our shared values, our state, and defend the Constitution. And that’s exactly why I represent such a threat to Washington’s ruling class. They know exactly what the good folks of Alabama know – I’m beholden to God, the Constitution and the people, not the Washington establishment!”
Most of the polls are showing that Luther Strange is struggling to hold on to second place with just 12 days before Alabama votes and Politico is reporting that Mitch McConnell is increasingly desperate to hold on to his friend, Strange, in the Senate.
The Special Major Party Primary is on August 15, 2017.
