Roy Moore sues Highway 31 Super PAC over negative campaign ads
Failed Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore has filed a defamation lawsuit against a super PAC, claiming the campaign ads that ran during the Alabama U.S. Senate special election in December damaged his reputation. Melissa Isaak, Moore’s attorney, said the Highway 31 Super PAC ran widespread defamatory and misleading ads during the 2017 race, which doubled-down on accusations of sexual misconduct that surfaced against Moore during the campaign. The suit alleges Highway 31 ran the “false” ads and “intentionally or recklessly failed to confirm the accuracy” of them. “Despite knowing that the content was false or in reckless disregard thereof each one of (the defendants) did in fact run advertisements that contained false and defaming material,” the complaint reads. Moore and his attorney announced the lawsuit during a press conference on Wednesday. “The Moore’s have every intention of fighting back,” said Isaak said during the press conference with Moore and his wife, Kayla. In November, The Washington Post published a bombshell report with the accounts of Corfman, Gibson, and one other woman who claimed Moore sexually pursued them when he was in his 30s and they were in their teens. Moore previously filed an earlier defamation suit in April when he sued some of the women who made accusations against him — Marjorie Leigh Corfman, Debbie Wesson Gibson, Beverly Young Nelson, Tina Turner Johnson, and other “unknown” defendants — for causing “irrevocable damage” to his reputation “that affected the outcome of the Senate election in December 2017.” Watch Moore’s press conference announcing the lawsuit below:
Complaint filed against key PAC in Alabama Senate race
A complaint alleging federal campaign finance law violations has been filed against a super PAC that spent heavily to support Sen. Doug Jones in Alabama’s U.S. Senate election, but did not disclose donors until after the election. The nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center on Monday filed the complaint against Highway 31 super PAC with the Federal Election Commission. The complaint alleges Highway 31 failed to report donors by using a scheme where the PAC received credit from vendors. Highway 31 spent $4 million in the 2017 Senate election. Many of its spots and mailers focused on accusations against sexual misconduct allegations against Moore. It was disclosed after Jones’ victory that the PAC received much of its money from the Senate Majority Pac, which works to elect Democrats. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
Super PAC attacking Roy Moore won’t disclose donors, FEC asked to investigate
The Federal Election Commission (FEC) has been asked to investigate a super PAC that is spending large amounts against Republican senate candidate Roy Moore, but is not showing any donations. Highway 31, a super PAC backing Democratic candidate Doug Jones and the largest independent spender in the Alabama Senate race, has spent millions attacking Moore. But unlike other campaign spenders, this particular group refuses to disclose who the donors are behind its multi-million ad buy before Election Day. On Monday, Baldwin County businessman Kevin Spriggs asked the FEC to investigate the mysterious super PAC. “Mr. Commissioner – As a resident of Alabama, I have noticed a Super PAC titled ‘Highway 31’ running numerous campaign commercials in the Mobile. Ala. television market, including an ad during the SEC Championship football game,” Spriggs said in his request to FEC Chairman Mathew Peterson. “A search of the FEC website shows hundreds of thousands of dollars of expenses without any donors. I also checked the irs.gov website for forms 8871 and 8872 required to be filed by 527 organizations. No filings are shown for donors and expenses. If donations and expenses exceed $50,000, the IRS requires an electronic filing of form 8872.” Spriggs continued, “I am asking you to please investigate this matter as it appears that this Highway 31 organization is evading campaign finance law by not disclosing their donors.” Lachlan Markay of the Daily Beast explained the situation further : Super PACs are required to disclose their donors, but the group Highway 31 has structured its spending in a way that campaign-finance experts say is almost unprecedented. While legal, it will have the effect of obscuring the group’s benefactors, who will have financed a series of ads over the last two months of the campaign propping up Jones and hammering his Republican opponent, former State Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore. Highway 31 has reported nearly $2 million worth of ads in the race, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission… The group filed what was expected to be its first itemized disclosure of donors and expenditures Thursday. But in the filing, Highway 31 said it had received and spent no money whatsoever. Spriggs says he has not received any reply from the FEC, but he hopes for action before the Dec. 12 special election when Moore faces off against Jones Under FEC rules, final contributor and expense disclosure reports are not required to be filed until Jan. 21, 2018.
