OPELIKA, Ala. (AP) - Former Alabama Attorney General Bill Baxley has signed on as a defense lawyer for Republican Rep. Barry Moore of Enterprise and is trying to get the case dismissed.
Baxley filed court papers Wednesday saying he’ll be one of Moore’s defense lawyers. Moore is charged with perjury and making false statements to law enforcement officials.
The felony charges stem from Moore’s January appearance before a Lee County grand jury investigating possible public corruption.
Prosecutors accused Moore of testifying falsely when he was asked if he ever told his primary opponent that House leadership would block money for a local economic development project if he ran against Moore.
Moore’s defense lawyers filed court papers Wednesday seeking to dismiss the charges. They argued that there are multiple flaws in the indictment.
Baxley also wrote in the motion to dismiss that the questions to Moore were “compound, vague, incompetently worded, and cannot be made the basis of a lawful indictment.”
Baxley is a Democrat who served as state attorney general and lieutenant governor. He also ran twice unsuccessfully for governor.
Moore is the second lawmaker to face charges from the probe started by the state attorney general’s office. Former Rep. Greg Wren pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor ethics law violation as part of a plea deal with prosecutors.
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