MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - Defeated Senate candidate Roy Moore is dropping a defamation lawsuit against a super PAC that ran a campaign ad blitz focused on sexual misconduct accusations against him.
The motion filed Friday asks a county court to drop the lawsuit against Highway 31 super PAC, other PACS and four men who worked with them, AL.com reported .
During the 2017 U.S. Senate race, several women said Moore had pursued sexual and romantic relationships with them decades ago when they were teens and he was a prosecutor in his 30s. Moore denied misconduct accusations and said he never dated underage women.
The motion doesn’t explain why Moore and his wife, Kayla, want to drop the lawsuit, and attorney Melissa Isaak had not answered a phone message and email seeking comment, the newspaper said.
The motion covers all defendants, but is in a form that could let Moore take it back to Etowah County Circuit Court. All six of that court’s judges stepped aside, and a retired Russell County judge is overseeing it.
In addition to Highway 31, defendants are Longleaf Strategies of Montgomery, Bully Pulpit Interactive, Waterfront Strategies and Priorities USA, all based in Washington, and Adam Muhlendorf, Edward Still, Jim Margolis and Josh Schewrin.
Highway 31 spent millions of dollars in advertising during the race, and many of the pieces focused on the accusations against Moore.
Moore is currently suing four of the women. One of them, Leigh Corfman, also has a defamation lawsuit against Moore. Corfman has said she was a teen when Moore, then a 32-year-old assistant district attorney, touched her sexually during an encounter. Moore has denied the allegations.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.