Moore lawyer: Canadian MSNBC host’s ‘background’ could help him understand dating minors

An attorney for Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore seemed to suggest Wednesday that MSNBC host Ali Velshi’s “background” might help the journalist understand why the Republican nominee would date underage women.

“Culturally speaking there’s differences. I looked up Ali’s background, and wow, that’s awesome that you have got such a diverse background, it’s really cool to read through that,” attorney Trenton Garmon said when asked why Moore would need permission from girls’ mothers to date them.

“What does Ali Velshi’s background have to do with dating children, 14-year-old girls?” co-host Stephanie Ruhle interjected.

Velshi was born in Kenya, raised in Canada and graduated from Queen’s University in Ontario.

“In other countries, there’s arrangement through parents for what we would refer to as consensual marriage,” Garmon said.

“Ali’s from Canada,” Ruhle said. 

“Ali’s also spent time in other countries,” Garmon said. “So it’s not a bad thing.”

“I don’t know where you’re going with this, Trenton,” Velshi said. 

Garmon then defended Moore’s comment that he’d always ask a girl’s mother for permission before asking them out on a date.

Moore is under growing pressure to drop out of the Alabama Senate race in the face of allegations he had sexual encounters with teenagers when he was in his 30s.

The Washington Post reported last week that Leigh Corfman, now 53, said Moore initiated a sexual interaction with her in 1979, when she was 14 and he was 32.

Beverly Young Nelson came forward Monday and alleged Moore sexually assaulted her in 1977, when she was 16 and Moore was 30.

Three other women have alleged Moore pursued them around the same time, when they were between 16 and 18 years old.

Garmon represents the Foundation for Moral Law, a Montgomery-based legacy advocacy group headed by Moore’s wife, Kayla Moore. 

He appeared on CNN last week to respond to allegations in a Washington Post story about the foundation, and referred to CNN host Don Lemon as “Don Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy.”

Garmon on Tuesday sent a letter on Moore’s behalf to Alabama Media Group, calling for the news outlet to retract its reporting on Moore.

Moore has denied the allegations and vowed to finish the campaign.