Roy Moore will never serve in the Senate

Discredited former Alabama Judge Roy Moore will never serve in the Senate. Either Alabama voters will unite in a coalition of decency to defeat him or he will never testify under oath about the allegations against him, which he would be forced to do if he wins the Senate election and Senators consider whether he is unfit to serve.

The Senate Judiciary Committee should call Moore to testify about allegations against him or send counsel to interview him under oath. This would give Moore a chance to clear his name and would give Alabama voters the chance to know the best possible evidence before voting on Election Day.  

{mosads}Moore will never agree to this because if he did, he would be subject to prosecution for perjury, without any protection from the statute of limitations that has already run out for the allegations against him involving disgusting behavior in the 1970s.

If Moore is elected on Dec. 12, there will be an effort to prevent him from sitting in the Senate that will be supported by Democrats and many Republicans. If and when this move occurs, Moore will be called to testify under oath prior to the decision by the full Senate.  

Moore will never testify under oath about the events that led senators to determine that he is not worthy of serving in the Senate, because this testimony would also raise the danger of prosecution for perjury without any protection from the statute of limitations.

If Moore is elected on Dec. 12, he will resign his place as senator-elect rather than testify under oath.

The other reason that Moore will never serve in the Senate is that huge numbers of voters in Alabama, including many Republicans and principled conservatives, have the same innate decency that voters in other states have and will never want Alabama represented by a repellant figure such as Roy Moore.

When voters go to the polls on Election Day, there will be only one Republican on the ballot, and it will be Roy Moore.  It is also possible that Republicans will field a write-in candidate against Moore, dividing the Republican vote.

Either way, whether Moore goes head-to-head against the highly respected Democratic nominee Doug Jones or if there is a write-in Republican candidate as well, Moore will be defeated on Dec. 12.

What is happening across the nation as women rise against those who abuse them is historic and profound. It is strange to see some on the far right, who rejoiced in the exposures alleging abuse of women by the liberal movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, offering evasions or excuses for Moore after the allegations against him.

Let’s be clear: Abuse is abuse, no matter who the allegations are raised against.

Let’s be clear about this as well: The women who rise against this abuse are demonstrating the most profound courage in taking their stand. So are men who rise against abuse they have suffered from the reprehensible conduct of other men.

In the Alabama case, it has been suggested that some supporters of Moore are planning to “investigate” the women who have come forward in a pathetic and shameful attempt to intimidate and discredit them. If any pro-Moore forces attempt this, they will only shame and discredit themselves in the high court of public opinion.

From the beginning, Democrat Doug Jones has been such an exceptional candidate and GOP nominee Roy Moore has been such a reprehensible figure, that Jones always had a better-than-expected chance of winning.

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RELATED STORIES FROM THE HILL

• MARIA CARDONA: Moore allegations put conservative Republicans at a crossroads
• GREGORY J. WALLANCE: Roy Moore’s problem — now we believe the victim’s story
• LYNDON HAVILAND: Beyond #MeToo: It’s time to confront child sexual abuse

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On Election Day 2017, voters who were not expected to vote did vote because they felt a need to express their hopes for an America that would be better than what President Trump offers.

There is a very real chance that the same phenomenon occurs in Alabama on Dec. 12, because enough voters will not want the state they love to be represented in the Senate by Roy Moore and everything he represents.

In reaction to Donald Trump, Roy Moore and others, there is a coalition of decency that is being born today that will ultimately end the madness that grips so much of public life.

Roy Moore will never put his hand on the Bible and testify under oath about the allegations against him, which will be required if he wins, because he will make himself liable for a prosecution for perjury if he bears false witness.

Either Moore will be defeated in the election, or he will resign as senator-elect before he is seated to avoid the fate he has earned.

Brent Budowsky was an aide to former Sen. Lloyd Bentsen (D-Texas) and former Rep. Bill Alexander (D-Ark.), who was chief deputy majority whip of the U.S. House of Representatives. He holds an LLM in international financial law from the London School of Economics.