(CNN) — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he spoke with President Donald Trump from Vietnam about the Roy Moore situation, and will have “further discussions” with him when the President returns.
McConnell said he believes the women who say that Moore pursued relationships with them when they were teenagers and while he was in his 30s. One woman said she was 14 years old when Moore initiated sexual contact with her. On Monday, a separate Alabama women alleged Moore sexually assaulted her when she was a teenager, and described her experience at a news conference, represented by attorney Gloria Allred.
“There’s no question that there’s a deep concern here,” McConnell said Tuesday afternoon. “Roy Moore should step aside, the women who’ve come forward are entirely credible.”
Republicans across Congress have urged the GOP Alabama Senate nominee to abandon his bid, but he has shown no signs that he plans to drop out of the race. McConnell added Tuesday he has spoken about Moore with Vice President Mike Pence and White House chief of staff John Kelly.
Moore has responded on Twitter to McConnell.
Alabamians will not be fooled by this #InsideHitJob. Mitch McConnell’s days as Majority Leader are coming to an end very soon. The fight has just begun. https://t.co/unVysRKDKz
— Judge Roy Moore (@MooreSenate) November 14, 2017
Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colorado, has said that Moore should be expelled if he ends up in the Senate — something that requires a two-thirds majority vote and hasn’t been done in 155 years. Gardner, head of the Senate Republican campaign committee, released a stunning statement, stating clearly that if Moore “refuses to withdraw and wins, the Senate should vote to expel him.”
Asked if he agrees with Gardner that Moore should be expelled, McConnell told reporters on Tuesday that Moore is “obviously not fit to be in the United States Senate.”
Still, Moore’s name will appear on the Alabama ballot in December. If he is elected, the Senate will have to decide what to do next.
McConnell at the Bat
Republican Primary 8/15: STRIKE 1
Republican Runoff 9/26: STRIKE 2
General Election 12/12: TBD3 STRIKES AND YOU’RE OUT, MITCH. #ALSEN
— Judge Roy Moore (@MooreSenate) November 14, 2017
“We’ve looked at all the options to try to prevent that from happening,” McConnell added. “Obviously this close to the election, it’s a very complicated matter.”
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