and moore offered -- he pulled over to a dark part behind the parking lot. she asked him what he was doing. >> instead of answering my questions, mr. moore reached out and began groping me. him putting hand -- and puttings on my breast. i tried to reach over and lock my car door. i tried fighting him off while yelling at him to stop. but instead of stopping, he began squeezing my neck, attempting to force my head on to his crotch. i continued to struggle. i was determined that i was not going to allow him to force me to have sex with him. i was terrified. he was also trying to pull my shirt off. i thought that he was going to rape me. i was twisting and i was struggling and i was begging him to stop. i had tears running down my face. at some point he gave up. and he then looked at me and he told me -- he said you're just a child. and he said, i am the district attorney. and if you tell anyone about this no one will ever believe you. >> this comes, of course, after previous allegations from alabama women that moore pursued intimate contact with them when they were teenagers, including one woman who alleged he made sexual contact with her when she was 14. moore has denied any sexual misconduct, though he has not definitively denied he dated teenagers when he was in his 30s. earlier today mitch mcconnell called for moore to step aside from his race to take the senatorial seat. corey gardner said that moore if he doesn't step aside, he should be expelled if he he is elected. jason carroll is in gadsden, alabama, for us. what are they telling you, what's the voters' reaction? is in the reaction we've been hearing from, jake, is whether they support moore or don't support moore. they agree on one point, the timing. questioning why some of these accusers are coming back 40 years later. beverly nelson said, first of all, the reason she waited so long in part she was scared when she was much younger. she didn't believe anyone would believe her. in fact, that's what roy moore told her, that no one would believe her. he/she did say, jake, over the years she spoke to her sister, her mother and then her husband. >> i would probably have taken what mr. moore did to me to my grave had it not been for the courage of four other women that were willing to speak out about their experiences with mr. moore. about two years later, i told my younger sister what mr. moore did to me. about four years ago, i told my mother finally what happened. before i married my husband john, i told him what mr. moore had done to me. >> reporter: so, again, jake, she said that she had waited all this time to publicly come forward, but personally, again, alleging that she had in fact told some of her family members. jake? >> she also said that she came forward only because these other women came forward. this accuser, ms. nelson, she brought a physical object with her to this press conference, her year book. >> reporter: she did. she said when she was working there at the restaurant, the old hickory restaurant when she attended southside high school. she said one day she brought in her year book at work and at the time roy moore, who had been paying attention to her, according to which she said asked to sign her year book. >> i happened to bring my year book to work with me to the restaurant on december the 22nd, 1977. i put it down -- i put it down at the end of the counter. mr. moore happened to notice it and he asked me if he could write in my year book. and i felt flattered. and i said yes. he wrote in my year book -- he wrote in my year book as follows. to a sweeter, more beautiful girl, i could not say merry christmas. christmas 1977, love roy moore. old hickory house. and he signed it roy moore d.a. >> jason, how is roy moore responding to these new allegations? >> reporter: well, roy more has been saying all along that all of these allegations are part of a witch-hunt. this is an attack on christianity and christian conservatives. his campaign released a statement regarding these freshest round of allegations, saying the following, judge moore is an innocent man and has never had any sexual misconduct with anyone. this is a wich hunt against a man who has had an imexpectable career for over 30 years and has always been known as a man of high character. jake? >> all right. jason carroll, thank you so much. my legal panel is with me to break this down. we're going to have a panel of alabama reporters to talk about with this. let me start with the legal panel. jeffrey toobin, from a legal perspective, does this change anything? >> well, there is no legal proceeding going on. this is an election. so it doesn't really change anything from a legal proceeding. there is no lawsuit. there is no criminal investigation. this is all about the voters. the voters can find this information credible. they can believe the accusers or they can believe roy moore and vote accordingly, but this is a political matter right now. it's not -- it's not legal. >> and, laura, supporters of moore will say there is no proof here, merely allegations. >> well, that's a convenient truth actually because you have the statute of limitations period has really run on these current cases. although alabama currently says they have none if you were under 16 at the time of an assault, at the time of these allegations it would be actually time barred. we are left with the court of public opinion. so you're left to say, well, i have no way for the victims, the alleged victims or roy moore to have their day in court. it really does go back to the court of public opinion and how the outcome is going to come in. i really hate this new trend that's said when all of these press conferences and you have a woman next to you and they showed a picture of how she used to look at the time of the allegations. it's a growing trend from the cosby era where the attorney will show the woman before she was accused. it's very insulting and victim blaming as if there is a worthwhile vision of what a victim should look like. >> i'm not going to defend that. i imagine maybe it's done in this case because of the youth, because she is 16, so as to make it more shocking that this was a child, as i'm sure we all agree, a 14-year-old or a 16-year-old, whatever the legal statute is in your state, it's emotionally a child. >> it could be. also could be that new social media trend where it's me at 14. a picture to show the frail or youthful look of a 14-year-old. that's not the case with every other case we talked about in terms of the youthfulness of the person. i think it's a juks position that says a lot about victim blaming in our society and it has to be said that it's wrong. >> tell us about the significance of the year book. >> i think it's highly significant because if roy moore is going to kplam this was completely invented, the year book establishing there was at least some kind of relationship between the two of them and also it's worth remembering at the time he signed that year book, he was 30 years old. she was 16 years old. i mean, that's weird. i mean, i -- it's just weird and i think people can -- that can contribute to their drawing their own conclusions about what really went on here. >> and, laura, so obviously moore has denied all of the allegations. he's denied any sexual misconduct. in a statement, the moore campaign said about gloria allred who is the attorney who brought this case forward today before the press and also does these kinds of cases all the time. they said, quote, gloria allred is a sensationalist leading a witch hunt and is only around to create a spectacle. allred claims credit for giving us roe versus wade which has resulted in the murder of tens of millions of unborn babies. obviously they want to attack but it's probably more convenient for them to attack the attorney than the woman who gave a very emotional description of a sexual assault. >> what an absurd distraction from the heart of the matter. the reason they're probably doing it, one, they're ill advised. two is, if they attack the accuser, you're open to defamation suits. if you're calling her a liar, they have a trend where they say, well, i know the statute of limitations has already run but i can reopen myself to legal jeopardy if i have a defamation suit against me. but larger, this is a way to try to distract from the issue and today of all days is the day the supreme court has agreed to hear a case on a roe v. wade-esque matter about the first amendment. so it's kind of a dog whistle to people who would respond in that way. >> i'm not sure it's a dumb idea on the part of the moore campaign. i mean gloria allred -- >> politically. >> she is a proud feminist. a great supporter of abortion rights and guy rights and certainly has no apology for that, but it does put this accusation in a political frame that is perhaps different from what -- one that is a shiny object to attack. >> we talked about not wanting to open yourself up to legal jeopardy and that's why judge moore doesn't go after these individual women because it could be defamation and they could sue him. he has threatened to sue the "washington post" which, of course, broke the story last week on thursday with the four women who said when they were teenagers he pursued intimate contact with them. are you holding your breath for that lawsuit? >> it's not happening. first of all, in order to force -- to prove a libel case, you have to prove that the story is false. there is no evidence that has come out other than roy moore's words that the story is false. also, that's not enough to win a libel case against an actual figure. you have to show actual malice, which is that the reporters knew it was false or had reckless disregard for whether it was true. that was a meticulously reported story, full of corroborating evidence, full of statements that showed the other side of the story. it has moore's denials in it i think that story is bulletproof libelee. >> and still to this day roy moore has said definitively when he was in his 30s he didn't pursue relationships with teenage girls. we have a lot more to talk about on this breaking news. a woman publicly accusing roy moore of sexually assaulting her when she was just 16 years old. new reaction coming in. stay with us. hey, man. oh! nice man cave! nacho? 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for you. every day we hear from families who partnered with a senior living advisor from a place for mom to help find the perfect place for their mom or dad thank you so much for your assistance in helping us find a place. mom feels safe and comfortable and has met many wonderful residence and staffers. thank you for helping our family find our father a new home. we especially appreciate the information about the va aid and attendance program. i feel i found the right place. a perfect fit. you were my angel and helped guide me every step of the way thank you. the senior living advisors at a place for mom partner with thousands of families every month, listening and offering local knowledge and advice to help find the best senior living communities across the country and it won't cost you a cent. this is a free service. call today. a place for mom. you know your family. we know senior living. together we'll make the right choice. we're back with this breaking news. another disturbing allegation against roy moore. he's the republican candidate for alabama's open u.s. senate seat. a woman just now alleged moore sexual assaulted her when she was only 16 years old. lawmakers on the hill are reacting to this news. let's bring in cnn's brianna keilar. brianna, the national republican senatal committee chief corey gardner of colorado said if moore is elected, he wants the senate to refuse to seat him or expel him. >> reporter: that's exactly right. now you have this growing list of republicans who are saying -- corey gardner speaking obviously for the party there, but now you have a growing list, seven by our count, republican senators who are saying that moore needs to not run. you have another who is has withdrawn his endorsement for moore. and now this from corey gardner, who is included in our count there. he said, i believe the individuals speaking out against roy moore spoke with courage and truth, proving he is unfit to serve in the united states senate and he should not run for office. if he refuses to withdraw and wins, the senate should vote to expel him because he does not meet the ethical and moral requirements of the united states senate. now, jake, what you're seeing here is republicans who are so concerned about the stain of roy moore. they're trying to concentrate on tax reform. there is a mark-up going on right now with the senate finance committee and all the questions that republican senators are getting is about roy moore. how much influence can the party have on a national level? maybe not a whole lot of influence over alabama voters. however, you're seeing here a big concern from the head of the senate campaign arm that this is going to hurt other candidates in the midterm election and that's why they're coming out with such a strong stance against roy moore, even just a few days after you heard so many of them saying if true roy moore should step aside. now they're dropping that caveat. >> instead of if true, they're saying that they believe the women. >> reporter: that's right. >> they believe the accusers, including senate majority leader mitch mcconnell earlier today. >> reporter: that's right. and making it clear they believe those women are credible. remember, the "washington post" report made clear they are republican voters. there are about two dozen corroborating witnesses and mitch mcconnell saying today in kentucky he takes them at their word. listen. >> i think he should step aside. >> are you encouraging a write-in campaign with senator strange? >> that's an option we're looking at. whether or not there is someone who can mount a write-in campaign successfully. >> would it be senator strange, do you think? >> we'll see. >> do you believe these allegations to be true? >> i believe the women, yes. >> reporter: and that write-in campaign would really come down to the alabama gop. if they were to invalidate the nomination of roy moore. roy moore responding saying on twitter to mitch mcconnell, saying the person who should step aside is senate majority leader mitch mcconnell. he has failed conservatives and must be replaced. #draintheswamp. jake? >> all right. brianna keilar for us on capitol hill. thanks so much. let's go to alabama now where, of course, this fallout is the most critical. joining me right now, an investigative reporter for the birmingham news and josh moon, a reporter and columnist with the alabama political reporter. anna, let me start with you. what's the reaction in alabama to this breaking news? >> well, you know, we're still in a breaking news situation, but the common wisdom was that there was not a lot that would get many people to not vote for moore. he's been a larger than life presence here in alabama for more than 30 years and, you know, one story may be not enough to get people to change their minds, but with this new accusation coming forward, it's anybody's guess. >> and, josh, this new accuser is the first one to come forward and tell her story on camera. i suppose that might have more of an effect than the four women who told their stories on the record but just in a newspaper format. >> yeah, think so. i think it definitely carries some weight and also seeing her there with a year book that he signed. who signs a year back when you're the d.a. for a 15 or 16-year-old? you know, and i think all of her story rang true. all of the details. all of the, you know, all of the people that she told along the way. i think those things matter and i think, you know, these other allegations have been floating out here for awhile now and i just don't see anybody -- a real hard pushback from anybody. they've tried to pick apart these ladies from a variety of different angles and i don't think many people are buying if. >> anna claire, this new accuser, beverly young nelson, she said when she worked at this restaurant, moore would come in and flirt with her when she was 15 years old, 16 years old. you've talked to other women who have similar stories, not about the sexual assault but about the flirting when they were young. >> yes, i have. honestly a lot of the folks that we've talked to off record, they have very similar stories. i talked to one woman this morning who was a waitress at a restaurant in the early '90s and said that roy moore would come in multiple times a week, flirt with all the waitresses and make them very uncomfortable. she said this on the record and this was before ms. young spoke. this seems to be a pattern that i've been able to see through my reporting. >> do you think there are more accusers out there, anna claire? >> yes. yes, i do. i think a lot of them are still worried about coming forward, as you can imagine in a small town the repercussions in their community or in their jobs, but i imagine that ms. young coming forward bravely today might change all of that. >> josh, roy moore called the initial "washington post" accusers just an attack by the liberal media. today he's going after gloria allred. i suppose it's easier for him and maybe even smarter politically to attack these boogiemen, "the washington post" or gloria allred instead to go after the alabama women who have stories on their face seem credible. >> yeah, absolutely. and, you know, we are in a deep red state here so the liberal media has been -- has become a bogeyman for a lot of voters around here. so it is a very easy approach there for him. and, you know, i've spoken to a couple of these accusers' attorneys over the last several days and they have promised that they are going to start filing lawsuits against judge moore and some of these other people that have come out publicly and deflamed their clients and put them in harm's way because some of these people are fearful for their lives. a couple of ladies have gone into hiding to avoid a lot of the repercussions here. it's really, really shameful how a lot of people around this state behaved towards them. >> anna claire, you said it was somewhat common knowledge that roy moore dated high school girls in the '70s and '80s. i have to say, that seems somewhat shocking to me that it wasn't reported. >> yeah, i've talked to some folks who said, you know, this has been common knowledge and not a secret for more than 30 years. they were just waiting for somebody to come around and ask questions about it. and then now as we're reporting it out, it is made more difficult by a lot of people not willing to be on record just yet, but, yes, i've talked to people who remember being teenagers, hanging out at the gadsden mall and roy moore hanging out and talking to ladies there. we've heard this from many, many people. >> thank you both. keep up the great work. we appreciate it. >> thank you. much more on our breaking news, clienting what the u.s. senate can actually do if roy moore wins election. stay with us. i am so busy. so chase sapphire reserve cardmembers are helping plan my next vacation. japan, how's dinner? this is 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should vote to expel moore if he's elected. there have only been 15 expulsions in senate history and 14 of them were because of confederate support during the civil war. so this would be really, really unique in and history-making. >> yeah, the dam is breaking on roy moore and i think a lot of republicans are trying to give him space to explain himself last week. the line was, well, if these allegations are true. well, he had a disastrous interview on sean hannity's radio program where he essentially said i don't recall. if i asked young girls, i asked permission of the mother. it's been downhill from there. no one can watch that press conference from earlier today and take roy moore's word over the word of that woman now. so the dam is breaking. i don't know if we'll see an expulsion. i think there are better options. lugtser strange, who is the sitting republican senator, could resign his seat and trigger a new special election, which would give alabama voters more time to work this out rather than try to mount a write-in campaign, which could be perilous for the gop. >> it's not like it's unprecedented. there were all sorts of shenanigans i remember when the incumbent democratic senator in new jersey, i forget the exact details, but he got in legal trouble. he might have been iepted, i'm not exactly sure. and all of a sudden democrats had taken care of it. there could be a way to do it. the people could say, well, good enough. >> one thing i think is important is that the initial strategy of saying this all about the "washington post" and sort of people -- if you haven't read it, well, it's the "washington post," "the washington post," they were sort of trying to smother it under that. that press conference was not the "washington post." that was not the d.c. establishment. that was not hillary clinton. that was a clear daughter of the south speaking in a way that was heartbreaking. and, listen, meryl streep could not have pulled that off. that was as authentic as you can possibly be. can you imagine having to -- people don't like to go on tv for, you know, good stuff, for happy stuff. people say, hey, put that iphone down, i don't want you videotaping me at dinner. for her to stand up there in front of the whole world and recount that, possibly in front of children and grandchildren, that is not the "washington post," sir. you're going to have to deal with a real human being now and i hope that the people who watch that are dealing with a human being now. >> where they're going to attack, it's already very clear, is the attorney who is sitting next to beverly young nelson, the attorney being gloria allred who is obviously a democrat and, you know, very active in liberal causes like abortion rights. and i think roy moore's wife posted on facebook a picture of gloria allred holding a sign at some parade saying "transgender rights." that's where they're going to go with this. >> when i learned that gloria allred was representing this woman and having a new york press conference, i thought, well, they just handed a big present to roy moore. she stayed out of the shot and that woman was visibly shaken. i don't think she overplayed her hand. she seemed to have a very vivid recall of what exactly happened. that's the kind of memory when something terrible happens to you, you remember every second of it. it was clear she did. she had told other people. so i think she is very difficult to dismiss. i don't care if cookie monster is representing her, you can't not remember that tape. >> it was very -- a very moving account, very upsetting and, of course, very chilling when in her version of the story, this is just her version of the story, roy moore, then the deputy district attorney, who signed her year book roy moore d.a. >> love -- >> said you're a child. nobody is going to believe you. i'm the district attorney and basically, you know, doesn't matter what you do from here because no one is going to believe you. >> and you forget, you know, adults have so much power over young people, you know? a teacher, a preacher, a coach, any of those people. those people -- i don't care how old you are, they have a big impact on you. when the district attorney says something like that to you, to t. goes in deep. she didn't talk about it. she held it in. in some ways i think she had a big chunk of her life stolen not just by what he did but the threat that nobody is going to believe you. so i'm hoping that something will happen to give him some closure and healing because tonight a lot of people believe her. >> you know something? maybe it's the southern accent that reminds me of this, but i think we are and we've seen some of this in the press. there was a story in "the atlantic" called bill clinton a reckoning. chris hayes said something the other day and other people have. but the accusers of bill clinton back in the '90s were never given the credence and treated with the same respect that these women are being treated. and i think that there is something to be said about how society has evolved since then, but in addition, it's hard not to look back at that period and think, you know what, the media treated those women poorly. >> yeah, without a doubt. you can't rewrite history, but what i am concerned about now is that i see a lot of republicans, people like ann coulter on twitter, going back and bringing up people like senator kennedy, clinton, other people that did have previous acts of sexual misconduct. almost as a way of saying, well, they did it. we can, too. appeals to hypocrisy do not work for a party that has no moral core. we do have a problem now because we have elected a president who has his own accusers. so we're all going to go back through history and there is a lot of reckoning that needs to be done. i don't know where that's going to take us. it is risky because you may lose a senate seat, but it is a problem for republican voters because you keep putting these people up who are morally conflicted. and now the choice is, well, you can vote for this pedophile or lose a seat and hand it to democrats. the republican party has to do better. it has to do it with republican leadership. i am happy to see mitch mcconnell step up and say he should be expelled. we needed more of that during the primary process. >> and i have to say, van, president trump has been abroad so he has -- and he hasn't weighed in when asked about this, the few moments. but it is a tough place for him to be, because even if he wants to distance himself from roy moore and even if he finds this reprehensible, then the question becomes, well, why believe these five women on the record and not these 15 on the record who will make these allegations against you, mr. president? >> well, i mean, and that is the situation that -- it is a big problem i think for him and for the republican party and that's -- i think one of the things that you're going to see when he comes back is that some of the kind of the ducking and jiving and getting away with stuff is -- he's got a much more narrow window on that kind of behavior now and i think he's actually going to have to think very carefully about how to handle it. >> van and amanda stick around. lots more to talk about in our breaking news, including how the current allegations against roy moore give new light to a child rape case on which he ruled as an alabama supreme court justice. that's next. stay with us. honey? can we do this tomorrow? 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(vo) do not go gentle into that good night, old age should burn and rave at close of day; rage, rage against the dying of the light. do not go gentle into that good night. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ we're back with the breaking news in the politics lead today. given a new accuser coming forward late this afternoon, there is a renewed focus on alabama senate nominee roy moore's former predilection for high school girls back when he was a local deputy district attorney in his 30s. former deputy district attorney teresa jones told cnn over the weekend, quote, it was common knowledge roy dated high schoolgirls. even we knew thought it was weird. we wondered why he would hang out at high school football games and the mall but you really wouldn't want to say anything like that. add to the list his ruling on at appeal for a then 17-year-old convicted of raping a 4-year-old. moore was the only justice on an eight-judge panel to rule a sodomy charge should be overturned. >> i have not been guilty of sexual misconduct with anything. >> reporter: as alabama republican judge roy moore denies sexual contact with girl who's were then under agent of consent, some of his past court rulings are being looked at in a new light. as a justice on alabama's supreme court in 2013, moore and the other justices took on a case of a 17-year-old daycare intern -- the alabama supreme court found higden guilty of statutory rain rape and forceable rape. when the forceable rape verdict was appealed, it fell to moore and his fellow justices to make the final ruling. eight justices voted to uphold the conviction, but roy moore alone dissented, saying that a 17 kwleerld raping a 4-year-old on its own does not mean the 4-year-old feared physical injury. the definition of, quote, forceable compulsion places another person in fear of immediate death or serious physical injury. because there was no evidence in this case of an implied threat or serious physical injure under this definition, he cannot be convicted. it was a strict interpretation that many legal experts disagreed with. >> trying to protect minors from having to prove they are a worthwhile victim. to say they can only be violently treated or physically assaulted or physically threatened to the point of death is saying that anything short of that is not truly victimization. >> reporter: not recognizing the inherent threat a toddler might feel at the hands of a 17-year-old authority figure was concerning to the prosecutor in the case. current senator luther strange, who lost to moore in the alabama republican primary in september. >> unbelievably, roy moore was the only no-vote. >> reporter: the strange campaign made the moore dissent into a campaign ad. >> roy moore, too risky for us. >> do you think it's appropriate? >> reporter: an ad made all the more potent as moore faces cringe-worthy campaign questions about how he views predatory actions against the vulnerable. and this just into cnn, senate majority whip john corner, republican of texas, is withdrawing his endorsement of roy moore. he says, quote, i believe the accusations against roy moore are disturbing and if true disqualifying, but he stopped short of calling for moore to drop out of the race. my panel's back with me. so cornyn said that the final decision should be left to alabama voters. your reaction? >> i mean, i think there is a script that needs to be followed. so there is -- perfectly clear what's happening. he should drop out of the race, if he doesn't, he wins, he should be expelled. i withdraw my endorsement. he should drop out and they -- that way there is no ambiguity about how you feel because this stuff that the court case that you just read in about, there was a question of whether a 4-year-old was forcibly raped or not. of course it is if a 4-year-old is rape. roy moore disagreed with that? my goodness. withdraw your endorsement, get him out of the race for that alone. >> rumors about moore's dating life have evidently, news to me, but evidently been circulating for years in alabama. i have to say, he has been controversial and he has been a figure in alabama politics and national politics for years. are you surprised that we're just hearing about them now? >> i am. and part of it is that, you know, he is a part of this populist, nativist kind of movement that basically tries to insulate itself from even basic decency, dignity or whatever by saying, well, we're against the establishment. and basically the establishment is anybody who criticizes us. so the republican establishment, the d.c. establishment, the clinton establishment, basically anybody who doesn't like us, they are the problem and we are the victims. this creation of a kind of a victim identity politics that's, you know, frankly, racialized for, you know, white folks who are -- who are being picked on. has now become a heidi hole for some of the nastiest stuff in american politics. it's now going to be up to people in alabama, do we want to be a part of this? is this actually a healthy development in american politics where someone because they have the right enemies, we don't care who they brutalityize, who they mistreat, what they do, what they stand for. they've got the right enemies so we're for them amanda, i want you to listen to something that the fifth accuser, beverly young nelson, said about her decision today to come forward. >> this has nothing whatsoever to do with the republicans or the democrats. it has everything to do with mr. moore's sexual assault when i was a teenager. >> and the moore campaign's response is the exact opposite. they're saying it is exactly 100% partisan and not even republican versus democrat, they're saying it's partisan ideological against him and the kind of christian conservative values that he stands for. >> yeah, their biggest argument is that they question the timing. why did this happen now? this must be a witch-hunt because it happened now. well, it might have to do something with the fact that this guy was a member of the state supreme court. he was a prosecutor. he ran the legal department in the state. it would be so hard for a woman to come forward with an accusation from 10, 20, 30 years ago to a man with that legal power. now he's leaving that position and pursuing a seat in the u.s. senate. so of course it's relevant. you know, if that's the best argument he has, i think people are seeing through it now and people are running away as fast as they can. >> there are all sorts of options republicans are trying to figure out what to do, one of them being luther strange resigning. he's the sitting senator right now. he resigns and it throws the system into a whole new state of incoherence. >> messy but maybe preferable. >> the write-in campaign. lisa murkowski was talking to luther strange about that last week. it's very difficult to win a write-in campaign. >> there are loser laws that would bar luther strange because he already lost the primary. that gets a little trick. >> oh, okay. i have to say, this does feed into a degree to this narrative that the moore campaign and the steve bannons and breitbarts of the world do -- are putting out there, which is the establishment is ruthless and they're going to stop at nothing to deny you a seat, even if it means rewriting the rules, even if it means, you know, change election law, but, lo-- >> look, i'm from tennessee. i understand the way the people in the south don't just feel looked down on but often or looked down on from people who are not in that region of the country. but you can't let your sense of regional pride override your sense of dignity and responsibility and basic humanity. that's really what's on trial for people right now in alabama. >> van and amanda, thank you so much. much more on the breaking news. still wait for a response from the white house. stay with us. that's right. t-mobile's got your netflix subscription covered... ...when you get a family plan with two or more lines. really? that's incredible. so go ahead and watch however you want. you're messing with me, right? all at no extra charge. this is awesome! another reason why t-mobile is america's best unlimited network. mic drop. hi. so i just got off the phone with our allstate agent, and i know that we have accident forgiveness. so the incredibly minor accident that i had tonight... four weeks without the car. okay, yep. good night. with accident forgiveness, your rates won't go up just because of an accident. switching to allstate is worth it. your rates won't go up just because of an accident. sarah destroy.dent. but when it comes to mortgages, she's less confident. fortunately, there's rocket mortgage by quicken loans. apply simply. understand fully. mortgage confidently. just into cnn, we have more reaction from republicans on the hill on the most recent roy moore accusations. senator lindsey graham of south carolina says u.s. senate candidate roy moore should step aside. on twitter, senator graham wrote, wrote, in light of the most recent allegations and the consume tifb effect of others, i believe #roymoore would be doing himself, the state, the gop and the country a service by stepping aside. let's turn now to "the world lead," on the sidelines of the southeast asian nations meeting in manila today, president trump met with phillip know president rodrigo duterte. his administration, according to amnesty international, has, quote, presided over a wide range of human rights violations and created lawlessness, unquote. led to thousands of extrajudicial executions and the government's anti-drug campaign. now, when american reporters began to bring up these human rights issues that president trump would not bring up in their public meeting, duterte called the journalists spies. as philippine security jostled them. according to the white house pool report, president trump laughed. it's difficult to understand what might be amusing about an authoritarian leader calling american journalists spies, although of course president trump did once tweet, quote, the media is the enemy of the american people. rodrigo duterte would almost certainly click the heart under that tweet. according to the committee to protect journalists, dozens -- duterte himself justified killing reporters last year, saying, quote just bah you are a journalist does not mean you are exempt from assassination. freedom of expression cannot help you if you've done something wrong. earlier this year, a former filipino policeman admitted an assassination of an journalist in 2003, an assassination that the former police officer claimed hat been ordered and paid for by then mayor rodrigo duterte, a charge that duterte denies. that's the guy who made president trump chuckle when he called u.s. journalists spies. it reminded us of the moment in this year when the amir of kuwait attacked reporters and president trump by his side said this. >> and i'm very, very honored and happy to know that you have problems with the media also. >> we don't know what at that moment was in the head of the amir of kuwait, where journalists are jailed or exiled for what they write or what philippine authoritarian rodrigo duterte thought when the president laughed at his joke, but we do remember when american presidents thought the principles of free speech and freedom of the press were not a laughing matter. journalists were given mixed messages on the private meeting between president trump and president duterte. the issue of human rights was briefly discussed in private, while the philippine government deny it is came up at all. cnn's jim acosta has the story. >> reporter: trying to get a grip on leading the free world overseas, president trump is ending his trip to asia, claiming he is on a roll. >> it was red carpet like nobody i think has probably ever received. >> reporter: but on his final stop in the philippines, he was no rush to answer questions when reporters tried to push the president and president of the philippines rodrigo duterte on human rights issues that country and whether it was discussed during their 40-minute meeting. the filipino leader shut down the questions. >> we're not answering any -- this is not the press -- >> reporter: it's no surprise the president was finished taking questions after the uproar he ignited when he once again seemed to side with russian president vladimir putin on moscow's meddling in last year's election. every time putin sees me he says i didn't do that, and i really believe when he tell mess that he means it. making matters worse, mr. trump even blasted former leaders of the u.s. intelligence community that concluded russia did meddle. they're political hacks. you look at it, you have brennan, you have clapper and you have comey. comey is proven now to be a liar. pressed to say once and for all he believes russia intervened in the election, the president wavered again. >> as to whether i believe it or not, i'm with our agencies, especially as currently constituted with their leadership. i believe in our intel agencies, our intelligence agencies. >> reporter: and he ignored our attempts to clarify his comments. >> mr. president, why won't you say definitively whether russia meddled in our democracy? why won't you say that definitively, sir? >> reporter: two of the form objection officials assailed by the president hit back on cnn's "state of the union." >> i think he's giving putin a pass and i think it demonstrates to mr. putin that donald trump can be played by foreign leader who's are going to appeal to his ego and to try to play upon his insecurities. >> putin is committed to undermining our system, our democracy and our whole process. and to try to paint it in any other way is i think astounding and, in fact, posing a peril to this country. >> reporter: just before his news conference where he was pressed on russia, the president fired off a tweet, taunting north korean leader kim jong-un as short and fat. before suggesting they could somehow be friends. >> i think anything's a possibility. strange things happen in life. that might be a strange thing to happen. but it's certainly a possibility. >> reporter: now, on trade, president decided to go it alone on this trip, insisting he can negotiate better deals than the trans-pacific trade partnership pushed by the obama administration. the result, the remaining countries in that partnership moved forward without the u.s., but, jake, the president is insisting he is putting trade wins on the scoreboard and says he'll have an announcement on that at the white house tomorrow. jake? >> all right. jim acosta, thank you so much. before we sign off today, i want to encourage everyone to check out a very special auction to benefit our veterans. find it at ebay.com/homesforour troops. only a day left in this authorization. the proceed goes to homes for our troops, which is a charity that helps to build and design custom designed morning-free homes for injured post-9/11 veterans. a chance to go on set for ben stiller's new project. tickets to "jimmy kimmel live" or conan or seth meyers or full frontal with samantha bee, "the view." you can get tickets to the alabama na alabama -- army-navy game. it goes on and on. bidding ends tomorrow at health care p.m. bid a lot. make a lot of money for these troops troops. that's it for "the lead." i'm jake tapper. turning you over to wolf blitzer in "the situation room." thanks so much for watching. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com happening now, breaking news, stepping forward. witha dramatic and marrowing allegation that roy moore sexual assaulted her 40 years ago when she was just 16 years old and he was in his 30s. that follows multiple allegations against moore. senate republican leader mcconnell now thinks moore should step aside from his senate campaign in alabama. intimidated by putin? two former u.s. intelligence chiefs say president trump poses a peril to the country by not taking the threat from vladimir putin seriously. they warn that president trump's refusal to confront putin on russian meddling in the u.s. presidential election shows he can be intimidated by the russian leader. drain the swamp? president trump nominated