Trial By Media
First off, I should make it clear that I DON’T know whether or not Judge Roy Moore engaged in the sleazy behavior he’s been accused of. If his accusers are being truthful one could rightfully question his fitness for higher office. But how do we know if the accusations are truthful? The timing of the accusations, a couple of weeks before a crucial Republican vs. Democrat election, IS suspicious. It’s possible that the accusers may have an axe to grind, which would argue for his innocence. On the other hand the accusations are coming from a number of different women, which would argue for his guilt.
Last week I posted an essay dealing with this issue (Groundswell, 11/10/17). The point I wanted to make with that essay is that the problem with “trial by media” is that there’s no PROPER due process. There’s no vetting of the accusers, no accumulation of evidence and no good way to evaluate the credibility of the people involved. How do we REALLY know that the lurid accusations we’re hearing are true?
It IS true, in this case however, that there are multiple accusers, which would normally lend credence to the accusations. But, it turns out that there may be “problems” with some of the people involved. How so? Let’s look at a few “issues” that have surfaced.
Recently, Darrel Nelson, the stepson of accuser Beverly Young Nelson, posted a video saying that he knew his stepmother very well and then implied that she was a terrible lier, saying that HE simply didn’t believe her story.
Next, the attorney for Ms. Nelson has, thus far, refused to release Ms. Nelson’s yearbook (she alleges there’s an inscription in that year book from Mr. Moore) for examination by neutral handwriting experts (Moore denies having written the inscription). When questioned by CNN on this, Nelson’s attorney, Gloria Allred, gave the curious response that they would release the year book for scrutiny only if “a Senate Committee requests it”. This won’t happen, of course, if Moore looses his Senate bid because of all this notoriety. If the inscription is authentic, why not put it out for scrutiny right now?
Next, it turns out that accuser Deborah Wesson Gibson, worked extensively for the Democratic National Committee as a sign language translator for Hillary and Biden, among others. There are pictures of her at other Democrat events. It would seem that Ms. Gibson is a strong Democratic supporter. Now I realize that this, of and by itself, does not mean her testimony is false, but it does suggest that she might have ulterior motives, and that we should keep this in mind as we consider her accusations.
Next, there are unsubstantiated rumors being thrown around by the Democrats and the media that Moore was “banned from visiting the Gadsden Mall”, implying he was felt by mall security to be some type of “predator”. This may not be so. Mr. Barnes Boyle, a past manager of the mall, has disputed the allegation, saying, “To my knowledge, he was not banned from the mall.”
Next, it turns out that accuser Leigh Corfman has a history of making false accusations of sexual abuse, including THREE separate pastors in three separate churches. In each case, the District Board of Alabama did not find her charges credible and declined to indict the pastors involved. There was another case in which a civil suit she had brought against a fourth pastor was thrown out as well.
Lastly, there are numerous conflicting RUMORS: that one accuser was 17, not 14, at the time of the alleged encounter (federal age of consent is 16), that the mother of one of the accusers who alleged improper phone calls from Moore says here daughter didn’t have a phone and couldn’t have taken the calls on the family phone in the kitchen, and that some women may have been offered money for accusations (this was denied by the Washington Post which said it was not their POLICY to pay sources, but this could be a self serving prolamation, and doesn’t fully refute the claim, anyway). And so on. It really is a mess.
So, as I said above, considering all of the above, I DON’T know IF Moore is guilty or innocent. But that’s the point: without PROPER due process, we simply DON’T know. And neither does the media and the politicians on either side of the fence.