There are bad television surrogates who speak on behalf of political candidates—and then there is Brandon Moseley, the ‘reporter’ from the website Alabama Political Reporter. Moseley wrote an op-ed entitled "I Believe Judge Roy Moore" and offered up a defense of the GOP Senate candidate that boiled down to: So what if the girl was 14 years old? It was just a little misdemeanor.
The full nine minutes of Moseley’s insane defense can be seen below, along with the complete transcript. You really have to see the whole thing.
BROOKE BALDWIN: Brandon, let me just begin with you. I read your piece a couple of times over and you staunchly stand by and you believe in Roy Moore and not these female accusers, tell me why.
BRANDON MOSELEY: I've known Roy Moore. I've known Roy Moore for 20 years. I've covered his campaigns. I mean, I live in the county. I live in the county which is next to the county. I think if this was a serious -- if these allegationings were out there and were serious I probably would have heard them, but understanding that most people have not actually met Roy and don't know him personally, we're still talking about 38 years ago. We're talking about something that's past the statute of limitations.
BROOKE BALDWIN: Let me jump in. You are use the word serious. Why don't you think these allegations are serious?
BRANDON MOSELEY: They're 38-year-old allegations. This would be a misdemeanor at the time under the code of Alabama. The statute's been up since '86. If you go back and you don't elect anyone who has ever done anything wrong we wouldn't have had Barack Obama. I think he did cocaine. Bill Clinton supposedly smoked marijuana.
BROOKE BALDWIN: Okay, what?
BRANDON MOSELEY: They weren't eliminated from the ballot --
BROOKE BALDWIN: We are talking about allegations involving the current senate candidate of Alabama. Let me stop you on the facts. Let's function in the factual world.
BROOKE BALDWIN: Let's go back to the one involving a 14-year-old sexual consent in Alabama is 16 and you acknowledge that sexual contact with a 14-year-old would have been illegal and would be considered sexual abuse by the books today, but Brandon you make this argument that there wasn't a law against sexual abuse in Alabama back in the '70s. So let me ask, are you saying that because there wouldn't have been a law according to you that that would have made it okay
back then?
BRANDON MOSELEY: No, I'm not. If Roy Moore committed a sin, that's a sin and that's not good, but we're not talking about an actual crime here under -- that's prosecutable in 2017. I don't think you throw out 35 years of a man's career and his reputation because of an unsubstantiated allegation from 1979.
BROOKE BALDWIN: Brandon, she was -- she was 14 years of age, and I don't know how much digging you did or didn't do into the law in 1979, but we did, and we found section 13a, 667, we found that this was on the books going back to '77, and would have been considered sexual abuse in the second degree. Care to respond?
BRANDON MOSELEY: Which is a misdemeanor in Alabama.
BROOKE BALDWIN: Does that make it okay --?
BRANDON MOSELEY: If I am correct. No, but again, if, you know, Roy Moore has stolen a lawn mower when he was 21 that's bad, but that's not a reason 50 years later to all of a sudden, you know, throw him off the ballot or let Mitch Mcconnell pick the next senator of Alabama.
BROOKE BALDWIN: Sexual abuse, stealing a lawn mower, let's not even go there. You believe Roy Moore's account, Brandon and you want to believe the best in Roy Moore. Is it odd to you that he has not come out against these allegations point by point, line by line, accuser by accuser. Instead just shouts fake news and Democrats when, let's all keep in mind, this now grown woman then 14-year-old is a Republican and voted for Donald Trump.
BRANDON MOSELEY: The only accusation that would be a serious crime was that of the 14-year-old, whether he gave alcohol to an 18-year-old when the alcohol age was 19 in Alabama. Again, the one that matters is the 14-year-old complaint because that would be the most serious offense it's become basically Lee Kaufman's word versus Roy Moore's and corkman's account is different than the other accounts, and the other accounts Roy Moore dated some of these women, supposedly, as long as three months and they never got naked. According to Corfman supposedly Roy took off her shirt and pans and there was some inappropriate touching.
BROOKE BALDWIN: On Roy Moore.
BRANDON MOSELEY: That's correct.
>> You started the conversation. I'm just trying to understand how you're feeling.
You started the conversation saying you know Roy Moore for
years and I don't know if you've met the president of the united States and I'm curious for the sake of conversation, you know, did you believe the sexual harassment and assault allegations against president trump during the campaign?
BRANDON MOSELEY: I believe that president trump probably at some point in his life has acted inappropriately with women. He's had three marriages E multiple mistresses. I still voted for Donald Trump. I mean, as a Christian I can forgive a past indiscretion, certainly one that's not a crime at this time.
BROOKE BALDWIN: If you knew these women -- if you knew these women, Brandon. -- I understand. If you knew these women do you think your opinion of these women and their allegations would be different?
BRANDON MOSELEY: If I knew these women I would be glad to pray that they, you
know, for them and for their family, but I still don't think that we should abandon Roy Moore and vote for bill Jones or some write-in candidate because of accusations from 1979.
BROOKE BALDWIN: As a journalist, I know you leave this piece saying you don't normally opine, although normally you are in this case, why didn't you call these women? You know, as journalists, we like to hear both sides of the story. You have Roy Moore's side of the story and you've only read these women's side of the story and you are there on the ground in Alabama. Why not call them, hear them out and report on that side of the story in your piece?
BRANDON MOSELEY: "The Washington post" had already done the story. They had their accounts. Reporters with -- local reporters have tried to contact some of them, but we've had no success. I was not assigned to -- by my editor to seek out these women for their accounts, but I've heard -- I've heard whatever the Washington post put out and I've seen it, heard it or read it.
BROOKE BALDWIN: Just as a journalist --
BRANDON MOSELEY: I still believe Roy Moore.
BROOKE BALDWIN: Don't you think you should have a well-balanced view before you put out there as I think you, you know, you call yourself an objective journalist, though clearly you've made your decision in this race. Why not pick up the phone and call these women?
BRANDON MOSELEY: Ideally, these charges would have come out six months before the election and we would have had time to go out and interviewed the women --
>> Interviewed all of the various stuff, but this all broke Thursday in "The Washington post." We're talking about it here on Monday as to whether Roy Moore should drop out of the race today or not. Based on everything I know at this point, and like I say, I've tried to research these women and their backgrounds as much as I could in the hours between that revelation and now.
BRANDON MOSELEY: Sure. I still believe the best choice for the people of Alabama is to elect Roy Moore on December 12th.
BROOKE BALDWIN: Okay. Brandon Moseley, thank you for the conversation.