Rep. Barbara Comstock on Friday issued an unequivocal rebuke of Roy Moore and those who have defended the Republican Senate candidate after he was accused of initiating sexual contact with a teenage girl when he was in his 30s.
He is also accused by three other women of pursuing them while they were teenagers, though none said he forced them into any sort of relationship or sexual contact, according to a Washington Post report.
“Roy Moore should not serve in the U.S. Senate,” Comstock (R-Va.) said in a statement posted on social media.
The two-term congresswoman from the Washington suburbs, the only woman representing Virginia in Congress, put Moore in league with other men in positions of power who have been accused of harassment and abuse.
“Harvey Weinstein, Anthony Weiner, Roger Ailes, Roy Moore . . . No MOORE of this,” she said.
Her comments come three days after Virginia Republicans lost the governor’s race and control of seven House of Delegates districts that overlap with her congressional district, posing a challenge to her reelection campaign.
Democrats are locked in a nine-way race for the party nomination to challenge her next year.
[After Virginia blowout, Comstock’s road to reelection grows steeper]
Friday's statement is in keeping with Comstock's call last year for Donald Trump to drop out of the presidential race after the release of the "Access Hollywood" tape, in which the GOP candidate boasts about groping women; she called it "disgusting, vile and disqualifying."
Comstock's statement about Moore sets her apart from many of her GOP colleagues, including President Trump, who called for Moore to drop out of the Senate race in Alabama only if the allegations are proved true. Some Republicans who endorsed Moore, including Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.), have remained silent.
[With Roy Moore scandal, a tale of two Republican parties emerges]
“To date Roy Moore has not provided any credible explanation or response to the detailed allegations, particularly the allegations by a woman who was at the time a 14 year old girl and Roy Moore was a 32 year old assistant district attorney,” Comstock wrote.
She noted the detailed accounts about Moore from four women were confirmed by numerous sources who knew of his behavior “at the time or well before now,” as uncovered in a Post investigation.
“I believed the stories from the victims of Harvey Weinstein, Roger Ailes and others because they were substantiated and consistent with the stories of how sexual predators operate,” she said.
With her statement, Comstock included a link to an editorial from the conservative National Review arguing that Moore should drop out.
Also Friday, the National Republican Senatorial Committee filed paperwork to sever a fundraising pact with the Moore campaign.