A woman accusing Alabama U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore of initiating sexual contact when she was 14 said on national televison today that she was "absolutely not" paid to tell her story publicly.
The declaration by Leigh Corfman on NBC's "Today" show comes after Moore's supporters claimed without evidence that reporters were offering thousands of dollars to women for accusations.
The state election is being closely watched as several GOP senators have called Moore to drop out, and President Donald Trump has remained mostly quiet on the issue.
"My bank account has not flourished," Corfman said "If anything, it's gone down because I'm not working."
Corfman said Moore's stature in Alabama — he was a noted attorney who went on to become a powerful judge — prevented her from coming forward years ago.
Moore has denied allegations of sexual misconduct. Nevertheless, his victory in the Dec. 12 special election would saddle GOP senators with a colleague accused of abusing and harassing teenagers, a troubling liability heading into the 2018 congressional elections.
The White House says President Donald Trump isn't campaigning for Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore because of "discomfort" with the sexual misconduct allegations made by several women.
But he isn't calling on the controversial judge to drop out of the race because aides say he thinks the state's voters should decide. Ultimately, aides say Trump doesn't know who to believe following decades-old allegations made one month before the Dec. 12 election.
White House legislative director Marc Short says "Obviously if he did not believe that the women's accusations were credible, he would be down campaigning for Roy Moore." But he adds the "38-year-old allegations" were virtually unprovable.
One Republican senator urged Alabama voters to reject Moore in the special election even if that could mean ceding the seat to a Democrat and narrowing the GOP's Senate majority to one seat. A second GOP lawmaker suggested there was "a strong possibility" that a write-in candidate could win, though no name was mentioned.
The special election for U.S. Senate between Roy Moore and Doug Jones will be held December 12.
