GOP senator: Moore would ‘immediately’ face ethics probe if elected

Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) said Sunday that Republican Alabama Senate nominee Roy Moore would “immediately” face an ethics investigation should he win this week’s election.

“If he wins, we have to seat him,” Scott told NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “Then there will immediately be an ethics investigation.”

Scott stood firm in his position that he would not back Moore in the Alabama special election, reiterating that the sexual misconduct accusations against the former judge are stronger than his denials.

“The allegations are significantly stronger than the denial,” Scott said.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) last month said Moore would face an ethics investigation right away should he be elected to the Senate. McConnell had previously called on Moore to step aside from the race, then said the race was ultimately in the hands of the Alabama voters.

Multiple Republicans revoked their endorsements of Moore after several women alleged that he made sexual advances toward them when they were teenagers. Moore has denied an allegation that in 1979 he had sexual contact with a 14-year-old girl, but admitted in an interview last month that he may have dated women in their later teens around that time.

Moore on Tuesday will face off against Democrat Doug Jones for the Senate seat once held by Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

President Trump last week offered Moore a full-throated endorsement and the Republican National Committee reinstated its fundraising agreement with Moore’s campaign after Trump voiced his support.