Republican Roy Moore's campaign has lashed out at the women accusing him of sexual misconduct, declaring "let the battle begin."
Women's advocates decried the talk as worn intimidation tactics in a desperate attempt to keep his imperiled Senate bid alive.
Moore ignored mounting calls from Washington Republicans concerned that he may not only lose a seat they were sure to win but also may do significant damage to the party's brand among women nationwide as they prepared for a difficult midterm election season.
Moore's team showed no such concerns.
"You ask me if I believe the girls. No, I don't believe the girls. I believe Judge Moore," Moore strategist Dean Young said. "Let the battle begin. ... Get ready to fight Mitch McConnell. We're going to fight you to the death on this."
President Donald Trump, through a spokeswoman, called the allegations of sexual misconduct against the former judge "very troubling."
The Republican president stopped short of calling on Moore to quit the race, however, breaking with most Republican leaders in Washington, including McConnell, the Senate majority leader.
"He thinks that the people of Alabama should make the decision on who their next senator should be," Sanders said, declining to clarify whether Trump continued to back Moore.
In Alabama, Moore appeared alongside more than a dozen religious leaders, who took turns bashing the Christian conservative's many critics - especially his female accusers.
"This is a man who does not lie. Compare that to his accusers," charged Gordon Klingenschmitt of the group Pray in Jesus' Name.
With Moore looking on, Klingenschmitt quoted the Ten Commandments in a message aimed at two women he called out by name - one has said she was 14 and the other that she was 16 when Moore initiated sexual contact as a district attorney in his 30s.
"Thou shalt not bear false witness," Klingenschmitt declared.
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