A New Jersey attorney and veteran who served with Roy Moore in Vietnam recently cast doubts on the sexual allegations against the Republican Senate candidate, in an interview with New Jersey’s Star-Ledger. Citing an occurrence during the war when Moore was presented with a clear moral choice of engaging in a brothel, William Staehle says the judge took the high road.

“We went inside and as soon as we walked in, Roy and I knew it was a brothel,” Staehle said. “Before anyone could come up to us, Moore said, ‘We shouldn’t be here. We’re leaving.’”

Why this matters: Staehle’s testimony, as well as his detailed retelling of the story, potentially add a measure of credibility to Moore’s denials because at a time when many testosterone-driven twenty-somethings would likely choose to participate in a brothel’s offerings, Moore demonstrated true character by leaving.

The details:

— The incident occurred when Moore and Staehle were in Vietnam and accepted an officer’s invitation to go out for some beers.

— Upon entering what they apparently expected to be a bar, they realized that it was a brothel and left.

— “I was really impressed with Roy’s self-discipline, his integrity, his honor and his sense of duty,” Staehle told the Star-Ledger. “We were just 24 years old at the time.”

— Staehle also said that until a recent call, he hadn’t heard from Moore since 1972. Staehle: “He [Moore] said to me, ‘Bill, I’m telling you, these allegations are not true.’”

— He believes Moore: “You don’t lie to a guy you went to war with.”

Jeremy Beaman is a Huntsville-native in his final year at the University of Mobile. He spent the summer of 2017 with the Washington Examiner and writes for The College Fix. Follow him on Twitter @jeremywbeaman and email him at [email protected].