Ala. State Rep. indicted, points to evidence of coordinated political attack

Rep. Barry Moore, R-Enterprise, was indicted this morning at the Lee County Courthouse for allegedly perjuring himself during grand jury testimony.

Moore’s attorney released the following statement in response to the charges:

Regrettably, Rep. Barry Moore has been made the subject of a grand jury indictment alleging that he perjured himself by failing to recall a telephone call which occurred seven months before he was asked about this alleged conversation. Rep. Moore strenuously denies that he is guilty of any wrongdoing, or that he has perjured himself in any way, and he looks forward to being afforded a day in court to defend himself against these baseless charges.

With only six weeks left to go before the election, what happened today can only be characterized as an attempt to deny the voters of Coffee County the opportunity to choose their own state representative. Barry Moore’s campaign opponent has stated repeatedly that he was provided with confidential details of the Attorney General’s investigation, and these confidential details have been freely used in his campaign against Rep. Moore. Despite the unfair and untrue nature of these attacks, Mr. Moore has not been free to defend himself in the court of public opinion due to the constraints of the investigate process. The timing of today’s charges, and the facts and circumstances surrounding this case are a clear indication of the political undertones of this prosecution.

To this point, Barry Moore has not been allowed to defend himself in any way against these baseless allegations. However, he does want the people of Coffee County and the State of Alabama to know that he is, in every respect, innocent of the charges that have been levied against him, and looks forward to having the opportunity to prove his innocence emphatically in a court of law.

The Moore camp’s claims that he is being attacked politically stem from growing evidence that information has been leaked excessively throughout the ongoing investigation into public corruption in Lee County.

Grand jury testimony is sealed by law and it is a criminal offense to discuss it outside of the grand jury proceedings.

But a recent article in The Dothan Eagle / Enterprise Ledger noted that Moore’s opponent, Josh Pipkin, claims “he received permission from the attorney general’s office to publicly address the issue (grand jury proceedings) at the Coffee County Republican Club.”

In a Facebook post by Pipkin’s wife that was reposted by Pipkin’s campaign Facebook page, she said her husband “would love to comment now but he can’t because of Grand Jury Secrecy Laws.” But in the very next sentence she appears to inadvertently reveal that secrecy laws were broken by saying “the AG played the conversation for you,” referencing something that could only be known by people inside the grand jury.

(UPDATE: The Pipkin campaign has now removed the post.)

The attorney general’s office said that “no additional comment will be available at this time,” with regard to the charges against Moore or allegations that the Special Prosecutions Division has acted improperly.

Full disclosure: Mr. Moore and Mr. Sims co-owned a company together in the past. Follow Cliff on Twitter @Cliff_Sims.