OPELIKA, Ala. — Rep. Barry Moore (R-Enterprise) was found not guilty on all counts after being charged with two counts of first-degree perjury and two counts of providing false statements during testimony he gave to a special grand jury in January.
While testifying before the grand jury, Moore was asked to recall the details of a conversation he had with his soon-to-be primary opponent Josh Pipkin approximately seven months before. Unbeknownst to Moore, Pipkin had recorded the conversation, and prosecutors felt he was not sufficiently accurate in his recollection of the call during his testimony.
He was indicted prior to primary election day, but still handily defeated Pipkin at the ballot box.
Moore’s legal team maintained throughout the trial that the statements made during his testimony were materially true and that any discrepancies were the result of Moore having not remembered the details of a conversation that had taken place over a half-year prior.
The prosecution gave Moore the opportunity during the trial to recant the testimony he’d given the grand jury, saying it was a defense against perjury, but Moore declined, saying he had done nothing wrong.
“There is nothing on Earth worth going through this,” Moore said during his testimony.
Moore told Yellowhammer shortly after the verdict that he was just relieved it was over.
“We’re just relieved and glad it’s over for our family,” he said. “The Lord has been good throughout this whole process. We’ve had a peace about it.”
Moore posted on his Facebook page a passage from Psalms in which he said he’d taken solace in recent days.
Psalms 37:5-7:
Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this:
He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun.
Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways,
when they carry out their wicked schemes.
With the conclusion of the Moore trial, attention now turns to House Speaker Mike Hubbard, the original target of the Lee County grand jury, who was indicted on 23 felony counts of public corruption last week.
“Today, the justice system worked when 12 men and women in Lee County saw through the political agenda of rogue prosecutors and cleared Barry Moore’s name,” Hubbard said in a statement released to the press after the verdict. “Having this trial only days before the election was part of a concerted effort to affect my re-election. The jury has spoken, and the people of Lee County weren’t fooled by prosecutors perpetrating politics under the guise of justice… Barry Moore is one of the finest legislators and finest individuals I know, and it is a shame that he and his family have been subjected to this harassment. Susan and I know better than anyone what his family has gone through. Prayers have been answered, and thank God, justice has been done.”
(This story will be updated as more information comes in.)
Follow Cliff on Twitter @Cliff_Sims
