Former White House strategist Steve Bannon has jumped into the fray to defend Alabama's GOP Senate hopeful Roy Moore against allegations that the former judge had inappropriate relationships with teen girls when he was in his 30's.
In an interview with Bloomberg on Friday, Bannon claimed the controversy that's roared since news of the accusations dropped "is deeper than politics -- it’s about trying to destroy a man’s life."
"This is nothing less than the politics of personal destruction," Bannon, who backed Moore while President Donald Trump backed "establishment" Republican incumbent Luther Strange, said. "And they need to destroy him by any means necessary."
After leaving the White House earlier this year, Bannon returned to his old executive position at Breitbart News, which published an article in defense of Moore's alleged relationships with teen girls before the Washington Post was able to publish the accusations. Breitbart's article painted Moore as "romantic" in relationships with teens while he was in his 30's -- relationships that Moore now says never happened.
Bloomberg notes that "without offering evidence, [Bannon] said he believes the Post article was an opposition hit planted by Moore’s enemies" -- a sentiment Moore himself expressed in a fundraising email he sent after the allegations came to light.