(Bloomberg) -- Breitbart News executive chairman Steve Bannon is defending Alabama U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore against the Washington Post's report that the Republican contender initiated a sexual encounter with a 14-year-old in 1979.
"This is deeper than politics -- it's about trying to destroy a man's life," Bannon, a former chief strategist for President Donald Trump, said in an interview with Bloomberg News on Friday. Moore denied the allegations Friday in a radio interview and in a written statement.
"This is nothing less than the politics of personal destruction," said Bannon. "And they need to destroy him by any means necessary."
Bannon backs Moore and is recruiting other populist GOP candidates to try to upend the party's establishment in Washington and oust Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell from his leadership post. Bannon appeared at a rally in Alabama to help Moore win a primary runoff election in September against incumbent Senator Luther Strange, who was the choice of Trump and McConnell.
Breitbart News published a denial by Moore on Thursday minutes before the Washington Post story appeared on its website.
Bannon said he spoke with Moore on Friday. Without offering evidence, he said he believes the Post article was an opposition hit planted by Moore's enemies.
To contact the reporter on this story: Joshua Green in Washington at jgreen120@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Joe Sobczyk at jsobczyk@bloomberg.net, Laurie Asséo, Kevin Whitelaw
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