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Borat Enjoys 'Great Success' At Second Circuit As Roy Moore Loses... Again.

So who brought this dubious claim?

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Alabama GOP Senate Candidate Roy Moore Holds Election Night Gathering In Special Election For Session’s Seat

(Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Whether he deserved it or not, Roy Moore used to win things. The former Alabama chief justice leaned into the “performative politics over substance” trend erecting a monument to the Ten Commandments before getting drummed out of office in scandal. But then he got himself re-elected because… Alabama. Then he got suspended amid scandal AGAIN, which he only took as a sign to run for US Senate. Everything else kept working out for him!

Alas, that was a long time ago. The Senate bid uncovered allegations of a sexual scandal so egregious that even that state decided to elect a Democrat.

Those allegations, that he had a sexual encounter with a 14-year-old girl while working as a prosecutor in his 30s, served as the foundation of a bit in the Borat film “Who Is America?” where Sacha Baron Cohen adopted a different character, Erran Morad, and used a device that he claimed would identify perverts. Moore sued for defamation.

Much like the rest of his career since leaving the bench, Moore lost. And now the Second Circuit added to the streak.

In a 3-0 vote, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan said the interview was constitutionally protected speech, agreeing with a lower court judge that it was “clearly comedy and that no reasonable viewer would conclude otherwise.”

The court also said Moore waived his right to pursue his $95 million lawsuit by signing a standard consent agreement before the interview, which he knew would be televised. It also dismissed related claims by Moore’s wife Kayla.

This is basic law that Moore — a former judge — should understand. Alas, Moore wasn’t really good at the whole “law” thing. And he’s not done a particularly good job surrounding himself with lawyers who can do any better. First opting for a grammatically challenged attorney to send bad C&D letters before getting arrested himself.

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So who brought this dubious claim?

Larry Klayman, the Moores’ lawyer, called the decision a “travesty,” saying the consent agreement was ambiguous because Judge Moore crossed out a provision waiving claims related to alleged sexually oriented behavior and questioning.

“This should not have been taken away from the jury,” Klayman said in an interview. The Moores will ask the entire 2nd Circuit to review the case.

Klayman’s also had some run-ins with professional discipline probes and recently sued China for trillions for inventing COVID, so obviously he’s the only guy Moore could turn to when he had to attack an ironclad waiver agreement.

Still, here’s hoping the entire Second Circuit agrees to hear this case because it only gets funnier every time he loses.

Sacha Baron Cohen beats ex-judge Roy Moore’s defamation appeal [CNBC]

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Earlier: Court Tosses Roy Moore Lawsuit Against Sacha Baron Cohen For Tortious Hilarity

HeadshotJoe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.

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