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DOCUMENT 634

ELECTRONICALLY FILED
3/11/2019 8:30 AM
03-CV-2018-900017.00
CIRCUIT COURT OF
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, ALABAMA
GINA J. ISHMAN, CLERK

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF


MONTGOMERY COUNTY, ALABAMA

LEIGH CORFMAN,

Plaintiff,

vs.
CIVIL ACTION NO. CV-2018-
900017.00
ROY MOORE, and
JUDGE ROY MOORE FOR US
SENATE,

Defendants.

PLAINTIFF LEIGH CORFMAN’S RESPONSE1 TO DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO


SERVE FOREIGN SUBPOENA UPON BREITBART NEWS NETWORK AND MATT
BOYLE AND MOTION TO SERVE OWN SUBPOENAS

Rather than honorably defend Plaintiff Leigh Corfman’s claim that he defamed her by

calling her a liar and accusing her of being part of a political conspiracy against him in 2017,

Defendant Roy S. Moore has resorted to personal attacks against her and her family designed to

attract media attention to these mean-spirited sideshows and divert public attention from the

issues in the litigation.

Mr. Moore’s Motion to Serve Foreign Subpoena Upon Breitbart News Network and Matt

Boyle (“Motion”) (Doc. # 624) is only the most recent example. Filed last Thursday, the Motion

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Although Ms. Corfman recognizes that the Court yesterday granted Mr. Moore’s request to
issue the subpoenas to Breitbart News and Mr. Boyle, Ms. Corfman wishes to respond to the
statements about her and her family that Defendants are publicizing as “fact” in both the press
and through social media.

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DOCUMENT 634

is specifically intended to embarrass Ms. Corfman, to turn public opinion against her, and to taint

the jury pool with lewd allegations about her and her family. The Motion seeks an alleged

recording of a meeting at which Breitbart reporters and Moore affiliates offered Ms. Corfman’s

prior attorney, Eddie Sexton, at least $10,000 to express doubt about her allegations. (Doc. #

624 at ¶11.) The Motion, however, goes far beyond simply seeking issuance of a foreign

subpoena; it is a blatant attempt by Mr. Moore to smear Ms. Corfman’s name and the reputation

of her family through unsupported hearsay statements that would not be admissible at trial—

statements that have no bearing on the Motion and were not even alleged to have been made

during the recorded conversation Mr. Moore seeks. (Id. at ¶¶3–5.)

Moreover, as part of a disturbing pattern after each filing by Mr. Moore, Moore

supporters, including his wife Kayla, have posted the Motion’s scurrilous allegations and twisted

them as “fact” on social media and otherwise.2 Indeed, at the hearing before Your Honor on

March 4, counsel for Ms. Corfman raised this very concern. Exhibit (“Ex.”) A, (Hr’g Tr.), at

85:7–87:18. Nevertheless, just three days later, within 12 hours of Mr. Moore’s latest filing and

within five minutes of each other, both Mrs. Moore and the “Stand With Judge Roy Moore”

2
During his deposition, Mr. Sexton emphasized that the allegations about Ms. Corfman and her
family—which Mr. Moore and his supporters misrepresent as “fact” in Mr. Moore’s Motion
(Doc. # 624) and related social media postings—were mere unsubstantiated “speculation about
everything.” See, e.g., Ex. L (Sexton Dep. Tr.), 117:21–119:20 (“I had always heard stuff . . . ,
but who knows if it was true or not. I never saw. I never witnessed it.”); id. at 116:10–120:1
(“Q. Okay. And would you describe her as promiscuous or reckless during that time? . . . A.
No more than - - or for no other reason other than what people say the same thing that I would
hear about Roy Moore and his propensity for younger girls. I mean - - I mean, no. Do I know [of
Ms. Corfman’s promiscuity] for fact? No. Don’t. Never seen her with anybody else. I don’t
know.”).

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Facebook page reposted an AL.com article that recites the allegations in the Motion, Exs. B–C;

they subsequently reposted other articles about the Motion, Exs. D–F.3

Perhaps most troubling is the suggestion underlying Mr. Moore’s Motion that

Ms. Corfman’s purported sexual activity as a teenager, including with Mr. Sexton who she dated,

is relevant to her claim against Mr. Moore. This bullying is precisely the type of conduct that

deters victims of sexual assault and harassment from coming forward in the first place.

Notwithstanding Mr. Moore’s relentless harassment of Ms. Corfman, as well as that by

his supporters, Ms. Corfman does not oppose issuance of a subpoena to Breitbart News and Mr.

Boyle and wishes to issue her own subpoenas seeking all documents relating to the attempted

bribery of Mr. Sexton, as opposed to the limited information Mr. Moore seeks. Ms. Corfman

therefore respectfully seeks this Court’s permission to issue the attached subpoenas duces tecum

(Exs. G–I) to:

Breitbart News Network


210 A St. NE
Washington, DC 20002-7306

Matthew Boyle
140 M ST. NW
Apt. 141
Washington, DC 20002

and

Aaron Klein
7703 Algon Ave.
Philadelphia, PA 19111-2822

3
Two days ago, on March 9, Mr. and Mrs. Moore used the allegations in the Motion when
requesting donations from Mr. Moore’s supporters. Kayla Moore, The Accuser’s own Attorney
Don’t Believe Her!, Judge Roy Moore Defense Fund, https://us10.campaign-
archive.com/?u=b72e11e92141d4d6306c8aa3e&id=f02a6984eb (last visited Mar. 10, 2019) (Ex.
Z).

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As grounds therefor, Ms. Corfman states as follows:

1. On November 9, 2017, The Washington Post published an article setting forth

Ms. Corfman’s account of Mr. Moore’s sexual abuse of her in 1979. Ex. J.

2. Ms. Corfman retained Mr. Sexton to help her respond to the media inquiries that

followed the article.4 Ex. L (Sexton Dep. Tr.), at 210:8–213:8 (“I think that she wanted anything

but this story to come out. And she really didn’t want it to come out before the election . . . She

never wanted to talk to the press again and was not going to until Judge Moore kept saying stuff

that she thought was negative or directly against her.”). Contrary to Mr. Moore’s allegations that

Ms. Corfman is a publicity seeker, Ms. Corfman was approached by The Post (not vice versa)

and has done only one other media interview—to respond to Mr. Moore’s denials of her account

(Doc. # 131 at ¶34); see also Today Exclusive, “Roy Moore Accuser Speaks Out” (Nov. 20th,

2017), https://www.today.com/news/roy-moore-accuser-leigh-corfman-shares-why-she-

wentpublic-t119062; unlike Mr. Moore, Ms. Corfman has never held a press conference or

issued a press release.

3. Two days after publication of the Post article, on November 11, Mr. Moore

announced at a news conference that “[i]n the next few days, there will be revelations about the

motivations and the content of this article.” Ex. M, at 4; Ex. N (Moore Dep. Tr.), at 350:19–

351:18.

4. Mr. Boyle of Breitbart News similarly announced that same day that “there will

come out evidence that demonstrates the collusion between the Democrat establishment, the

Republican establishment and the media.” Ex. M, at 4; see also Breitbart News Saturday -

4
Mr. Sexton’s representation of Ms. Corfman was public knowledge. See, e.g., Moore accuser’s
attorney: “I’m sure she was scared to death” to report sexual encounter, AL.com (Nov. 9,
2017), https://www.al.com/news/2017/11/moore_victims_attorney_im_sure.html (Ex. K).

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Matthew Boyle (Breitbart radio broadcast Nov. 11, 2017), available at https://soundcloud.com

/breitbart/breitbart-news-saturday-matthew-boyle-november-11-2017 (begin at 8:23).

5. A few weeks before this foreshadowing, Gary Lantrip and his business partner

Bert Davi attended a fundraiser for Mr. Moore’s Senate campaign in Washington, DC, at which

Steve Bannon, then Breitbart News Executive Chairman, was also present. Ex. M, at 5; Ex. O

(Lantrip Dep. Tr.), at 27:1–28:4; Ex. P.

6. On November 10, one day after the Post article and one day before the Moore and

Boyle predictions of a development concerning Ms. Corfman’s allegations in that article, Mr.

Lantrip began contacting Mr. Sexton, Ex. Q, at 2 (“Hey brother give me a call when you can.”).

7. On the very day of both Mr. Moore’s and Mr. Boyle’s public announcements, Mr.

Lantrip texted Mr. Sexton again, seeking a meeting. Id. (“Hey buddy call me if you can. It’s

important”).

8. When Mr. Sexton called Mr. Lantrip on Sunday, November 12, in response to this

text, Mr. Lantrip told him that he “really needed to talk to [Mr. Sexton] and had an opportunity

to make [them] both some money and it would be a good deal.” Ex. L (Sexton Dep. Tr.), at

219:4–15; see also id. at 63:3–10; Ex. M, at 4.

9. Mr. Lantrip and Mr. Sexton arranged to meet the next morning, on November

13. Ex. L (Sexton Dep. Tr.), at 219:4–23; Ex. O (Lantrip Dep. Tr.), at 107:14–17; Ex. M, at 4–5.

Messrs. Lantrip, Davi, and Sexton were present at that meeting, which occurred behind Mr.

Sexton’s law office. Ex. L (Sexton Dep. Tr.), at 220:8–14. At the meeting, Mr. Davi told Mr.

Sexton that “Mr. Bannon wanted to talk about whether [Mr. Sexton] would say publicly that [he]

did not believe Leigh Corfman’s story.” Ex. L (Sexton Dep. Tr.), at 222:12–17; Ex. M, at 5. As

an inducement to make such a statement, they offered Mr. Sexton at least $10,000 and possibly

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as much as $100,000 or more. Ex. L (Sexton Dep. Tr.), at 70:5–71:4 (“They were actually

talking about more than $10,000. They have actually said—referenced a couple times $100,000,

or whatever you want . . .”); id. at 227:20–229:8; see also Ex. M, at 5; Ex. O (Lantrip Dep. Tr.),

at 158:19–159:12.

10. In response, Mr. Sexton told Mr. Lantrip and Mr. Davi that the statement would

neither be credible nor accurate. Ex. L (Sexton Dep. Tr.), at 64:23–65:20; 68:7–11. Mr. Sexton

testified that not only had Mr. Sexton made social media postings supporting Ms. Corfman, he

believed her—indeed, she had told Mr. Sexton of Mr. Moore’s assault on her multiple times

since she was 15-16 years old. Ex. L (Sexton Dep. Tr.), at 44:20–45:21 (“I knew he worked at

the courthouse, and he made advances towards her and freaked her out.”); id. at 46:14–22 (“[H]e

was groping her and, you know . . . she was uncomfortable and freaked out about it.”); id. at

47:6–10 (“We probably talked about it . . . several times over the years.”).

11. Nonetheless, Mr. Lantrip informed Mr. Sexton that “‘Bannon’s group’ still

wanted to talk to him.” Ex. M, at 5; see also Ex. L (Sexton Dep. Tr.), at 151:21–152:11.

12. That afternoon, Mr. Sexton, along with Mr. Lantrip and Mr. Davi, met with

Mr. Boyle and Aaron Klein, a Breitbart News colleague of Mr. Boyle’s, at Mr. Lantrip’s office.

Ex. L (Sexton Dep. Tr.), at 81:19–82:17; 244:12–23; see also Ex. M, at 5; Ex. O (Lantrip Dep.

Tr.), at 112:19–113:12.

13. At that meeting, Mr. Boyle urged Mr. Sexton to sign a statement that Mr. Lantrip

claims he wrote, expressing doubt as to Ms. Corfman’s allegations.5 Ex. L (Sexton Dep. Tr.), at

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That statement, never signed, read: “After reviewing the allegations, after taking Leigh
Corfman as my client, I believe there is not sufficient evidence to back them up and that the case
strains credulity. I decided that since I would have difficult represent a client that don’t believe I
have to recuse myself from this case. I hope Leigh the best.” Ex. R; see also Ex. M, at 7; Ex. O
(Lantrip Dep. Tr.), at 87:15–13.

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141:1–3 (Q: “What did Matt Boyle say?”; A: “Wanted me to make up a story and tell a false

story.”); see also Ex. M, at 7.

14. Mr. Sexton did not sign the statement and left the meeting. Ex. L (Sexton Dep.

Tr.), at 98:23–99:23; 129:1–21; see also Ex. M, at 7.

15. Mr. Sexton testified that during their discussions, Mr. Lantrip and Mr. Davi

referred repeatedly to meetings with the Moore campaign, Mr. Moore, and Steve Bannon. Ex. L

(Sexton Dep. Tr.), at 149:12–20 (“Because they were riding to Montgomery with [Breitbart] and

meeting them in Montgomery, meeting Roy Moore in Montgomery, going to Washington with

them. So, I don’t know any other way to interpret it.”); id. at 154:4–6 (“he says they are going to

meet with the man, Roy Moore”); id. at 233:5–13 (Q: “Do you specifically recall there being

conversations with Mr. Davi and Mr. Lantrip where they told you that they had been at the

Moore headquarters and in communication with Moore headquarters?”; A: “Yes.”); id. at

233:17–23 (Q: “[C]ertainly there were later times, even documented, where Mr. Lantrip told you

that they had been talking to Roy Moore, correct?”; A: “Correct.”); id. at 259:22–260:6 (Q:

“[That] was not the first time that [Mr. Lantrip] told you that he had been talking with Roy

Moore about the Leigh Corfman situation?” A: “Correct.”); see also Ex. O (Lantrip Dep. Tr.), at

121:13–18 (“[W]e just been talking with Bannon and then with Roy Moore . . . .”). Mr. Sexton

understood that Mr. Lantrip and Mr. Davi were working under the direction and at the behest of

Mr. Moore and Breitbart News. Ex. L (Sexton Dep. Tr.), at 20:8–19 (“[Mr. Lantrip and Mr.

Davi] were telling me that they were working with Moore and Breitbart; and that since I

represented Leigh, they wanted something—anything negative that I could say about Leigh.”);

id. at 139:19–140:1 (“It was coming from—from either Bannon or Bannon’s group or Moore or

somebody affiliated with his campaign . . .”).

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16. In a follow up call on the evening of November 13 recorded by Mr. Sexton, Mr.

Lantrip said, “What they’re saying all they wanna do is cloud something so, you know, the first

one come out, it’ll be a little clouded, the second one come out, they clouded it, and they said if

they clouded like two of them then that is all they need. I don’t care how many comes out.” Ex.

O (Lantrip Dep. Tr.), at 127:21–132:1; see also Ex. M, at 1; Ex. L (Sexton Dep. Tr.) at 129:22–

131:2.

17. The next day, November 14, Mr. Lantrip texted Mr. Sexton, “Hey buddy we’ll be

with Roy Moore tonight if you come up with anything. Thx.” Ex. Q, at 6.

18. That evening, at Mr. Moore’s public appearance at a church in Jackson, Alabama,

Mr. Lantrip and Mr. Davi sat next to Mr. Boyle in the front row; Mr. Davi leaned in and

whispered to Mr. Boyle several times during the event. Ex. M, at 9; Ex. O (Lantrip Dep. Tr.), at

76:2–80:14.

19. Following Mr. Moore’s speech, Messrs. Lantrip, Davi, and Moore and Mrs.

Moore huddled together off stage and talked, as shown in Exhibits S–V. See also Ex. O (Lantrip

Dep. Tr.), at 76:2–80:14.

20. After the discussion, Mr. Lantrip and Mr. Davi “walked [the Moores] to the[ir]

car.” Ex. O (Lantrip Dep. Tr.), at 80:5–14 (“They walked to their car. We walked them to the

car. They got in their car and they drove off. We got in our car and drove home.”); Ex. W.

21. On his way back home from Mr. Moore’s appearance, Mr. Lantrip left Mr.

Sexton a voicemail, saying, “we have got some business to talk about.” Ex. L (Sexton Dep. Tr.),

at 266:7–268:16; see also Ex. M, at 9.

22. Mr. Lantrip and Mr. Davi continued to reach out to Mr. Sexton over the next

several days, but Mr. Sexton evaded their requests and rejected the offer made by Mr. Lantrip

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and Mr. Davi once again on November 25. Ex. Q, at 6–13; Ex. L (Sexton Dep. Tr.), at 268:12–

276:6.

23. On November 30, Mr. Sexton informed the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the

Northern District of Alabama of the communications with Mr. Boyle, Mr. Davi, Mr. Klein, and

Mr. Lantrip. Ex. L (Sexton Dep. Tr.), at 278:12–279:18; Ex. M, at 9.

24. Mr. Lantrip reached out again to Mr. Sexton on December 4 to ask that he make a

toned-down statement to the effect that he had ceased his representation of Ms. Corfman. Ex. M,

at 10 (“On that other thing we’ve been talking about, with Bannon and them . . . They was

wantin’ to see if you’d make a statement saying you declined … to take the case and don’t

represent her anymore. Period.”); see also Ex. L (Sexton Dep. Tr.), at 282:12–283:17.

25. Mr. Boyle reached out by texts to Mr. Sexton on December 8 and 9, presumably

to make the same request. Ex. M, at 11 (“Hey Eddie . . . Give me a call when you get a

second.”); Ex. L (Sexton Dep. Tr.), at 283:18–284:15.

26. Mr. Sexton declined to make the statement proposed by Mr. Lantrip. Ex. L

(Sexton Dep. Tr.), at 284:16–285:22.

27. In an interview for a Post article reporting on these developments, Mr. Davi spoke

about his and Mr. Lantrip’s interactions with Breitbart, Mr. Moore, and Mr. Sexton. Ex. M, at

11 (“During the interview Monday, Davi said he and Lantrip initially did not believe Corfman's

claims but do now.”).

28. Mr. Davi was deposed in this case on November 1, 2018. Ex. X (Davi Dep. Tr.).

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29. When asked about his interactions with Mr. Moore, the Moore Campaign, Mr.

Boyle, Breitbart News, Mr. Sexton and Mr. Lantrip, Mr. Davi refused to answer and invoked

his rights against self-incrimination 65 times6:

On the basis of my rights under the Fifth Amendment to the


Constitution of the United States, and under Section 6 of the
Constitution of the State of Alabama, I respectfully refuse to
answer on the grounds that a truthful answer to the question may
tend to incriminate me.

See generally id. (Davi Dep. Tr.).

30. The following are among the questions Mr. Davi refused to answer on grounds of

potential incrimination:

 Did Roy Moore ask you to offer Eddie Sexton money or anything else of value in

exchange for Eddie Sexton dropping Leigh Corfman as a client and publically [sic]

questioning her allegations against Roy Moore? (Ex. X, at 39:13–18.)

 Did any individual associated with the Judge Roy Moore for U.S. Senate, other than

Roy Moore, ask you to offer Eddie Sexton money or anything else of value if Eddie

Sexton would drop Leigh Corfman as a client and publically [sic] question her

allegations against Roy Moore? (Id. at 40:3–10.)

 Did Roy Moore know beforehand that you were going to offer money or anything

else of value to Eddie Sexton in exchange for Eddie Sexton dropping Leigh Corfman

as a client? (Id. at 40:18–22.)

6
A transcript of Mr. Davi’s deposition in which these 65 responses are highlighted is attached as
Exhibit Y hereto.

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 Did Roy Moore know beforehand that you were going to offer money or anything

else of value to Eddie Sexton in exchange for Eddie Sexton publically [sic] disputing

Leigh Corfman's allegations against Roy Moore? (Id. at 41:7–12.)

 After you offered money or something else of value to Eddie Sexton in exchange for

dropping Leigh Corfman as a client and publically questioning her allegations against

Roy Moore, did you tell Roy Moore that you made that offer to Eddie Sexton? (Id. at

43:2–8.)

 After you told Roy Moore that you made an offer to Eddie Sexton to drop Leigh

Corfman as a client and publically question her allegations in exchange for money or

something else of value, did Roy Moore tell you that he approved of that offer? (Id. at

44:7–13.)

 Did Roy Moore tell you that Leigh Corfman's allegations against him as reported in

the Washington Post both in print and on video in November of 2017 were true? (Id.

at 45:17–21.)

31. Documents in the possession of Mr. Boyle, Mr. Klein, and Breitbart News are

important to confirm the extent to which Defendants played a role in or had knowledge of the

bribe offered to Mr. Sexton to undermine Ms. Corfman’s account of Mr. Moore’s sexual abuse

of her. Proposed subpoenas are attached hereto as Exhibits G–I.

32. As is apparent from the proposed subpoenas, unlike Mr. Moore, Ms. Corfman

seeks documents from Mr. Klein as well as documents from all three respondents that go beyond

a purported recording of their meeting(s) with Mr. Sexton.

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Wherefore, Ms. Corfman respectfully moves the Court for an Order granting issuance of

the attached subpoenas duces tecum for documents to Breitbart News Network, Mr. Boyle, and

Mr. Klein.

Respectfully Submitted,

March 11, 2019 /s/ Melody H. Eagan


One of the Attorneys for
Plaintiff Leigh Corfman
Of Counsel:
Harlan I. Prater IV Neil K. Roman
hprater@lightfootlaw.com Clara J. Shin*
Melody H. Eagan Megan L. Rodgers**
meagan@lightfootlaw.com Daniel W. Cho***
Jeffrey P. Doss COVINGTON & BURLING LLP
jdoss@lightfootlaw.com The New York Times Building
LIGHTFOOT, FRANKLIN & WHITE LLC 620 Eighth Avenue
The Clark Building New York, NY 10018
400 20th Street North (212) 841-1221
Birmingham, Alabama 35203 nroman@cov.com
(205) 581-0700 (telephone) cshin@cov.com
(205) 581-0799 (facsimile) mrodgers@cov.com
dwcho@cov.com
* San Francisco office
** Silicon Valley office
*** Washington, D.C. office

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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I hereby certify that on this the 11th day of March, 2019, I electronically filed the
foregoing with the Clerk of the Court using the Alafile system, which will send electronic
notification of such filing to the parties. If Alafile indicates that Notice needs to be delivered by
other means to any of the following, I certify that a copy will be sent via U.S. Mail, properly
addressed, postage prepaid.

Melissa L. Isaak, Esq.


THE ISAAK LAW FIRM
P.O. Box 4894
Montgomery, AL 36103

Kenneth Shinbaum, Esq.


Julian L. McPhillips, Jr., Esq.
MCPHILLIPS SHINBAUM, LLP
516 South Perry Street
Montgomery, AL 36104

/s/ Melody H. Eagan


Of counsel

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