CHRIS CUOMO (CO-HOST): One of the first assertions, Brian, that's being made here is timing. It is anything but unusual for heavy hitting to come the closer you are to an election. The intensity turns up. The efforts turn up. This is routine. To make it suspicious is just misleading.
BRIAN STELTER: Some of these right-wing media defenders, I don't know how they can possibly sleep at night. And, I wonder if they're going to look back years from now and regret some of the things they're saying, some of the reactions to this story.
[...]
STELTER: I think Ann Coulter should read the full story on WashingtonPost.com, read it a second time, and then come on television and talk about it. Because these commentators, the Steve Bannons, the Sean Hannitys, they would rather talk about the media than the alleged molestation. That's a much more convenient topic for them. But I think everybody sees through it. They want to talk about the press, blame The Washington Post. The reality is, as you were saying Chris, as reporters look into all Senate candidates as the race -- as election day nears. This is what happens. The Washington Post reporters were not out looking for this information. They were actually out profiling Roy Moore, talking with voters when they started to hear about these rumors. These rumors had existed in Alabama political circles for years. The Washington Post stumbled upon it, didn't seek it out, and eventually was able to convince these reluctant sources to speak on the record.
CUOMO: Thirty of them, by the way. Thirty sources are cited in their reporting.
BRIAN: Right. Four women and then corroboration of these women's accounts, and then other sources on top of that.
[CROSSTALK]
CUOMO: That's why the “if true” thing bothers me, because --
STELTER: “How much more do you need,” is the question.
CUOMO: Right. An allegation is a suggestion without proof. That's what that word means in the law. Their word, their accusation, is proof, right? It's being ignored on that level.
ALISYN CAMEROTA (CO-HOST): Well but I mean, it's not proof,right? Proof is evidence.
CUOMO: Sure, if a woman comes forward and says this happened. Yeah, someone coming forward with testimony is evidence. You could have other evidence, you can vet them, you can impeach their character, you can do other things in terms of the legal process. But if you come forward and say “this person did this to me,” that counts.
