This Is Not How You Debunk Roy Moore’s Alleged Yearbook Signature

Yesterday, Beverly Young Nelson, accused Republican U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore of sexual assault in 1977. He would have been 30, and she was 16. Her announcement follows an accusation of sexual abuse in 1979 and three other women going on the record to say they had a romantic relationship with Moore when they were in their teens reported by The Washington Post. Moore, in his 30s, was the Deputy District Attorney for Etowah County in northern Alabama at the time.  Moore claimed he did not know her, but in her press conference yesterday she held up a yearbook allegedly signed by him.

“To a sweeter more beautiful girl I could not say Merry Christmas. Christmas 1977. Love, Roy Moore, D.A.,” it read.

Ok, I’ve seen an article on Gateway Pundit written by Joshua Caplan making the rounds among Moore defenders so I thought I would address it. I originally planned to just write a Facebook post, but it became long enough I decided to write about it here. I fully admit it is possible that the yearbook signature is a forgery, a handwriting expert has not yet examined it.  If you are relying on this article to claim the signature has been debunked, please don’t, you look foolish. Here are six reasons this article can’t be considered a serious rebuttal to the signature.

1. This is Gateway Pundit, he is famous for fake news, enough said.
2. The “analyst” is not a handwriting expert. He “weighs in on politics,” and he is an author. He is as much a handwriting expert as I am which is not at all.
3. Handwriting changes as you get older. So you have to consider that. I would think a better way to analyze this would be to compare it to a verified signature of Roy Moore’s from the same period.
4. They compare the 7s in reference to 1977 in Moore’s note with the seven below his name.  Nobody has reported “12-22-77 Olde Hickory House” to be part of his note, have they? The date underneath Moore’s signature could have been added by someone else as a reference. I think the “analyst” made an assumption here.
5. The complaint about Moore signing D.A. is weak. In Iowa where we have county attorneys, not district attorneys, the prosecutor is referred to as a county attorney. It could be the same in Alabama, I don’t know, but then again, I’m not claiming to be an expert on what the practice in Alabama was in 1977 and neither are they. Update: A friend of mine, Adrienne Royer, made a good point in the comment thread of this post on Facebook. “So it’s far-fetched to imagine that a man trolling for teens would exaggerate his title?” No, it’s not.
6. They then compare the alleged yearbook signature to a book signing event signature. Are you kidding me? Have they ever been to a book signing? Let’s just say when they are signing multiple books in one sitting along with a personal note the signature is rushed. 

So, again, I want to emphasize that the signature could be a forgery, but let’s see what an actual expert has to say.

2nd Update: Here’s a thought, maybe we should have President Trump do the handwriting analysis. That would be yuuuuuuuge.

I am a handwriting analyst. Jack Lew’s handwriting shows, while strange, that he is very secretive—not necessarily a bad thing.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 14, 2013