The suit was jointly filed with his wife, Kayla, about an hour before the two held a news conference. It was Moore's first public appearance since election night in December, when Moore, a Republican, was upset by
Democrat Doug Jones.
"This was filed because the people of Alabama deserve to know the truth," said
Melissa Isaak, an attorney representing Moore. "The accusations made against Judge Moore during the US Senate campaign arose from a political conspiracy to destroy his personal reputation and defeat him in the special Senate election for United States Senate."
The suit is asking for compensatory damages from all defendants listed along with interest from the date of the injuries and the court costs. The suit is also asking for punitive damages "in an amount that will adequately reflect the enormity of the defendants' wrongful, outrageous acts" and an amount that will prevent similar acts.
Isaak said the accusations against Moore came from three women, including
Leigh Corfmanwho sued Moore in January, not nine "as the press would have you believe." Isaak said the accusations, which came out 32 days before the December election, were made days within each other.
"They were made for no other reason than to destroy his character," she said, adding that people must look at the time and context of the allegations made.
"If someone was sexually abused, I believe the last thing they'd do is speak with The Washington Post," she said.
The complaint says during his 40 years in public office, no "suggestion of personal impropriety" had ever been raised against Moore.
The complaint also says the "liberal media" was eager to bury Moore's candidacy and has repeated over and over that nine women accused Moore.
"In fact only three women alleged improper conduct," the complaint reads.
Corfman, through an interview with The Washington Post, accused Moore of sexual misconduct when she was 14 in 1979, according to the complaint. Two other women made accusations about incidents in 1977 and 1991.
CNN is attempting to reach the five defendants named in the lawsuit.
Isaak said the defendants listed in the lawsuit have ties to each other and the Democratic Party.
In April, Moore filed a countersuit against Corfman, asking a state judge to stop all proceedings in Corfman's defamation lawsuit, calling the suit "frivolous and groundless.
Since the women's allegations went public, Isaak said Moore and his family have suffered socially and professionally. The complaint states that not only did Moore lose his bid for the US Senate seat, but also that his "opportunity to run for political office was impaired." Moore and his wife's reputation and finances were also damaged, according to the complaint.
"Every way you can possibly think, this family has been devastated," she said.
"I'm prepared to go through depositions," Moore said. He also has taken a lie detector test. "Who else is taking a lie detector test?"
Moore also told reporters he had no plans to run for office, so that's not his motive for filing the suit.
"I'm fueled by the truth," he said.
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