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Roy Moore, the Republican Party politician from the US has been previously accused of sexual misconduct, including possible paedophilia, when he was running for the Alabama senate. (He lost.) During his campaign, at least nine women accused him of sexually abusing them when they were minors. Denying the statements, Moore added that there was “no evidence to support them”.

The incident came back to life on an episode of Who Is America? where the host, Sacha Baron Cohen, has adopted the persona of a former Israeli agent claiming to sell technology from his country in the US.

Moore was “interviewed” by Cohen, who thought he was being felicitated with an award. But Cohen produced what he claimed was a “paedophile detector” (video above).

Moore went on to release a statement against the show and Cohen to Variety, in which he said, “I did not know Sacha Cohen or that a Showtime TV series was being planned to embarrass, humiliate, and mock not only Israel, but also religious conservatives such as Sarah Palin, Joe Walsh, and Dick Cheney”. He threatened to sue Showtime TV if they chose to air the defamatory episode, which they did regardless.