Speaker Moore says he had ‘on-again, off-again’ relationship, denies using influence
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Tim Moore lawsuit
A lawsuit against North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore claims he had a years-long affair with a married woman, using his power in return for sexual favors. Here is coverage of the lawsuit.
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North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore sat down with The News & Observer on Wednesday to respond to accusations in a lawsuit that he broke up a marriage by having an affair with a state employee and has exchanged political favors for sexual favors.
Moore said he had an “on-again, off-again” relationship with Jamie Liles Lassiter starting in 2019, and that it has since ended.
The Republican speaker, who is divorced, said he will “vigorously defend (the lawsuit), stand up for myself, and also look at any countersuits that we have.”
Moore denies using his influence in exchange for sexual favors from Liles Lassiter or anyone else.
He is being sued by Scott Riley Lassiter, a former Apex Town Council member, for “alienation of affection.” Scott Lassiter said his marriage is ending because his wife had an extramarital affair with Moore for more than three years.
The lawsuit also accuses Moore of using his position as House speaker to pursue the sexual relationship with Liles Lassiter, who is a state government employee and executive director of the N.C. Conference of Clerks of Superior Court, a position funded by the General Assembly.
Among the allegations are that Moore “convinced Mrs. Lassiter to engage in degrading sexual acts with him, including group sexual activity with others over whom he had power or influence.”
Moore said he didn’t want to share too many details because of the lawsuit, but confirmed a relationship from 2019 until December 2022, describing it as “what I would say, an on-again, off-again, very casual, nothing-consistent type of relationship, and of course all that time, fully understood that she was separated.”
Moore said that Liles Lassiter told him she was separated, and “they didn’t really get into the details” of how she left her husband.
Biscuitville meeting
The lawsuit also claims that Moore admitted the relationship to Scott Lassiter at a Biscuitville restaurant in Raleigh the day after Christmas, while also asking him if there was anything he could do for him as a political favor.
Moore told The N&O that he did meet with Scott Lassiter at Biscuitville on Dec. 26 for breakfast after Lassiter asked to meet with him. Moore said he picked a public location for the conversation that happened over breakfast.
“What I wanted to do was try to clear the air, make sure he understood where I was,” Moore said, “and certainly apologize if indeed it was his assertion, but I was very consistent. I always understood that they were separated, and was shocked about this situation.”
Moore said at the end of their conversation, “it sounds awkward, we kind of actually hugged it out if you will,” and that Lassiter said “in a way ... he couldn’t be mad at me because I never made a vow to him. That was one of the things he said. And I said, well, I’d like to see us you know, just move on. And, you know, I think if I could talk to you or anything, glad to do it — because I was trying to make peace at that point.”
Moore said that Liles Lassiter gave her husband’s phone number to Moore and he doesn’t recall who called first.
Through her lawyer, Liles Lassiter said in a previous statement to The N&O that the lawsuit was “outrageous and defamatory” and that Lassiter’s claims in the lawsuit “are not only false but impossible as we’ve been separated with a signed separation document for years.”
“To be clear, I’m a strong professional woman, and the only person who has ever abused me or threatened my career was my soon to be ex-husband. Our marriage was a nightmare, and since I left him it has gotten worse. We are reaching the end of our divorce process and this is how he’s lashing out,” Liles Lassiter said.
‘Casual’ relationship and legislation
Moore told The N&O that he did not recuse himself from any legislation about the conference of clerks where Liles Lassiter works because “as far as I know, there was no legislation that she was advancing or working on that that was an issue.”
Moore also said that Liles Lassiter said she never told her husband that she didn’t want to break it off because she thought that would affect her work, or that that she wanted to end it and Moore didn’t.
“That simply is not true. Not true, not something I would do,” Moore said.
As for asking other people for sexual favors in return for political favors, Moore said that’s “totally false” and he doesn’t know why Lassiter would say that. Moore said he “would never try that,” and noted that Liles Lassiter does not report to him.
“I’m very offended by that. It bothers me a lot. And it’s completely untrue,” Moore said.
Moore said that rules allow legislators and staff to have relationships, as some lawmakers’ legislative assistants are their spouses.
Asked if he’s had relationships with other legislators, Moore said, “no.”
He did say that being sued over these allegations means he’ll “certainly reassess a lot of things, and there’s no question about that. But at the end of the day, I know I didn’t do anything wrong from a legal standpoint, that I believed fully that she was separated.”
“But I will tell you as this member, certainly going forward, on anything I will be much more careful and (give) much more scrutiny for anything — probably even having a bite to eat with anybody, just to be truthful with you. And I think that’s unfortunate, but that’s the circumstance that I’m in.”
Moore flatly denied any involvement or knowledge of a “John Doe” mentioned in the lawsuit who is accused by Scott Lassiter of setting up a surveillance camera on behalf of Moore.
Berger on ‘perception problem’
Moore’s counterpart in the Senate is Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger, an Eden Republican. They each lead a supermajority of Republicans.
Berger told reporters on Tuesday that he still opposes getting rid of the “alienation of affection” law, which is what Moore is being sued over. “I just think that there is some respect for marriage in the common law torts, and that it’s something that I don’t seek to eliminate.”
Berger said while he has met with Moore this week, they have not talked about the lawsuit.
“[Moore] says that he will fight it vigorously, and he’ll be vindicated. We have a legal process that will need to work its way. I don’t know that there’s anything I can say that would add or detract from anything that’s out there,” Berger said.
As far as the national attention Moore’s lawsuit is getting, Berger said he thinks “the perception problem, and people jumped to conclusions about things, I think those are problematic — no question about that.”
“But, you know, people are going to believe what they are going to believe and they’re going to think what they’re going to think. And I don’t know that this will change those dynamics,” Berger said.
This story was originally published June 21, 2023 at 2:21 PM with the headline "Speaker Moore says he had ‘on-again, off-again’ relationship, denies using influence."
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