Update:

A judge has sided with comedian Sacha Baron Cohen and Showtime and against Roy Moore in a bid to relocate the hearing of a defamation case filed by the former Alabama Chief Justice.

Washington, D.C. Federal Judge Thomas Hogan ruled the $95 million suit can be tried in New York, something Moore said was a ploy by defendants to allow it to be heard in a more liberal area.

Moore is suing over Cohen’s “Who is America?” show that featured a segment with Moore in which he was subjected to scanning by a bogus device that claimed to be able to detect sex offenders. During his failed U.S. Senate race, Moore was accused of having sexual contact with underage girls in the 1970s when he was in his 30s.

In their defense, Showtime and Cohen pointed to a consent agreement signed by Moore that included a provision that any disputes be heard in New York. Moore is arguing the consent agreement is void due to fraud and said he was tricked into flying to Washington to accept a fake award from Israel.

Moore attorney Larry Klayman said the defendants wanted the case moved to New York because it is a “more favorable venue given the leftist slant of the judiciary.”

Earlier

Former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore will be in court today arguing that his case against comedian Sacha Baron Cohen should be tried in Washington, D.C. and not “leftist” New York.

Moore attorney Larry Klayman said via a release he and Moore will appear in New York to argue a motion filed by Cohen, Showtime and CBS seeking to have a defamation suit transferred to the Southern District of New York. Moore filed the case after he appeared on the Showtime series “Who is America?” and was administered a bogus “pedophile detector test” by Cohen, who was posing as an Israeli agent.

Klayman said he will argue since the show was taped in Washington, D.C., it should be tried there as well.

"The defendants can try to run to New York City where they obviously believe a leftist jurist will be more inclined to dismiss the case, but they cannot hide from the egregiousness of their cheap and vile acts. I'm confident (the judge) will see through this charade and allow the case to go to a jury of the parties' peers in the place where this case belongs, the District of Columbia,” the attorney said.

Moore and his wife, Kayla, filed the $95 million suit against Cohen and the others in September 2018, alleging defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress and fraud.

The “Who is America?" appearance came after Moore lost a December 2017 special election to Democrat Doug Jones amid allegations Moore had improper sexual contact with teen girls in the 1970s when he was in his 30s. Moore has denied the allegations.

Moore said he was duped into appearing on the July 29, 2018 show by Cohen under the guise of accepting an award for his support of Israel.

Klayman said Moore will hold a press conference after the hearing.