(CNN) Roy Moore is threatening to sue his accusers. Roy Moore is threatening to sue the news outlets reporting on their allegations. Roy Moore says he doesn't care what the Republican establishment wants him to do.

Roy Moore says he isn't going anywhere -- except the US Senate.

What Moore's not saying, but has become clear enough to anyone paying attention, is that he is following a path mapped by President Donald Trump during the 2016 campaign: Deny everything, browbeat the women who come forward (and chill the waters for those who might yet) with legal threats and attack the press for investigating and publishing stories about their claims.

Trump, first through his prolonged silence and then with his remarks on Tuesday, has proven himself an increasingly willing ally. A Republican source told CNN that Trump privately doubts Moore's accusers and views the current situation as analogous to his own. Before leaving Washington for the holiday, the President publicly put in his lot with Moore.

"He denies. I mean, Roy Moore denies it," Trump said, adding for clarity: "And, by the way, he gives a total denial."