Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore's wife defended him at a Friday press conference, saying allegations of sexual misconduct are untrue, and that President Trump should be grateful for the distraction.

"I personally think he owes us a thank you. Have you noticed you're not hearing too much about Russia?" Kayla Moore told a crowd of Moore-supporting women and TV cameras in Montgomery.

Unlike some Republican officials, Trump has not called on the embattled GOP candidate to drop out of the race ahead of Dec. 12 voting.

Kayla Moore told the crowd her husband's Democratic rival Doug Jones, who the most recent polls show now has a lead, is "for transgender bathrooms" and "against everything we in Alabama believe and stand for."

"The Washington Post has called everybody that I have ever known for the last 40 years," she said. "They print whatever anyone says without checking to even see if it is correct."

"To the people of Alabama," she said, "thank you for being smarter than they think you are."

The Washington Post reported last week that four women claimed Roy Moore romantically pursued them when he was in his 30s and they between the ages of 14 and 18, between 1979 and 1982. Accuser Leigh Corfman said he initiated sexual contact when she was 14.

A fifth accuser, Beverly Young Nelson, said Monday that Roy Moore attempted to force himself on her when she was 16 in the late 1970s. His team has suggested Nelson forged a yearbook inscription allegedly from Moore.

Four other accusers came forward this week, saying that when they were between 18 and 28 years old they were subject to unwanted touching or advances by Roy Moore.