A former US Senate candidate is suing comedian Sacha Baron Cohen over a prank on the Who Is America? TV show.

Republican Roy Moore, who is also a former chief justice of the Supreme Court of Alabama, filed a defamation suit for $95 million against Mr Cohen, the Showtime network and the CBS corporation in a federal court in Washington DC.

Moore was among those duped by the Borat and Ali-G star for his latest TV show.

In the sketch, Mr Cohen appears as a supposed Israeli security expert 'Erran Morad' while interviewing Mr Moore.

The comedian produces a fake device which he claims detects sex offenders and pedophiles.

The fake device 'beeps' when pointed at Mr Moore, prompting the 71-year-old to walk out of the interview.

Mr Moore says he travelled to Washington DC for the interview after being falsely told he would be receiving an award based on his support for Israel.

In the lawsuit, Mr Moore's lawyers said the stunt "has severely harmed Judge Moore’s reputation" and caused his family "severe emotional distress".

The court documents add that the financial, reputation and emotional damage has been particularly severe given Mr Moore's status as a "prominent conservative and a God fearing person of faith".

Mr Moore ran for a Senate seat in Alabama last year, but was ultimately defeated by Democrat Doug Jones.

The Republican candidate faced several allegations of sexual misconduct, relating to alleged incidents from several decades ago, during the race - claims he vehemently denies.