It sounds like the plot of a lurid page turner, but this story is true – and it’s just getting weirder.
Falwell’s dismissal follows allegations by a former Miami hotel pool assistant, Giancarlo Granda, who said he had had intimate relationships with Falwell’s wife, Becki, for years while watching Falwell.
Now Michael Cohen, the former personal lawyer and fixer for President Trump, tells CNN that he intervened to ensure that public photos of the Falwells were not made public in 2015.
“These were personal photos between a man and a woman,” Cohen told CNN.
Initially, Cohen told CNN that he confronted Granda’s lawyer about the photos. But later on Wednesday, Cohen corrected himself.
He said he was negotiating with another lawyer representing a father and son who had sued Falwell and Granda over a land deal. The son, Jesus Fernandez Jr., later moved in with Falwell.
“Jerry and Becki (were) very upset about the prospect of their (the photos’) possible public release,” Cohen continued.
Cohen said he and the Falwells are friends
Cohen told CNN that he had been friends with the Falwells for years and that his work on behalf of Falwell had nothing to do with Trump. Falwell was one of the first prominent evangelists to support Trump’s presidential campaign, at a time when most social conservatives favored other candidates.
“There is absolutely no connection between the photos and my personal request to the Falwells to help the Trump campaign,” Cohen said.
“They were not completely naked,” Falwell said. “It was just pictures of my wife. I was proud of how she looked.”
CNN has both Jerry Falwell Jr. as Becki Falwell reached out for comment.
Earlier this week, Granda told CNN that the Falwells were trying to discredit him by throwing fiction. He said the Falwells “would have you believe I seduced Becki into an affair, without Jerry’s knowledge, and then spent the intervening 7 years trying to blackmail them.”
“Of course the truth is, they approached me. They invited me to their hotel room. They offered me a self-employed partnership in a business venture,” he said, adding that they joined him on multiple trips and vacations.
In a statement released shortly before Granda’s story was revealed, Falwell Jr. acknowledged. the affair, but said he was “not involved.” He also said he had reconciled with his wife and sought professional help.
“I’m now dealing with things in a way I should have before,” he said, “including seeking to address the emotional toll this has taken.”
Falwell also said Granda had tried to blackmail him and his wife, an accusation that Granda denies.
The big payoff from Falwell Jr.
As president and chancellor of the university, Falwell was paid about $ 1.25 million a year.
The school said Tuesday that Falwell’s dismissal had been accepted, effective immediately.
In recent years, Falwell has been one of the country’s most prominent evangelists, with a fine perch at the most successful university. The son of Rev. Jerry Falwell, who died in 2007, raised Falwell Jr. the profile of the school – and the finances – sharply as president.
Falwell’s departure from school came after a tumultuous 24 hours filled with conflicting reports about his fate. On Monday, the university said Falwell had agreed to resign as president of Liberty, but then withdrew his resignation later that day.
This story has been updated with new information from Michael Cohen, who told CNN that he spoke incorrectly in an earlier statement.
.
