Falwell reportedly on way out after disclosures
The leadership of Jerry Falwell Jr., one of the most prominent evangelical supporters of President Trump, appeared to be nearing an end at Liberty University after a report emerged Monday of sexual indiscretions involving Falwell, his wife and a pool attendant.
Top officials at Liberty, which Falwell helped build into a hugely influential, $1.6 billion center of evangelical power, were seeking to finalize the terms of Falwell’s departure as the university’s president and chancellor.
The situation was confusing Monday night, with a school spokesman telling news organizations that Falwell had resigned, Falwell denying those reports, and an official with knowledge of the behindthescenes drama asserting that the terms were still being negotiated.
“Falwell has not yet resigned but he’s in negotiations with the school over his future,” said a person who was in touch with key players in the negotiations
Monday but was not authorized to speak on the record.
On Monday evening Falwell told Virginia Business, a local monthly magazine, that reports of his resignation were “completely false” and that he did not plan to step down.
It was clear that Falwell’s support had eroded.
Late on Monday evening, the university released a statement saying that Falwell had initially agreed to resign before reversing course. His actions came after the board’s executive committee met Monday morning.
“Falwell responded by agreeing to resign immediately as President of Liberty University today but then instructed his attorneys to not tender the letter for immediate resignation,” the statement said. The executive committee and the full board plan to meet Tuesday.
“It’s a mess,” said Dustin Wahl, cofounder of Save 71, a new Liberty alumni group calling for Falwell’s resignation.”
Falwell has been on a leave of absence since Aug. 7, after an uproar over a photograph he posted to Instagram that depicted him with his pants partially unzipped and his arm around a woman he later said was his wife’s assistant.
On Monday, a business associate named Giancarlo Granda alleged in an interview with Reuters that he had regular sexual liaisons with Falwell’s wife, Becki, as Falwell looked on, after meeting the couple as a young pool attendant at a hotel in Miami in 2012.