By Mona Austin
Embattled Liberty University President Jerry Falwell, Jr. resigned on Monday amid a sex scandal. Falwell tried to get ahead of the brimming controversy by releasing a statement Sunday admitting his wife Becki had an affair with a former business partner who threatened to blackmail them unless he receveid a large sum of money. The now ex-Chancellor wrote, "Becki had an inappropriate personal relationship with this person, something in which I was not involved – it was nonetheless very upsetting to learn about.”
This revelation continues a thread of accusations about inappropriate conduct that has clouded his image as a leader of an uber-Conservative institution. Falwell had alrady taken an indefinite leave of absence from the school earlier in Augsut when a photo of him standing next to a woman with his pants unzipped on a yahct surfaced. The Board of Trustees at the school requested his departure at the time. The formal resignation arrives as Giancarlo Granda exposed the relationship he had with Becki to Reuters. In an exclusive he said Mr. Falwell not only knew about the affair, but participated as a voyeur.
“Becki and I developed an intimate relationship and Jerry enjoyed watching from the corner of the room,” Granda alleged. That affair lasted over a year. Falwell denies he particpated in any way.
Jerry Falwell Sr, a prominent evangelical leader founded Liberty University. While the younger Falwell was not a member of clergy, he failed to reflect Conservative family values endowed by his family name since his father’s death in 2007.
The AP reports:
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Jerry Falwell Jr. resigned Monday from his leadership post at evangelical Liberty University amid allegations related to his wife’s sexual encounters with a much younger business partner, according to a school official.
A formal announcement from the school was expected later Monday, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss it.
The resignation came a day after Falwell issued a statement to The Washington Examiner publicly disclosing that his wife had an affair and saying the man involved had been threatening to reveal the relationship “to deliberately embarrass my wife, family, and Liberty University unless we agreed to pay him substantial monies.”
Hours before Falwell resigned, Reuters reported that Falwell knew of his wife’s affair and participated in some of the liaisons as a voyeur.
In Falwell’s statement Sunday, he said he was seeking mental health counseling after dealing with fallout from the extramarital affair. He said he was not involved in the relationship.
Falwell’s statement also said the person with whom Becki Falwell had the affair had threatened to reveal the relationship unless “we agreed to pay him substantial monies.”
“Over the course of the last few months this person’s behavior has reached a level that we have decided the only way to stop this predatory behavior is to go public,” the statement said.
Falwell, an early and ardent supporter of President Donald Trump, had already been on an indefinite leave since early August as president and chancellor of the Lynchburg university founded by his late father, the Rev. Jerry Falwell Sr.