Jerry Falwell Jr. has been the king of hypocrisy, presiding over a Christian “university” (actually, a profit-making real estate scheme) that imposes absurdly restrictive moral standards on its students, while romping about in a hedonistic life style, he and his wife indulging in all kinds of sexy escapades. Pick one or the other, guy!
It’s all over now. Falwell finally gets the axe.
Jerry Falwell Jr. has agreed to resign as president of Liberty University on Monday, according to a school official. The move came after a series of personal scandals rocked the evangelical university he has led since 2007.
Opposition to his presidency had been growing but came to a dramatic head after two new reports about a young man Falwell and his wife befriended at a Florida pool, went into business with and who allegedly was sexually connected to the couple. One report painted Falwell as the victim of an obsessive affair; the other as an eager participant manipulating a naive young man.
I’m sure a cushy deal was struck to get his slimy head out of the all-important money-making enterprise, and he won’t be suffering at all. Now the real fun can begin!
I’m willing to be that quitting his position doesn’t end his financial involvement with the “university”.
and here I thought the Catholics had a monopoly on scandal
uncle frogy
Well, as far as the priests are concerned, they don’t just like to watch.
It ain’t over ’til it’s over.
Falwell denies reports of his resignation
Surely he would be going immediately to speak at the Republican Trumpfest?
From the blog Balloon juice: “I’m sure a lot of stories will be written about the sexual details of this relationship, but the fucking disgrace of it all is that a charitable organization was flying around young men in its private jet for assignations, and large sums of money were given to these guys. This isn’t (just) a sexual scandal, it’s a fraud scandal, and Falwell should go to jail for stealing money from donors and violating the tax code. I’m just going to guess that the fraud won’t be the headline in most papers. Fuck who you want how you want, as long as its consensual and no minors are involved, but unless hotwifing is a tenet of your religion, pay your fucking taxes on the money you use to transport, house and employ your fuckbois.
https://www.balloon-juice.com/2020/08/24/its-not-the-sex-its-the-hypocrisy/
I wouldn’t be too worried about Jr., he doubtless still has plenty of the money that Daddy Falwell grifted from the marks for all those years. He’ll be doing just fine and, of course, he’ll “repent of his sins” and be forgiven by the evangelical chumps he’s been bilking. There is no hypocrisy too flagrant, no excess too far for them to forgive and welcome the “sinner” back into the fold and back into their next grift. As an example, see Jim Baker.
Even if he really leaves, he’ll still be on speed-dial for right-wingers who want to start their own grafts to use as a consultant. (Remember: the same people who ran the campaign to sell the public ambiguity about the health risks of tobacco were also the ones who were used to campaign for Apartheid South Africa and for ambiguity about climate change. An experienced grifter has portable skills!)
@8
“An experienced grifter has portable skills!”
Must be what Trump’s counting on at this point too.
@#9, Ray Ceeya:
Nah, I’m thinking more flip-the-table-and-run. Grab everything from the White House that isn’t nailed down, order the military to bomb New York, and then take Air Force One to Brazil or Bolivia at gunpoint.
come on you know where he will go and it ain’t going to be some south american dump with an unstable government he will go to where the boss of bosses is and find a nice place he can run his businesses from right where Snowden went maybe even get that Moscow tower.
uncle frogy
@11
As wonderful as that image of former President Trump taking flight to avoid prosecution is, I don’t think it’s going to happen. Biden takes charge in January and makes a speech that says something along the lines of,
“Build bridges not walls”… “Put the ugliness of the Trump presidency behind us”… Blah blah blah, shallow platitudes, and Trump gets away scott free.
I’m picturing Trump going back to TV. He’ll probably end up with his own show on OANN and a regular guest appearance on Fox News. As much as we all wish that he would, he’s not going away. Once he’s unhindered by the office of the President he’s free to make even more outrageous claims and lies. The RNC has a real Frankenstein’s Monster on their hands. Serves ’em right.
@5:
Well yeah, you know the Repubs would love to have him at the convention to appeal to the swing voters…
@#11, unclefrogy:
His wife knows enough about Putin’s methods to not want to go there once they can no longer make an argument in favor of letting them go, whereas both the governments of both Bolivia and Brazil basically exist because of right-wing American intervention, and both leaders are buddies with Trump and would welcome an infusion of cash via black-market sales of former Presidential secrets/treasures.
@#12, Ray Ceeya:
That covers the federal charges, and you’re absolutely right that Trump has nothing to fear from Biden — no President wants to set a precedent that Presidents can be held responsible for what they do in office, and the only person who can order a former president to be investigated and prosecuted for federal crimes is the current President. But nobody can protect Trump from the state-level lawsuits that are waiting for him, which are basically deferred but not cancelled because he is President, and there are at least two up-and-coming prosecutors who want to make a name taking him down. He has to get somewhere the state prosecutors can’t reach him ASAP.
the problem with brazil is there is no guarantee it will stay a right wing government in fact. It has changed before and will do so again and probably sooner then the current regime believes.
he would be better off in Turkey.
Why would you think he has any loyalty to his current wife. I am sure the pre-nup has got her pretty tied up he screws everyone in his deals why would be not screw her. If he goes where ever she has to go or get nothing.
it ain’t the feds he will be fleeing it is the states courts that will unravel the whole rotten business. There are federal crimes as well but there is some doubt that they will be pursued time will tell.
uncle frogy
Ray Ceeya@12,
I’m not sure. Biden can block federal charges against Trump – or issue a pardon at that level, but not state charges.
I think Trump’s family, vapid though most of them are, are smart enough to listen to a warning against Putin. Putin doesn’t give anything away for free, and they’d be completely at his mercy if they fled there — he could strip their possessions and turn them over to the US, or just disappear them. Trump’s in debt and after he’s out of office he will have no leverage whatsoever. And since Brazil in particular is home to a lot of Nazi and right-wing idiots, the Trumps would be able to carve out a niche there without being totally dependent on Bolsonaro.
@16
He doesn’t have to block anything, he only has to choose not to pursue them. Even if Biden wins and fumigates the Justice Department, his new DOJ would have to pursue federal charges. I don’t see that happening. At this point I don’t think there’s anything state level that could land him in jail either. I’m pretty sure the slimy bastard is going to get away with it. I’d love to be proven wrong though.
Well, my husband doubles as “pool boy” (well, actually I’m the pool girl most of the time) and somehow me, the sex positive person who never shamed anybody for whom they love or not being married is missing out again…
But it’s obvious how Falwell is throwing not only the guy (that is to be expected), but also his wife under the bus (thinking about it, that’s also to be expected).
Ray Ceeya@18,
By “block” I just meant “appoint an Attorney General who won’t pursue federal charges”. But at state level, what about the SDNY subpoena of Trump’s tax records, based on something like (I can’t recall the exact phrase) a pattern of longrunning possibly illegal actions by the Trump Organization? I’d be pretty sure Trump has committed crimes under the statutes of multiple states, and optimistic there will be enough people at that level keen to pursue him.
If Trump does want to flee, he could go to the land of his mother; the Outer Hebrides. Maybe the Scots could be persuaded to grant him a croft on a remote island. No McDonalds or KFC, but I’ve heard seaweed is quite nutritious.
People from the Right tends to preach against things that tempt them. That includes infidelity and homosexuality, as well as monetary cheating.
But when they get power, they use it. They believe everybody is corrupted the same way as they are.
People who are comfortable with their own sexuality aren’t threatened by homosexuality.
I saw an article this morning saying that Falwell may be reneging on is resignation. Another said that Liberty University has not yet accepted his resignation.
Putin does not seem to have any trouble at all reaching out and removing people who he wants, borders mean little in that regard, people get “sick” and die and no one knows why or how. He really does not like people who try and screw him . there is no where to run to and no place to hide for agent orange it is all going to come out sooner or later.
uncle frogy
Rob Grigjanis @ 21
What on earth could the Outer Hebrides have possibly done to deserve that?
stroppy @25: Helped spawn the bastard. That it was inadvertent is no excuse.
Erm, well, the monstrosity was raised, shaped, and allowed to fester and erupt here. It’s kinda our responsibility to bundle it up and stuff it into a corner of Gitmo before it flees and builds a nest in somebody else’s house.