Falwell Hops On Fox Radio To Deny Deal With Cohen To Handle Racy Photos

CLEVELAND, OH - JULY 21:  on the fourth day of the Republican National Convention on July 21, 2016 at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump received the number of votes needed to secure the party's nomination. An estimated 50,000 people are expected in Cleveland, including hundreds of protesters and members of the media. The four-day Republican National Convention kicked off on July 18. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH - JULY 21: President of Liberty University, Jerry Falwell Jr., delivers a speech during the evening session on the fourth day of the Republican National Convention on July 21, 2016 at the Quicken Loans... CLEVELAND, OH - JULY 21: President of Liberty University, Jerry Falwell Jr., delivers a speech during the evening session on the fourth day of the Republican National Convention on July 21, 2016 at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump received the number of votes needed to secure the party's nomination. An estimated 50,000 people are expected in Cleveland, including hundreds of protesters and members of the media. The four-day Republican National Convention kicked off on July 18. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images) MORE LESS
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

Liberty University President and Trump-evangelist Jerry Falwell declined to comment to Reuters when it published a piece on Tuesday about Michael Cohen’s efforts to get rid of some racy photos of evangelical leader.

But he was quick to hop on a Fox Radio program that same day and proclaim his innocence.

During an appearance on Fox Radio’s “Todd Starnes Show” Tuesday, Falwell told listeners of his friendship with Cohen, but said there are “no compromising or embarrassing photos” of him.

“While we have a long-standing friendship with Michael Cohen, we never engaged or paid Cohen to represent us in any legal or other professional capacity, and Cohen did not ever resolve any legal matter on our behalf,” Falwell told the Fox Radio host. “This report is not accurate.”

On Tuesday, Reuters reported that in the months before Falwell issued a shocking endorsement of then-candidate Trump, Cohen, then a fixer and personal lawyer for Trump, helped Falwell deal with a personal matter: someone was trying to blackmail the evangelical leader with racy photos.

Cohen reportedly recounted his work for the Falwells during a conversation with comedian Tom Arnold in March, which he secretly recorded. (In the same recording, Cohen also reportedly disavowed parts of his guilty plea.) Cohen reportedly helped the Falwells negotiate with the blackmailer’s lawyer and destroy the photos — which he described to Arnold as “terrible,” “personal,” the kind “between husband and wife.”

In early 2016, Cohen reportedly reached out to Falwell repeatedly to attempt to secure his support for Trump. Falwell eventually agreed and announced his backing just before the Iowa caucuses. Reuters sources said the photo problem and the endorsement were separate issues.

But Falwell’s bearhug of Trump — which included vouching for the thrice-married, ex-abortion supporter’s Christian values — is widely credited as the catalyst that shifted the white evangelical vote away from candidates like Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), who announced his presidential campaign at Liberty University in 2015, and toward Trump.

Correction: An earlier version of this post incorrectly stated that Reuters reported that Cohen handled the Falwell photos in exchange for an endorsement. TPM regrets this error. 

Latest News

Notable Replies

  1. And we are off… to the racy photos

  2. Non-denial denial to one of the most credulous audiences on radio. Starnes is the cosmic expression of off-the-charts conservative weeniehood.

  3. How to Confirm the Shit that Came Out About You Is True for Dummies.

  4. Starnes holds a special place in my heart haha. He truly is the embodiment of just how dumb a diet of religion and conservatism can make someone. His articles on Faux News are consistently hilarious in and of themselves AND for the total bashing he receives in the comment sections (which they’ve been not including alot of the time recently haha).

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

69 more replies

Participants

Avatar for valgalky23 Avatar for paulw Avatar for sandi Avatar for playitagainrowlf Avatar for closet_luddite Avatar for mondfledermaus Avatar for old_curmudgeon Avatar for mattinpa Avatar for bluinmaine Avatar for callmeeric Avatar for sniffit Avatar for sanni Avatar for nymund Avatar for tao Avatar for dickweed Avatar for hoagie Avatar for darrtown Avatar for castor_troy Avatar for marymaryquitecontrary Avatar for demosthenes59 Avatar for busdrivermike Avatar for gregor Avatar for occamscoin Avatar for rascal_crone

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: