Jerry Falwell, Jr., the President and Chancellor of Liberty University, has been asked to take an indefinite leave of absence, just days after he posted, deleted, and later offered a strange and some say possibly intoxicated explanation about a photo showing him and a young woman in a strange state of undress.
MSNBC’s Jesse Rodriguez:
National Review’s David French adds the request came from the Board of Trustees:
Liberty University is one of the world’s largest Christian universities. Falwell, Jr. is a close ally to President Donald Trump. This is far from his first stunning scandal.
This is one of a few photos he posted Monday. There was a strange video as well. All were quickly deleted.
Falwell, Jr. then called into a local Virginia radio station, explaining the woman his arm was wrapped around was his wife’s assistant.
“You know it was weird, cause she was, she’s pregnant, she couldn’t get her pants up, and I was, trying to like – my, I had on a pair of jeans I haven’t worn in a long time so I couldn’t get mine zipped either,” Falwell told WLNI. “And so I just put my belly – I just put my belly out like hers, and it was just, um, she’s my wife’s assistant and she’s a sweetheart. I should never have put it up and embarrassed her because, um, anyway, I’ve apologized to everybody and I promised my kids, I’m gonna try to be a good boy from here on out.”
Rep. Mark Walker (R-NC) called Falwell’s behavior “appalling,” and called for him to step down.
Related:
This is a breaking news and developing story. Details may change. This story will be updated, and NCRM will likely publish follow-up stories on this news. Stay tuned and refresh for updates.