Michael Cohen Says He Helped Jerry Falwell, Jr. Handle "Racy Photos" "Problem"

In my view, one of the major blights on Virginia is Liberty University, the right wing "Christian" university located in Lynchburg, Virginia (Pat Robertson's Regent University in Virginia Beach is another one) home base to the late Jerry Falwell and now is even more despicable son bearing his name.  One of the hallmarks of numerous "Christian" "leaders" is that they do not always practice what they preach, especially when it comes to sexual matters.  Now, former Trump fixer Michael Cohen says he aided Falwell, Jr., with a "racy photos" problem.  Even more delicious, he says that he still has one of the problem photos.  With Falwell's rabid support of Donald Trump, the man has already indicated he cares nothing about true Christian values and prefers political power - and wealth - over living the gospel message. Cohen's claim suggests that Falwell's hypocrisy extends to other aspects of his conduct as well.  Reuters reports on Cohen's claims.  Here are highlights: 

Months before evangelical leader Jerry Falwell Jr.’s game-changing presidential endorsement of Donald Trump in 2016, Falwell asked Trump fixer Michael Cohen for a personal favor, Cohen said in a recorded conversation reviewed by Reuters. 

Falwell, president of Liberty University, one of the world’s largest Christian universities, said someone had come into possession of what Cohen described as racy “personal” photographs — the sort that would typically be kept “between husband and wife,” Cohen said in the taped conversation.

According to a source familiar with Cohen’s thinking, the person who possessed the photos destroyed them after Cohen intervened on the Falwells’ behalf.  The Falwells, through a lawyer, declined to comment for this article.

Cohen, . . .  recounted his involvement in the matter in a recording made surreptitiously by comedian Tom Arnold on March 25. Portions of the recording — in which Cohen appeared to disavow parts of his guilty plea — were first reported April 24 by The Wall Street Journal.

The Falwells enlisted Cohen’s help in 2015, according to the source familiar with Cohen’s thinking, the year Trump announced his presidential candidacy. At the time, Cohen was Trump’s confidant and personal lawyer, and he worked for the Trump Organization.

The Falwells wanted to keep “a bunch of photographs, personal photographs” from becoming public, Cohen told Arnold. “I actually have one of the photos,” he said, without going into specifics. “It’s terrible.”

Cohen would later prove successful in another matter involving Falwell, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters. Cohen helped persuade Falwell to issue his endorsement of Trump’s presidential candidacy at a critical moment, they said: just before the Iowa caucuses. Falwell subsequently barnstormed with Trump and vouched for the candidate’s Christian virtues.

Cohen’s connection to the Falwells sheds light on the formidable alliance between Trump and a man who, through his university, is one of the most influential evangelical figures in America. Falwell’s backing helped galvanize evangelicals and persuaded many Christians concerned about Trump’s past behavior to embrace him as a repentant sinner.

Falwell’s support for Trump has not wavered throughout the New York celebrity-politician’s own tribulations, including the Access Hollywood recording of Trump talking about grabbing women’s genitals and payoffs made by Cohen to hide Trump’s extramarital affairs.

The Falwells told Cohen that someone had obtained photographs that were embarrassing to them, and was demanding money, the source said. Reuters was unable to determine who made the demand. The source said Cohen flew to Florida and soon met with an attorney for the person with the photographs. Cohen spoke with the attorney, telling the lawyer that his client was committing a crime, and that law enforcement authorities would be called if the demands didn’t stop, the source said.

The matter was soon resolved, the source said, and the lawyer told Cohen that all of the photographs were destroyed.

Soon after, according to this account, Falwell made his historic announcement. “I am proud to offer my endorsement of Donald J. Trump for President of the United States,” Falwell was quoted saying in a statement issued by the Trump campaign. “He is a successful executive and entrepreneur, a wonderful father and a man who I believe can lead our country to greatness again.”

Numerous other news sites are beginning to cover the story.  One can only hope the photo in Cohen's possession sees the light of day and that Falwell's perhaps less than godly Christian conduct is thrown in the face of his lemming -like followers.