Mary Margaret Olohan, DCNF

• Jerry Falwell Jr. has reportedly resigned from his role as President of Liberty University, according to Religion News Service.
• The news comes after a business partner of Jerry Falwell Jr. said that he had an affair with Falwell’s wife for years while the Liberty University president watched.
• “Becki and I developed an intimate relationship and Jerry enjoyed watching from the corner of the room,” 29-year-old Giancarlo Granda told Reuters in an interview.
• Falwell said Sunday that his wife had an “inappropriate personal relationship,” but added that he “was not involved.”

Jerry Falwell Jr. resigned from his position as president of Liberty University, Religion News Service reported Monday, following allegations that Falwell watched while his wife had a sexual relationship with Falwell’s business partner.

Giancarlo Granda alleges that he began his relationship with the couple in March 2012 when he was 20-years-old working at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach hotel, according to a Reuters story published Monday. Granda told the publication that he and Becki Falwell had sex “multiple times per year” while Jerry Falwell watched over the course of six years: from 2012 until 2018.

“Becki and I developed an intimate relationship and Jerry enjoyed watching from the corner of the room,” 29-year-old Granda told Reuters in an interview.

Falwell resigned from his position Monday, according to nonprofit outlet Religion News Service, after he told the Washington Examiner in a lengthy Sunday night statement that his wife had an “inappropriate personal relationship” with which Falwell “was not involved.”

That statement came before Reuter’s story containing Granda’s allegations. Falwell declined to provide further information to the Daily Caller News Foundation beyond his statements to the Examiner.

A close friend unsolicitedly contacted the DCNF Monday afternoon, saying that Falwell denied the entire Reuters story.

The encounters took place in hotels in Miami and New York and at the Falwell’s Virginia home, according to Granda, who said that his relationship with the couple turned south when he attempted to negotiate a buyout with the Falwells over a business arrangement he had with them.

Granda provided Reuters with emails, texts, audio recordings and screenshots of a FaceTime call. In a series of texts from June examined by Reuters, Granda reportedly threatened to “take the kamikaze route” and accused Jerry Falwell of “ruining his life.”

“It really is a shame because I wanted to reach a peaceful resolution and just move on with our lives but if conflict is what you want, then so be it,” Granda added, according to Reuters.

“You should by now understand that I will not be extorted,” Falwell told Granda in the text exchange, the publication reported. “I have always treated you fairly and been restrained in response to your threats because I did not wish to ruin your life. Going forward, stop contacting me and my family.”

“During a vacation over eight years ago, Becki and I met an ambitious young man who was working at our hotel and was saving up his money to go to school,” Falwell told the Examiner.”We encouraged him to pursue an education and a career and we were impressed by his initiative in suggesting a local real estate opportunity,” he continued. “My family members eventually made an investment in a local property, included him in the deal because he could play an active role in managing it, and became close with him and his family.”

BuzzFeed News previously reported in May 2018 that the Falwells backed Granda in opening a South Beach, Miami hostel described by Politico Magazine as a “cesspool of vice.”Falwell said that it was “very upsetting” to learn about his wife’s affair with Granda and that his distress over the affair caused him to lose 80 pounds.

“People who saw me regularly thought that I was physically unwell, when in reality I was just balancing how to be most supportive of Becki, who I love, while also reflecting and praying about whether there were ways I could have been more supportive of her and given her proper attention,” he said in the statement.

“I was and have always remained fully devoted to Becki and we have shared many private conversations to better understand and support each other and to strengthen our marriage,” he added. “Thankfully, our love has never been stronger. Becki and I forgave each other, because while her indiscretion may have been more obvious and apparent, I realized that there were important smaller things I needed to do better too.”

Falwell accused Granda of repeatedly threatening to expose the affair for many years. Granda denied the accusations of extortion to the Examiner. “Any allegation of extortion is falsely, defamatory and belied by clear documentary evidence. The Falwell’s attempt to sandbag me, and the Examiner, with a last minute story without providing the Examiner clear evidence that this was not simply an ‘affair’ with concocted allegations of extortion reeks desperation. The WHOLE truth will come out,” Granda said.

The Executive Committee of Liberty University’s Board of Trustees requested earlier in August that Falwell take a leave of absence from his role as president and chancellor of the school following backlash over a photo Falwell posted to Instagram. The photo depicted Falwell with his pants unbuttoned and his arm around the waist of a woman.

Falwell agreed to the board’s request, the university announced August 7.

Liberty University said in a Friday statement that the university had not made a decision whether to retain Falwell as president, according to Reuters. The university did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the DCNF.

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