Longtime former Trump fixer Michael Cohen told CNN that he helped evangelical leader Jerry Falwell Jr. prevent the release of revealing photos.
Falwell resigned as president of Liberty University on Monday after Giancarlo Granda, a longtime business associate, alleged that he had a yearslong affair with Falwell’s wife Becki while Jerry watched.
The Falwells have acknowledged that Becki had an affair but deny that Jerry Falwell was involved.
Granda said he met the couple as a pool boy at a Miami hotel.
The Falwells accused Granda of trying to extort the couple, which he denies.
Cohen helped:
Cohen told CNN that he intervened to block the release of revealing photos of the Falwells years earlier.
"These were personal photos between a husband and wife," Cohen said.
The former attorney initially said he confronted Granda’s attorney but later changed his story and told CNN that he negotiated with another attorney who was representing a family that had sued Falwell and Granda over a land deal.
"Jerry and Becki (were) very upset at the prospect of its (the photos') potential public release," Cohen said.
Cohen denies Trump quid pro quo:
Rumors have swirled that Falwell agreed to endorse Trump in 2016 after Cohen helped with the photos but Cohen denied the claims on Wednesday, telling CNN that he and Falwell had been friends for years.
"There is absolutely no connection between the photos and my personal request to the Falwells to assist the Trump campaign," Cohen said.
Falwell previously told the Washington Post that someone stole racy photos from his phone that showed him and his wife.
"They weren't fully nude," Falwell said. "They were just pictures of my wife. I was proud of how she looked."
