Falwell Jr. Quotes Scripture, Blames Sessions, After Trump Lawyer Pleads Guilty to Porn Star Payoff
Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. quoted the Bible and blamed Attorney General Jeff Sessions in response to news that former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to paying off a porn star and Playboy playmate at the direction of Donald Trump.
On Tuesday, Cohen pleaded guilty to eight criminal counts, including tax fraud and campaign finance violations tied to his involvement in Donald Trump's presidential campaign.
These included payments Cohen made to porn star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy playmate Karen McDougal to keep quiet about alleged affairs.
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While Cohen, who is facing up to 65 years in prison for his actions, never directly mentioned the president, the court filings do reference a "candidate," which clearly alludes to Trump.
According to Cohen's lawyer, Lanny Davis, Cohen "testified under oath that Donald Trump directed him to commit a crime by making payments to two women for the principal purpose of influencing an election."
In response to the news, Falwell blamed Sessions, due to Cohen's plea deal being connected to the special counsel's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, which Sessions has refused to halt.
"By their fruits, ye shall know them," tweeted Falwell, quoting Matthew 7:20. "Today, we saw the fruits of @jeffsessions but it is too little too late! The AG sewed the wind but he will reap the whirlwind in November!"
Popular conservative social commentator Erick Erickson posted a reply to Falwell's tweet on Wednesday morning, declaring "Even the devil can quote scripture, Jerry."
"You're using this line to attack Jeff Sessions while cheering on a man who cheated on his pregnant wife with porn stars," tweeted Erickson.
One of the first prominent evangelical leaders to endorse the Trump campaign, Falwell has attacked Sessions on social media in the past.
Earlier this month, Falwell called Sessions a "phony" after the Attorney General refused to halt the ongoing Russian interference investigation.
"Strangely @jeffsessions appeared unannounced at @LibertyU the night before the 2016 election on a bus tour. I told students but could get almost none of them to come hear him. Could it be our students were the first to see he was a phony pretending to be pro- @realDonaldTrump?" tweeted Falwell on August 2.
And on August 10, Falwell tweeted that Sessions "maybe" should be imprisoned for his failure to shut down the Russia investigation, which led to Cohen's guilty plea and the conviction of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort on Tuesday.
According to BuzzFeed, Falwell and Cohen have known each other since 2012, and they had conversations about a lawsuit involving a Falwell-owned hostel in Miami and a young pool attendant. Cohen was also responsible for securing Falwell's endorsement of Trump.
BuzzFeed cited an unnamed source described as having knowledge of the Trump campaign, who claimed that Cohen was so confident in Falwell Jr.'s support that even before Trump announced his plan to run for president, Cohen and Trump assured others that Falwell would support the campaign.
