Liberty University Launches Independent Investigation Of Jerry Falwell Jr.’s Tenure As President After Years Of Scandals

Liberty University announced Monday that it is launching an independent investigation into the full tenure of its former president Jerry Falwell Jr. who was forced to resign last week amid allegations of sexual impropriety.

Falwell served as president and chancellor of the evangelical university since 2007.

In a press release, the executive committee of Liberty University’s Board of Trustees said that it hired a third-party firm to investigate “all facets of Liberty University operations” during Falwell’s almost 13-year stint. 

It also added that the investigations would delve deeper into all Falwell’s operations, including “financial, real estate and legal matters.”

The board’s announcement comes after Falwell officially resigned last week. Falwell had resigned formally after accusations of a sexual affair between a former Miami hotel pool attendant, Giancarlo Granda, and his wife Becki Falwell.

Falwell had previously agreed to take an “indefinite leave of absence” at the school’s trustees’ request after unprofessional photos from a yacht vacation had also surfaced.

In the pictures, Falwell was featured with his pants unzipped and his arms around a young woman, whose pants were also were unzipped, holding what appeared to be alcohol. He had posted the image to social media and almost immediately deleted it after. However, a Houston Chronicle reporter already retained a copy and shared it over Twitter.

The photo almost immediately went viral. He later apologized for the photo and for “embarrassing” the young woman.

In a statement, the Falwell family said that they support the university’s board and “welcome any inquiry as we have nothing to hide.”

After the death of his father Rev. Jerry Falwell Sr., Falwell Jr. became president of Liberty University.

Falwell has remained in the headlines in recent years, mainly because of his business dealings and his support of President Donald Trump.

“Some may say that all the signs were there for a long time before last week,” the board said in its announcement. “It’s certainly fair to say that there were questionable comments made, worrying behavior, and inappropriate social media posts, but all the signs were not there until the start of last week.”

Article by Emily Bevacqua