Comedian Tom Arnold is linked to a bizarre relationship between Michael Cohen and evangelical leader Jerry Falwell Jr. that led to an endorsement of Donald Trump in 2016.
Cohen, who was Donald Trump's former "fixer," and who is currently behind bars for lying to Congress and federal campaign violations, recalled a conversation with the conservative Christian leader seeking consult for racy photographs.
The conversation was covertly recorded by Arnold on March 25 and was obtained by the Wall Street Journal.
According to Reuters, Falwell, who is the president of the ultra-Christian Liberty University, hired Cohen in 2015 to help keep "a bunch of photographs, personal photographs" from being exposed to the public months before endorsing Trump in the 2016 presidential election.
Cohen was Trump's personal lawyer at the time and also worked for the Trump organization.
The nature of Falwell's photographs were described to be kept "between husband and wife."
Cohen told Arnold, "I actually have one of the photos," and described the image as "terrible" without going into specifics.
Reuters mentioned how a source "familiar with Cohen's thinking" described the corrupt attorney's handling of the scandal.
"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."
It was dealt swiftly, and the public's eyes were spared.
"The matter was soon resolved, the source said, and the lawyer told Cohen that all of the photographs were destroyed."
Two sources told Reuters that Cohen convinced Falwell to endorse then-candidate Donald Trump before the Iowa caucuses, and the sources added that the endorsement was an isolated request apart from the racy photographs.
Falwell's endorsement of Trump in 2016 was instrumental in gaining favor from evangelicals during the campaign.
Christians formerly concerned about Trump's unholy behavior from the past forgave him as a repentant sinner.
If the "personal" photos are somewhere out there, we have but one request.
Our sanity depends on it.
@kileywrestling/Bluesky
