WEBVTT FILE
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-You ready?
-Yep. All set.
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Downloaded from
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MAN 1:
All right. Ready to roll?
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MAN 2:
A camera rolling.
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Official YIFY movies site:
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GIANCARLO GRANDA:
Oh, shit, I don't--
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Let me mentally prepare myself
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'cause I know my parents
are gonna watch this one day.
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So, just-- Um...
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Look, if I would've known
that accepting this woman's invitation
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to go back to her hotel room
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would've led
to a scandal involving the president
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of the largest
Christian university in the world
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and the president of the United States,
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I would've walked away
and just enjoyed my private life.
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♪
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♪
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If you go
to the Fontainebleau on a Saturday,
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it looks like you're in Vegas.
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GIANCARLO:
And if you don't have the connections,
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you're gonna wait two hours in line.
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It's a big party scene,
everyone's having a good time,
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people are drinking, there's cabanas.
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People ordering bottle service,
spending a lot of money.
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The waitresses would get hit on,
you know, us guys would get hit on too.
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That's why it's a fun job.
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GIANCARLO:
My job as a pool attendant
at the Fontainebleau was very simple.
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Folding towels,
fixing the chairs, umbrellas,
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and just interact with the guests.
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GIANCARLO:
March 2012 was like any other day.
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I'm doing the usual, just, uh,
changing towels, talking to the guests.
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That day, I...
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I was flirting
with, you know, some girls.
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They were about my age.
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And then I look over,
you know, behind my shoulder,
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and I see this woman looking at me.
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She was just laying back,
sipping on a drink,
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and just eyeing me down,
just staring at me.
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She was actually snapping pictures of me.
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She was in her 40s,
more than twice my age.
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She was attractive.
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Yeah, she was a cougar.
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And I'm like,
"Why are you taking pictures of me?"
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And then she tells me,
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"Don't waste your time
with the younger ones.
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They don't know what they're doing."
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And at that moment, I knew
that she probably wanted something more.
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It started intensifying.
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She makes a proposition.
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She's like,
"You wanna go back to my hotel?"
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I'm like, "Let's go back. I'm down."
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Like, I-- I don't think any 20-year-old
would reject this proposition, right?
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If an attractive woman tells you
to go back to the hotel room,
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you're probably gonna take it.
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And then she told me,
"But one thing, though.
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My, uh, my husband wants to watch."
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♪
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REPORTER 1:
Jerry Falwell Jr. is officially out
as President of Liberty University.
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The evangelical leader resigning
from the college his father founded
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under a cloud of scandal.
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REPORTER 2:
His fall from grace was swift and steep.
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A one-time Miami pool attendant,
Giancarlo Granda,
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claiming he had a seven-year affair
with Falwell's wife, Becki,
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and that Falwell watched
when they were intimate.
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It is the latest
in a shocking string of scandals
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to hit one
of the most influential families
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in the evangelical Conservative movement.
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♪
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GIANCARLO:
I grew up in, uh, Westchester, Miami,
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which is a predominately Cuban,
working-class, uh, neighborhood.
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LILIA GRANDA:
He was a cute, little, blond baby.
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Everyone loved him-- Adorable.
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He was the typical,
annoying little brother.
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We have a seven-year difference.
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GIANCARLO:
My childhood was pretty much normal,
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you know, in Miami standards.
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Giancarlo may seem
a little aloof, a little guarded.
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That's just him
being a product of his upbringing.
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He was raised in a conservative
Catholic family in Miami.
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- Write to me, Jerry Falwell--
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His mom grew up
on The Old-Time Gospel Hour,
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courtesy of Jerry Falwell Sr.
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She was very religious.
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She was a true believer.
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As a child,
he was always the social kid.
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He made friends everywhere he went.
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- I went to a Catholic high school
called St. Brendan High School.
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LILIA:
Once he got into the teen years,
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there was a little bit of a switch in him.
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He got really into video games.
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It was an addiction.
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GIANCARLO:
Just spent an unhealthy amount of time
playing video games.
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It became a problem.
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My personality
just completely transformed.
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I started to isolate, withdraw.
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- He became introverted, antisocial.
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My ability to feel comfortable
in a social setting was, uh, compromised.
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Like, I just--
I didn't wanna be out with friends.
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I didn't feel comfortable.
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LILIA:
It was rough to experience
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'cause no one really knew
how to handle it.
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GIANCARLO:
My parents, my sister,
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they were very supportive
during that time.
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It was a dark period for me.
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- It was sad and-- and hard
for all of us, especially my parents
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because they didn't really know
how to handle it.
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After high school,
I told myself, "I need to change my life,"
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so I started eating healthy,
started working out.
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But I was still that shy, reserved kid.
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I still had insecurities.
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I wanted to-- to work and experience life,
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and-- and actually,
make money and save money.
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So I reached out to a friend
that worked at the Fontainebleau Hotel.
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- That's when he really started
coming out of his shell,
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dating girls, having a social life.
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He was doing good.
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He was excited about school,
excited about his future.
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I worked
at the Fontainebleau for one year.
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I was working full-time
and going to school part-time.
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There's days where I was making,
like, $200 to $500 a day in cash.
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It was pretty good for a 20-year-old.
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- From that dark time
when he was, like, 15
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to where he was at now,
like, it was just a different kid.
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When he started busting out,
that was a whole new world for him.
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And he went off the deep end head-first.
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♪
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GIANCARLO:
After my shift, I'm driving home.
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I tell my sister what's gonna happen.
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- This is a terrible idea.
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Like, this is weird.
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Who are these people? Where are they from?
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Are they just here in Miami
just to do sexual escapades?
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- She's like, "Oh,
this doesn't sound like a good idea."
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- There's only so much I could tell him.
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Like, once he makes up his mind
and is gonna do something,
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he's gonna do it.
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- I probably should've listened to her.
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♪
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- That's been our relationship
our entire lives.
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Like, if you'd just listened to me
from the beginning,
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your life would be a lot easier.
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GIANCARLO:
That night, I get a phone call
from a blocked private number,
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and, uh, it was the woman.
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She said, "We rented a hotel room
at the Days Inn just around the block."
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They didn't wanna
do it at the Fontainebleau
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'cause their kids were staying there.
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♪
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LILIA:
My brother calls me on his way
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so someone knew what he was doing
and where he was going.
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In case things got weird,
someone knew where to go to get him.
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GIANCARLO:
I walk into the-- to the lobby.
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I'm nervous.
I'm like, "What the hell am I doing?"
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Again, this is a very stupid scenario
I got myself into.
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And I'm trying to talk myself out of it,
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but then, I'm also thinking,
"Eh, who cares? I'll just do this."
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I was a horny 20-year-old.
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Uh, there-- There really
is no other explanation other than that.
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MARK:
This guy was as green as they come.
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He never even had
a high school girlfriend.
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GIANCARLO:
She's sitting there on the couch.
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I sit down. I'm nervous.
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She's like, "Hey, I'm Becki.
Take this to-- to calm down."
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She told me that,
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"The night before, we were
at a swingers club called Miami Velvet."
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I'm like, "Oh, shit."
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"No, that's not our thing,
it's too public.
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"We want something more private.
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"We were looking around for other people,
and you were perfect."
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She stroked my inner thigh.
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She did a very good job at seducing me.
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And the Jack Daniels definitely helped.
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And she said, "All right,
let's just go up to the room."
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I'm like,
"All right. Shit, let's do it."
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♪
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It's a small hotel room. There's two beds.
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As I walk in, it's just her husband,
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he's laying on the bed,
jeans are unzipped.
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He's having a drink,
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kinda giggling to himself
'cause he-- he's excited.
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We did small talk, trying to just get
comfortable with each other.
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I told the husband, I'm like,
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"Hey, if you get jealous,
or you don't like this
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"and you-- you don't want me here,
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just let me know
and I'll walk out, no problem."
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"Oh, no.
Don't worry about it. Just go for it.
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I'm gonna sit right here,
and, uh, you guys do your thing."
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We start kissing,
we were feeling each other up.
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And then she said, "Anything but.
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No penetration,
no actual sex, just oral sex."
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We're kissing, and,
you know, we go back to the bed.
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Oh, shit, I don't--
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Yeah, it's-- Ev-- Ev--
Whenever I think of it,
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I just-- I cringe
at the thought of it but...
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♪
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The husband gets up,
and I get-- I get a little nervous.
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I'm like, "What is he doing behind me?"
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Uh, but he goes to the corner of the room.
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He took off his jeans
and then he just started, uh, jacking off.
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MARK:
Let's talk about cuck theory.
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Ultimately, it's a guy who likes to watch.
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"I'm fulfilled on a sexual level
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by watching my wife
with a Cuban stallion."
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I kept looking back,
and I saw him, like, in the corner.
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He was trying to hide.
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He didn't want
himself being exposed or anything.
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He just wanted to observe the situation.
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I wish the husband wasn't there.
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That would've been a better situation.
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That's what
I was telling myself at the time.
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As a horny 20-year-old,
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I'm like, "I'm gonna block this out,
I'm gonna have sex with this cougar."
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Instantly, like,
there was this connection.
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She was staring at me.
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I could tell that
she obviously wanted to do this again.
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♪
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The next day,
we hung out again at the Fontainebleau.
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I knew what
I was getting myself into at that point.
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After we finished,
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we actually hung out and we talked.
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And they said what their names were,
you know, Jerry and Becki.
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"Wow, nice to meet you guys."
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They said that
they help out a lot of young people,
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and if I ever need help
that they can definitely help me out.
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We were talking about politics.
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We had, you know, common beliefs.
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I-- I was raised Republican.
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I remember Becki said, "He's perfect."
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It was nice connecting with them
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and just humanizing the situation.
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It wasn't just these strangers anymore.
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After they left Miami,
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she gave me a really good review
on Tripadvisor.
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I didn't have her last name.
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I didn't really know who they were,
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until I-- I got an email on March 22nd.
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And it actually came from Jerry.
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It was a picture of us that we took
at the Fontainebleau Hotel.
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There's a picture with me and Becki,
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and then one with Jerry.
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He sent the email saying,
"Becki wanted me to send this to you."
241
00:12:06.101 --> 00:12:10.439
- Immediately, I was like, "Who?"
242
00:12:10.439 --> 00:12:12.399
- And she's like, "Oh, Jerry Falwell?"
243
00:12:12.399 --> 00:12:13.734
She-- She recognized the name.
244
00:12:13.734 --> 00:12:17.154
She's like, "Isn't that,
like, the famous pastor, preacher?"
245
00:12:17.154 --> 00:12:18.363
- Wait a minute. Hold on.
246
00:12:18.363 --> 00:12:22.993
This cannot be the same people
that I'm thinking about right now.
247
00:12:22.993 --> 00:12:24.786
- And I'm like,
"I-- I honestly don't even know."
248
00:12:26.038 --> 00:12:27.456
So I ended up googling him.
249
00:12:29.541 --> 00:12:32.377
- Becki, would you stand
in your Liberty Flames dress?
250
00:12:35.672 --> 00:12:37.841
I think it's very fitting
that she's wearing that dress
251
00:12:37.841 --> 00:12:40.302
because I believe
she's the hottest first lady
252
00:12:40.302 --> 00:12:41.887
of any college in the country.
253
00:12:44.640 --> 00:12:47.017
GIANCARLO:
"Oh, so he's the President
of Liberty University."
254
00:12:47.017 --> 00:12:49.603
I didn't know what Liberty University was,
never heard of it.
255
00:12:56.235 --> 00:12:58.570
- Liberty University
is a one-of-a-kind school
256
00:12:58.570 --> 00:13:00.113
in Lynchburg, Virginia.
257
00:13:00.113 --> 00:13:03.283
It's a nonprofit Christian university,
258
00:13:03.283 --> 00:13:06.578
where both students and faculty
practice what they preach.
259
00:13:12.042 --> 00:13:14.044
GIANCARLO:
I knew immediately
that they were successful,
260
00:13:14.044 --> 00:13:17.798
and then I started learning that they were
not just successful and had money,
261
00:13:17.798 --> 00:13:19.842
but they were powerful and well-connected.
262
00:13:19.842 --> 00:13:23.470
- My father founded
Thomas Road Baptist Church in 1956.
263
00:13:23.470 --> 00:13:25.514
It is now located next door to campus.
264
00:13:25.514 --> 00:13:26.765
- Good morning.
265
00:13:26.765 --> 00:13:29.226
And I welcome you to the morning service
266
00:13:29.226 --> 00:13:33.313
at the Thomas Road Baptist Church
in Lynchburg, Virginia.
267
00:13:33.313 --> 00:13:35.732
- The church services
were broadcast nationally
268
00:13:35.732 --> 00:13:37.609
in the 1970s and '80s.
269
00:13:37.609 --> 00:13:39.403
REPORTER:
TV preacher, Dr. Jerry Falwell,
270
00:13:39.403 --> 00:13:41.363
whose doctorate is honorary, not earned,
271
00:13:41.363 --> 00:13:46.493
turned a small Virginia church of 35
into a Christians communications empire.
272
00:13:46.493 --> 00:13:49.538
Falwell preaches
to a church of 4,000 each Sunday,
273
00:13:49.538 --> 00:13:51.623
with a TV audience of 20 million.
274
00:13:51.623 --> 00:13:53.750
JERRY FALWELL SR.:
I believe these are the last days.
275
00:13:53.750 --> 00:13:55.794
What is the thing
that interests God the most?
276
00:13:55.794 --> 00:13:57.713
Getting people ready for his coming,
277
00:13:57.713 --> 00:14:00.299
getting people ready
for the sounding of the cross.
278
00:14:00.299 --> 00:14:03.427
- He founded Liberty University in 1971.
279
00:14:03.427 --> 00:14:05.846
REPORTER:
A school for 50,000 students,
280
00:14:05.846 --> 00:14:09.183
from kindergarten
right through a doctoral program.
281
00:14:09.183 --> 00:14:11.560
- We have what we think
is a boot camp here for the Lord,
282
00:14:11.560 --> 00:14:13.478
training soldiers for Christ.
283
00:14:13.478 --> 00:14:15.647
- He founded
Moral Majority a few years later.
284
00:14:15.647 --> 00:14:20.110
Moral Majority was a coalition that shared
pro-life and pro-family values.
285
00:14:20.110 --> 00:14:22.196
- One man for one woman for one lifetime.
286
00:14:22.196 --> 00:14:23.780
It's called the traditional family.
287
00:14:23.780 --> 00:14:25.240
It's worked for 6,000 years.
288
00:14:25.240 --> 00:14:27.034
- Many credited Moral Majority
289
00:14:27.034 --> 00:14:29.620
with the election
of Ronald Reagan in 1980.
290
00:14:29.620 --> 00:14:32.331
I told Jerry,
"I found out more about your dad.
291
00:14:36.084 --> 00:14:37.711
"I read about what he would say,
292
00:14:37.711 --> 00:14:41.048
blaming, uh, 9/11 on homosexuals."
293
00:14:41.048 --> 00:14:44.593
- The abortionists and the feminists
and the gays and the lesbians,
294
00:14:44.593 --> 00:14:46.011
all of them,
295
00:14:46.011 --> 00:14:47.221
you helped this happen.
296
00:14:47.221 --> 00:14:50.807
- "Honestly, if you wanna know my opinion,
I think your dad was a piece of shit."
297
00:14:51.225 --> 00:14:53.936
He's like, "Eh, you know,
yeah, a lot of people think that.
298
00:14:53.936 --> 00:14:56.188
But I'm completely different.
I'm not like my dad."
299
00:14:56.188 --> 00:14:58.774
He said, "I'm a business guy,
and I see the future,"
300
00:14:58.774 --> 00:14:59.566
and I liked that.
301
00:15:00.359 --> 00:15:03.612
MARK:
The Falwells are the Southern Gatsbys.
302
00:15:03.612 --> 00:15:06.532
They're wealthy
and they're sloppy as fuck.
303
00:15:06.532 --> 00:15:08.283
- How old was Becki when you guys met?
304
00:15:08.283 --> 00:15:09.952
Uh, some of our freshmen
don't know this story.
305
00:15:09.952 --> 00:15:11.995
- No, we don't need to get on that story.
306
00:15:11.995 --> 00:15:14.248
JERRY JR.:
She was 13 and I was 18 when I met her.
307
00:15:14.248 --> 00:15:16.875
BECKI:
All right, let's not get, um--
So, Candace.
308
00:15:17.793 --> 00:15:21.547
Hey, girls, let's take a look at the ring
on Candace's finger, by the way.
309
00:15:21.547 --> 00:15:22.881
- I think it's 13 carats,
310
00:15:22.881 --> 00:15:24.633
the same age that you were,
Becki, when you guys met.
311
00:15:25.843 --> 00:15:28.595
MEGAN K. STACK:
Becki grew up in North Carolina.
312
00:15:28.595 --> 00:15:30.931
They were a religious family.
313
00:15:30.931 --> 00:15:34.560
She told me that her father was in timber.
314
00:15:34.560 --> 00:15:37.396
I later found out
her father was in trailer parks,
315
00:15:37.396 --> 00:15:39.940
and went to prison for tax evasion.
316
00:15:39.940 --> 00:15:42.067
- Becki, tell 'em how you proposed to me.
317
00:15:43.110 --> 00:15:47.781
- Falwell Jr. went to Liberty University
with Becki's older sister.
318
00:15:47.781 --> 00:15:49.575
- Yeah, I proposed to Jerry.
319
00:15:49.575 --> 00:15:53.954
He had finished law school,
and he had taken the bar exam.
320
00:15:54.913 --> 00:15:57.541
MEGAN:
She dropped out of Liberty
to support Jerry,
321
00:15:57.541 --> 00:15:59.877
who was down
at the University of Virginia.
322
00:15:59.877 --> 00:16:02.296
- And I said, "Can we get married now?"
323
00:16:02.296 --> 00:16:03.297
And he said, "Yes."
324
00:16:04.131 --> 00:16:06.758
Becki said to me,
with sort of embarrassment,
325
00:16:06.758 --> 00:16:09.386
"Oh, we had the most boring wedding
of anybody ever.
326
00:16:09.386 --> 00:16:13.182
There was no drinking alcohol.
There was no dancing. It was just awful."
327
00:16:13.765 --> 00:16:16.101
MARK:
And they popped out three kids,
328
00:16:16.101 --> 00:16:18.770
Trey, Wesley, and Caroline.
329
00:16:18.770 --> 00:16:19.771
MEGAN:
These are two people
330
00:16:19.771 --> 00:16:23.817
who have, for a long time,
been and remain very much in love.
331
00:16:23.817 --> 00:16:25.986
I don't see any daylight between them.
332
00:16:25.986 --> 00:16:29.156
They're just extremely intertwined,
psychologically and emotionally.
333
00:16:29.156 --> 00:16:32.117
It's very unusual
to come across a married couple like that.
334
00:16:32.117 --> 00:16:34.620
JERRY JR.: My father,
he would tell his congregation,
335
00:16:35.329 --> 00:16:37.873
"Don't get mad
when people tell lies about you,
336
00:16:37.873 --> 00:16:40.542
just be glad
they don't know the truth." So.
337
00:16:41.543 --> 00:16:44.171
MEGAN:
In some ways, Jerry was a black sheep.
338
00:16:44.171 --> 00:16:49.510
A son who was not able
to access the kind of religious fervor
339
00:16:49.510 --> 00:16:53.472
that defined his father
and that was going to define his family.
340
00:16:54.056 --> 00:16:57.100
- Jerry Jr. had not been
a conventional evangelical.
341
00:16:57.100 --> 00:16:59.353
He believed that his role
to support the ministry
342
00:16:59.353 --> 00:17:00.312
would be in business.
343
00:17:00.812 --> 00:17:03.273
MEGAN:
He did set out doing real estate law
344
00:17:03.273 --> 00:17:05.776
and not working with his father.
345
00:17:05.776 --> 00:17:10.364
He came back to help get
the university out of financial distress.
346
00:17:10.364 --> 00:17:13.200
JERRY JR.: I spent many days
negotiating with creditors
347
00:17:13.200 --> 00:17:17.204
and spent many weekends begging
and borrowing from donors and lenders
348
00:17:17.204 --> 00:17:19.414
to cover the paychecks
that had already been issued
349
00:17:19.414 --> 00:17:20.791
on the Friday before.
350
00:17:20.791 --> 00:17:25.254
Falwell Jr. was never
a good fit to be in a public-facing role.
351
00:17:25.254 --> 00:17:28.298
It wasn't something
that he sought out and asked for.
352
00:17:28.298 --> 00:17:30.300
He inherited it
when his father passed away.
353
00:17:30.717 --> 00:17:32.719
MEGAN:
He was a hero to Liberty, financially.
354
00:17:32.719 --> 00:17:35.973
It brought Jerry Falwell money.
It brought him power.
355
00:17:35.973 --> 00:17:38.684
It gave him
the tacit approval of his father,
356
00:17:38.684 --> 00:17:40.143
even after his father's death.
357
00:17:40.894 --> 00:17:43.021
MARK:
If you're part of this dynasty,
358
00:17:43.021 --> 00:17:46.149
then you can do
whatever the fuck you want,
359
00:17:46.149 --> 00:17:48.527
and that couple did it to the hilt.
360
00:17:51.530 --> 00:17:56.201
He was beloved
by a lot of students for his quirkiness.
361
00:17:56.952 --> 00:17:59.121
People didn't treat him
like he was the spokesperson
362
00:17:59.121 --> 00:18:03.834
for one of the largest Christian
and Conservative institutions
in the world.
363
00:18:03.834 --> 00:18:06.795
People treated him
like he was a cartoon character,
364
00:18:06.795 --> 00:18:08.213
or their crazy uncle.
365
00:18:08.213 --> 00:18:10.799
He realized that
that familiarity students felt with him
366
00:18:10.799 --> 00:18:12.217
gave him a lot of power.
367
00:18:16.221 --> 00:18:17.598
LILIA:
What my brother did
368
00:18:17.598 --> 00:18:20.225
was with almost like the first family
369
00:18:20.225 --> 00:18:23.854
of, like,
the evangelical Christianity Church.
370
00:18:27.024 --> 00:18:29.776
♪
371
00:18:29.776 --> 00:18:30.777
GIANCARLO:
Becki calls me,
372
00:18:30.777 --> 00:18:34.281
and she says they got a hotel
at the Cheeca Resort in the Keys.
373
00:18:36.992 --> 00:18:38.160
This trip was different
374
00:18:38.160 --> 00:18:41.622
because I wasn't just meeting them
and going back home.
375
00:18:41.622 --> 00:18:43.582
I'm actually gonna
stay there for the weekend.
376
00:18:43.582 --> 00:18:45.751
I remember driving down to Cheeca,
377
00:18:45.751 --> 00:18:47.461
I'm like, "Wait,
we're gonna be in the same room.
378
00:18:47.461 --> 00:18:48.921
Where's Jerry gonna be?"
379
00:18:50.380 --> 00:18:52.257
Uh, so that was-- that was a concern.
380
00:18:52.257 --> 00:18:53.926
The sleeping arrangement was,
381
00:18:53.926 --> 00:18:56.053
I slept on the bed with Becki
382
00:18:56.053 --> 00:18:59.097
and, you know,
Jerry slept, uh, next to the bed.
383
00:18:59.973 --> 00:19:02.893
Which, you know,
thinking back, it's kind of strange.
384
00:19:03.977 --> 00:19:06.021
It was, I don't know,
like 5:00 in the morning,
385
00:19:06.021 --> 00:19:07.981
and I just-- I randomly woke up,
386
00:19:07.981 --> 00:19:10.734
and I look over to the side
and Becki's just staring at me.
387
00:19:12.069 --> 00:19:13.570
She has these dark black eyes.
388
00:19:14.238 --> 00:19:15.948
I obviously kept hooking up with her,
389
00:19:15.948 --> 00:19:17.783
but, you know,
I'm like, "This is kinda weird."
390
00:19:17.783 --> 00:19:19.701
I'm like-- I was startled by it.
391
00:19:20.369 --> 00:19:22.663
♪
392
00:19:22.663 --> 00:19:26.416
The dynamic
of the relationship outside of the sex,
393
00:19:26.416 --> 00:19:28.210
he liked being around them.
394
00:19:28.210 --> 00:19:32.256
Jerry had the business acumen,
he was kind of a goofball.
395
00:19:32.256 --> 00:19:36.885
And Becki Falwell
was Giancarlo Granda's warm bathwater.
396
00:19:36.885 --> 00:19:38.095
She held his hand.
397
00:19:39.012 --> 00:19:41.598
- When we're talking,
it-- it just felt natural.
398
00:19:41.598 --> 00:19:44.226
We really connected
'cause we would talk about business,
399
00:19:44.226 --> 00:19:45.602
how he was a real estate attorney,
400
00:19:45.602 --> 00:19:47.187
how he developed real estate.
401
00:19:47.187 --> 00:19:48.897
And he would tell me
about Liberty University,
402
00:19:48.897 --> 00:19:51.608
how, you know,
they were doing over $100 million
403
00:19:51.608 --> 00:19:52.901
in construction projects.
404
00:19:53.402 --> 00:19:55.112
LILIA:
You go to Lynchburg, Virginia,
405
00:19:55.112 --> 00:19:56.822
and they own
half of the real estate in that town.
406
00:19:56.822 --> 00:19:58.532
He was impressed by them.
407
00:19:58.532 --> 00:20:00.534
- Your ego is being stroked,
408
00:20:00.534 --> 00:20:05.289
and you have Becki on one hand
telling him how beautiful he was,
409
00:20:05.289 --> 00:20:07.708
and then you get Jerry telling him,
410
00:20:07.708 --> 00:20:10.210
"You're a bright kid,
and I like your thinking."
411
00:20:10.794 --> 00:20:14.006
- After the Cheeca trip,
we're talking on the phone every day
412
00:20:14.006 --> 00:20:15.007
and texting every day.
413
00:20:15.007 --> 00:20:16.175
She became my girlfriend.
414
00:20:16.175 --> 00:20:19.178
♪
415
00:20:23.390 --> 00:20:25.976
MARK:
Becki was texting him 24/7.
416
00:20:25.976 --> 00:20:30.564
They didn't end a day
without at least one hour on the phone.
417
00:20:33.066 --> 00:20:36.320
- She's really making an effort
to maintain this relationship.
418
00:20:36.737 --> 00:20:39.114
MEGAN:
She said, finally she met somebody,
419
00:20:39.114 --> 00:20:42.284
and she felt that she was having
an adventure.
420
00:20:42.284 --> 00:20:43.535
She was having an affair.
421
00:20:43.535 --> 00:20:46.788
She was living this carefree,
youthful lifestyle
422
00:20:46.788 --> 00:20:49.291
that she never got to experience
when she was young.
423
00:20:49.958 --> 00:20:52.753
GIANCARLO:
Becki was the first woman
outside of my family,
424
00:20:52.753 --> 00:20:54.254
uh, to say, "I love you."
425
00:20:54.254 --> 00:20:56.048
This is three weeks after meeting 'em.
426
00:20:56.048 --> 00:20:57.508
I'm like...
427
00:20:59.384 --> 00:21:02.262
He's a kid,
he doesn't know what love is.
428
00:21:02.262 --> 00:21:05.140
And this is where
it became dangerous down the line.
429
00:21:05.140 --> 00:21:09.102
But in the beginning, it's like,
"Whoa, I'm being lavished with attention.
430
00:21:09.102 --> 00:21:11.355
"She wants to do it again?
431
00:21:11.939 --> 00:21:15.776
Which exotic locale are we going to now?"
432
00:21:15.776 --> 00:21:17.361
♪
433
00:21:17.361 --> 00:21:19.446
GIANCARLO:
Shortly after the Cheeca trip,
434
00:21:19.446 --> 00:21:21.615
they invited me to New York.
435
00:21:21.615 --> 00:21:23.033
They were gonna go there for business.
436
00:21:23.033 --> 00:21:24.117
And they're like, "Hey, come over
437
00:21:24.117 --> 00:21:26.537
and we can discuss
how we can become business partners."
438
00:21:27.037 --> 00:21:29.164
So I meet them,
and I stayed the weekend with them.
439
00:21:30.290 --> 00:21:32.876
We stayed at the Gansevoort Hotel
on Park Avenue.
440
00:21:32.876 --> 00:21:34.670
We're at dinner at STK,
441
00:21:34.670 --> 00:21:37.714
and I was really worried
that someone was gonna discover us
442
00:21:37.714 --> 00:21:39.967
and it's gonna end up in the tabloids.
443
00:21:39.967 --> 00:21:41.802
We're looking through the dessert menu,
444
00:21:41.802 --> 00:21:45.055
and Becki spotted
the Carnival Menage A Trois.
445
00:21:45.055 --> 00:21:47.015
And she was like, "Oh, let's get this."
446
00:21:47.432 --> 00:21:49.685
And I-- I remember just feeling awkward
447
00:21:49.685 --> 00:21:52.479
when she ordered
the Carnival Menage A Trois.
448
00:21:54.398 --> 00:21:57.150
Like, they're not being subtle about this.
449
00:21:57.568 --> 00:21:59.778
But after dinner, we're talking,
450
00:21:59.778 --> 00:22:02.573
and that's when he said,
"You need to make money yourself.
451
00:22:02.573 --> 00:22:06.410
"With my past in real estate,
it's a great way to build wealth.
452
00:22:06.410 --> 00:22:09.913
"We'll acquire a property
and we'll give you an equity stake in it.
453
00:22:09.913 --> 00:22:11.415
"You just have to manage it.
454
00:22:11.415 --> 00:22:13.208
"And then, you know,
when you make your first million,
455
00:22:13.208 --> 00:22:14.543
"we'll all drink champagne together
456
00:22:14.543 --> 00:22:16.003
and life is gonna be great."
457
00:22:18.046 --> 00:22:21.633
Deep down,
I always wanted to invest in real estate.
458
00:22:21.633 --> 00:22:22.968
I wanted to get in the game.
459
00:22:22.968 --> 00:22:23.969
I'm like, "This is it!"
460
00:22:25.053 --> 00:22:28.056
- I thought, "Well,
maybe they can help him in some way,
461
00:22:28.056 --> 00:22:31.518
"and however weird this thing started,
462
00:22:31.518 --> 00:22:33.145
maybe it'll turn into something good."
463
00:22:33.145 --> 00:22:35.105
They did what they wanted to do,
464
00:22:35.105 --> 00:22:36.315
everyone had their fun,
465
00:22:36.315 --> 00:22:39.276
and now let's go and be... adults.
466
00:22:40.027 --> 00:22:42.446
GIANCARLO:
But Jerry quickly wanted to cut to,
467
00:22:42.446 --> 00:22:45.032
"Hey, let's go back to the hotel room
and do what we have to do."
468
00:22:48.827 --> 00:22:51.538
GIANCARLO:
Becki, she said, "I have some good news.
469
00:22:52.247 --> 00:22:53.498
We can go all the way this time."
470
00:22:54.249 --> 00:22:55.876
They were both ready for me.
471
00:22:55.876 --> 00:22:57.586
They both felt comfortable with me.
472
00:23:00.672 --> 00:23:03.550
- They thought it was the right time
to actually go forward with it.
473
00:23:08.472 --> 00:23:09.598
- And there's no holding back anymore.
474
00:23:13.101 --> 00:23:16.480
As the relationship grew
and it intensified,
475
00:23:18.190 --> 00:23:22.778
Jerry could sort of move out
of that creepy corner that he was in.
476
00:23:25.572 --> 00:23:26.573
GIANCARLO:
Jerry, you know,
477
00:23:26.573 --> 00:23:29.618
he went from just, you know,
masturbating in the corner
478
00:23:29.618 --> 00:23:31.787
to whenever I would finish,
479
00:23:34.331 --> 00:23:36.667
he would go in, uh, for round two.
480
00:23:38.669 --> 00:23:40.754
They were both
kind of looking for these things
481
00:23:40.754 --> 00:23:43.924
that weren't actually available to them
within their religious community.
482
00:23:43.924 --> 00:23:47.010
Granda is part of that desire
that they shared.
483
00:23:47.010 --> 00:23:48.804
MARK:
He was that element of kink
484
00:23:48.804 --> 00:23:53.225
that they needed for them
to become closer, if you will.
485
00:23:55.102 --> 00:23:57.521
Fast forward,
I'm back in Miami looking for properties.
486
00:23:57.521 --> 00:23:59.648
I actually started
driving around by myself.
487
00:23:59.648 --> 00:24:01.275
I narrowed it down to Miami Beach.
488
00:24:02.442 --> 00:24:03.443
- What is happening?
489
00:24:03.443 --> 00:24:05.571
What do you know about any of this?
490
00:24:05.571 --> 00:24:06.905
Like, you're 20.
491
00:24:06.905 --> 00:24:09.283
He was like,
"I know, like, what I'm doing,
492
00:24:09.283 --> 00:24:10.534
"I know the right people.
493
00:24:10.534 --> 00:24:12.202
Like, we're gonna get this done."
494
00:24:12.202 --> 00:24:16.707
And he relied on the Fernandezes.
495
00:24:16.707 --> 00:24:18.709
♪
496
00:24:18.709 --> 00:24:21.336
I reached out
to a friend of mine at the time,
497
00:24:21.336 --> 00:24:22.546
Jesus Fernandez Jr.
498
00:24:22.546 --> 00:24:24.381
We called him Tito.
That was his nickname.
499
00:24:24.381 --> 00:24:27.968
And his dad, Jesus Fernandez Sr.,
he was a broker.
500
00:24:27.968 --> 00:24:30.721
Him and his dad
are like your classic wannabe,
501
00:24:30.721 --> 00:24:32.681
just Miami bullshit artists.
502
00:24:32.681 --> 00:24:35.475
It never really made sense
how he was friends with him, honestly.
503
00:24:35.475 --> 00:24:38.896
- I met Giancarlo through Jesus.
504
00:24:39.563 --> 00:24:43.984
Giancarlo and Jesus
were kind of like best friends.
505
00:24:43.984 --> 00:24:47.279
I was Jesus' girlfriend,
and I was very close with them.
506
00:24:47.279 --> 00:24:50.324
I mean, everybody changed
in the five years that I dated Jesus,
507
00:24:50.324 --> 00:24:51.742
they kinda grew up.
508
00:24:52.284 --> 00:24:56.496
But Giancarlo did not strike me
as having any street smarts.
509
00:24:56.496 --> 00:24:58.582
Nothing, not even an instinct.
510
00:24:58.582 --> 00:25:01.335
He doesn't really have a hustle spirit.
511
00:25:02.336 --> 00:25:05.923
Jesus was the street-smart hustler
of the group.
512
00:25:07.174 --> 00:25:09.635
When I met him,
I was absolutely under the impression
513
00:25:09.635 --> 00:25:11.178
that that was a wealthy family.
514
00:25:11.929 --> 00:25:14.598
MARK:
Jesus Fernandez Sr. was, at one point,
515
00:25:14.598 --> 00:25:18.977
a big-time real estate investor
and a broker.
516
00:25:18.977 --> 00:25:22.314
That family had lived the American Dream.
517
00:25:22.314 --> 00:25:24.858
NICOLE:
The houses that they lived in
were gorgeous.
518
00:25:25.442 --> 00:25:28.320
Unfortunately, none of them lasted long
519
00:25:28.320 --> 00:25:31.990
before... the sheriff's department came.
520
00:25:34.201 --> 00:25:36.787
MARK:
If you look at Jesus Sr.'s rap sheet,
521
00:25:36.787 --> 00:25:39.039
there was a major bankruptcy,
522
00:25:39.039 --> 00:25:41.041
there were allegations of fraud.
523
00:25:41.041 --> 00:25:44.378
The guy didn't even have
a broker license anymore.
524
00:25:44.378 --> 00:25:47.923
None of this was disclosed to Giancarlo.
525
00:25:48.674 --> 00:25:49.883
GIANCARLO:
By me reaching out to them
526
00:25:49.883 --> 00:25:52.177
and telling, "Hey,
you're gonna get a commission from this,"
527
00:25:52.177 --> 00:25:53.762
I felt like I was helping them out.
528
00:25:53.762 --> 00:25:56.765
♪
529
00:26:11.905 --> 00:26:16.243
NICOLE:
I was an assistant general manager
working at South Beach Hostel.
530
00:26:16.743 --> 00:26:20.414
I mean, in Miami, hostels,
you build it and it's gonna be filled.
531
00:26:20.414 --> 00:26:23.166
It's like a fail-safe business.
532
00:26:32.676 --> 00:26:36.054
- Jesus knew the real estate side,
I knew the hostel side,
533
00:26:36.054 --> 00:26:39.224
and Giancarlo had the financial backing.
534
00:26:39.224 --> 00:26:41.727
- I called Jerry, I said, "Hey, come down.
535
00:26:41.727 --> 00:26:44.897
I have some guys that are gonna
find the best investment property."
536
00:26:45.606 --> 00:26:49.526
Jesus and Giancarlo,
his father eventually found a property.
537
00:26:49.526 --> 00:26:51.361
It was Miami Hostel.
538
00:26:51.862 --> 00:26:56.200
The first floor had a restaurant
and a liquor store.
539
00:26:56.200 --> 00:26:59.036
It was just in the heart
of South Beach, which is perfect.
540
00:26:59.036 --> 00:27:01.079
The land itself is very valuable.
541
00:27:01.747 --> 00:27:05.751
Once the Fernandezes saw
these evangelicals come down here,
542
00:27:05.751 --> 00:27:09.254
they probably saw, you know,
just nothing but money signs everywhere.
543
00:27:10.172 --> 00:27:14.176
This is a guy from Lynchburg
trying to do business in Miami.
544
00:27:14.176 --> 00:27:16.303
He didn't know where the fuck he was.
545
00:27:16.303 --> 00:27:19.097
They should've done diligence
on these guys.
546
00:27:19.681 --> 00:27:22.476
NICOLE:
I understood flying him places,
547
00:27:22.476 --> 00:27:25.270
but I have never heard of anybody
548
00:27:26.188 --> 00:27:28.774
buying some kid,
that they met at the Fontainebleau pool,
549
00:27:28.774 --> 00:27:30.609
a four-and-a-half-million-dollar business.
550
00:27:30.609 --> 00:27:32.903
What the fuck? Like, what's going on?
551
00:27:34.071 --> 00:27:36.156
GIANCARLO:
Tito and his dad were both very curious,
552
00:27:36.156 --> 00:27:38.325
and they were trying
to find out what was going on.
553
00:27:38.325 --> 00:27:40.285
And they kept trying
to get answers out of me.
554
00:27:40.285 --> 00:27:41.954
I'm like, "No,
they just wanna help me out."
555
00:27:41.954 --> 00:27:43.497
Obviously, that didn't make sense.
556
00:27:43.497 --> 00:27:45.958
That-- That was just-- That was--
You know, it wasn't a good excuse.
557
00:27:46.416 --> 00:27:48.418
I think that they-- they were convinced
there was more to it,
558
00:27:48.418 --> 00:27:49.878
and they were right, there was more to it.
559
00:27:50.754 --> 00:27:54.341
- Now you got
the Fernandezes working Giancarlo,
560
00:27:54.341 --> 00:27:57.636
because they're smelling money,
real money.
561
00:27:57.636 --> 00:27:59.847
The long con had already started.
562
00:27:59.847 --> 00:28:04.601
Who knew what a buddy fucker
Jesus Fernandez turned out to be, right?
563
00:28:06.061 --> 00:28:08.897
It was a few months
for the deal to actually close.
564
00:28:09.398 --> 00:28:11.024
Throughout this process,
565
00:28:11.024 --> 00:28:16.071
my brother and Tito,
their friendship started fracturing a bit.
566
00:28:16.864 --> 00:28:19.074
GIANCARLO:
The Fernandezes received their commission
567
00:28:19.074 --> 00:28:20.284
on the sale of the property,
568
00:28:20.284 --> 00:28:22.744
and we didn't really talk much after that.
569
00:28:22.744 --> 00:28:24.204
It was just like,
all right, the deal closed,
570
00:28:24.204 --> 00:28:25.873
and then they kind of just vanished.
571
00:28:26.540 --> 00:28:28.792
LILIA:
Between the time that he met the Falwells
572
00:28:28.792 --> 00:28:32.045
to when they closed on that property
was less than a year.
573
00:28:32.045 --> 00:28:33.797
- About 11 months after meeting them,
574
00:28:33.797 --> 00:28:37.176
we're closing on
a 4.65-million-dollar commercial property.
575
00:28:37.801 --> 00:28:39.344
It just felt like I was living in a movie.
576
00:28:39.344 --> 00:28:40.596
It just didn't feel real.
577
00:28:40.596 --> 00:28:42.931
I'm like, "Why am I here?
Why am I a part of this?"
578
00:28:43.599 --> 00:28:45.142
LILIA:
Imagine the first property you own
579
00:28:45.142 --> 00:28:47.352
is a four-and-a-half-million-dollar
property.
580
00:28:47.352 --> 00:28:49.813
GIANCARLO:
I saw it as a big opportunity to learn,
581
00:28:49.813 --> 00:28:51.315
to grow within business.
582
00:28:51.315 --> 00:28:52.649
It was tough to turn down.
583
00:28:53.442 --> 00:28:55.319
- Okay, so how did the deal break down?
584
00:28:55.319 --> 00:28:57.154
Who was the principal in name?
585
00:28:57.154 --> 00:28:58.238
It wasn't Jerry.
586
00:28:58.238 --> 00:29:00.574
He didn't want his name
anywhere near that deal
587
00:29:00.574 --> 00:29:02.367
with a 20-year-old pool boy,
588
00:29:02.367 --> 00:29:04.161
so he put it in Becki's name.
589
00:29:04.661 --> 00:29:06.872
- At this point,
my dreams were coming true.
590
00:29:06.872 --> 00:29:08.874
I can see
how I can make that first million.
591
00:29:08.874 --> 00:29:11.168
- How do you keep Giancarlo on a leash?
592
00:29:11.168 --> 00:29:13.003
Go into business with him.
593
00:29:13.003 --> 00:29:17.174
And Jerry was looking
at keeping his wife happy at that point.
594
00:29:17.174 --> 00:29:18.675
Where she was happiest
595
00:29:18.675 --> 00:29:22.262
was when Giancarlo Granda
was balls-deep inside of her.
596
00:29:24.431 --> 00:29:29.394
- So from March 2012
till about, like, June, June, July,
597
00:29:29.394 --> 00:29:32.231
you know, we had this sexual component
with the relationship.
598
00:29:32.648 --> 00:29:33.482
I broke it off.
599
00:29:33.482 --> 00:29:35.150
I told Becki, I'm like,
"We can't have sex anymore
600
00:29:35.150 --> 00:29:36.902
"'cause I found a girl my age.
601
00:29:36.902 --> 00:29:40.614
I wanna date her, I like her a lot.
We obviously can't be doing this."
602
00:29:40.614 --> 00:29:42.115
She didn't take it very well.
603
00:29:42.115 --> 00:29:44.910
Becki cried.
She made me feel guilty for it.
604
00:29:45.327 --> 00:29:47.204
"Oh, you replaced me for someone younger."
605
00:29:47.204 --> 00:29:49.706
She would tell me, "God put us together."
606
00:29:49.706 --> 00:29:53.210
I'm like, "I need to live my own life.
I need to find someone my age."
607
00:29:53.210 --> 00:29:55.462
And then Jerry said,
"Well, she doesn't have to know.
608
00:29:55.462 --> 00:29:56.380
We won't tell her."
609
00:29:56.380 --> 00:29:58.090
And I said,
"No, I'm sorry, I just-- I can't.
610
00:29:58.090 --> 00:29:59.383
I-- I don't feel comfortable doing it."
611
00:29:59.383 --> 00:30:01.885
What I did agree to,
and it's not-- it's not right,
612
00:30:01.885 --> 00:30:03.846
I continued the emotional connection.
613
00:30:03.846 --> 00:30:06.223
I kept texting her,
I kept talking to her every day.
614
00:30:06.223 --> 00:30:07.850
I felt like I was living a double life.
615
00:30:09.685 --> 00:30:12.187
Becki, she would call me every day,
she would text me every day.
616
00:30:12.187 --> 00:30:15.440
If I didn't respond to her right away,
she would call me crying.
617
00:30:15.440 --> 00:30:18.110
If I didn't respond for a couple days,
then Jerry would call me.
618
00:30:18.110 --> 00:30:19.111
He was disappointed.
619
00:30:19.111 --> 00:30:21.238
He'd say, "Hey, what's going on?
Like, she loves you so much.
620
00:30:21.238 --> 00:30:23.615
"Why are you trying to break away?
She's been so nice to you.
621
00:30:23.615 --> 00:30:26.243
"And we're going to bat
for you for this property.
622
00:30:26.243 --> 00:30:27.661
Why-- why break up now?"
623
00:30:28.245 --> 00:30:32.833
Things started slowly morphing into,
"Oh, this is just sex and friendship,"
624
00:30:32.833 --> 00:30:35.085
to "Now we're gonna control you."
625
00:30:36.295 --> 00:30:38.463
LILIA:
Imagine how sick and twisted that is.
626
00:30:38.463 --> 00:30:43.218
Like, you're middle-aged people
calling him, making him feel bad
627
00:30:43.218 --> 00:30:45.137
because he's not texting your wife?
628
00:30:45.137 --> 00:30:46.597
What the fuck is wrong with you?
629
00:30:46.597 --> 00:30:47.598
- So I had two options:
630
00:30:47.598 --> 00:30:49.808
I could just walk away
and never talk to 'em again
631
00:30:49.808 --> 00:30:53.228
and lose out on this multi-million-dollar,
uh, commercial property,
632
00:30:53.228 --> 00:30:55.147
or just trust them and see what happens.
633
00:30:56.064 --> 00:30:57.441
MARK:
These are predators.
634
00:30:57.441 --> 00:31:02.237
Becki, she was addicted to the idea
of being in love with this kid,
635
00:31:02.237 --> 00:31:04.198
and she was not gonna let go.
636
00:31:06.909 --> 00:31:09.161
♪
637
00:31:09.161 --> 00:31:11.121
GIANCARLO:
One day, Becki texted me,
638
00:31:11.121 --> 00:31:14.583
"I was watching
some video clips on my phone... Wow."
639
00:31:23.675 --> 00:31:25.886
At that moment,
that just, like, set off an alarm.
640
00:31:25.886 --> 00:31:28.013
And that was the first time
that I realized,
641
00:31:28.013 --> 00:31:29.973
"Oh, they were recording everything."
642
00:31:31.808 --> 00:31:34.686
I felt like it was a subtle hint as to,
643
00:31:34.686 --> 00:31:37.439
you know, "We got the goods on you too.
Like, don't forget that."
644
00:31:37.940 --> 00:31:40.275
MARK:
Jerry Falwell Jr., at the time,
645
00:31:40.275 --> 00:31:43.403
was everything
that Giancarlo wanted to be.
646
00:31:43.403 --> 00:31:46.823
Giancarlo wanted all of this
and they knew it.
647
00:31:46.823 --> 00:31:50.577
So they were using it
as a method of control.
648
00:31:50.577 --> 00:31:52.955
"Hey, you know,
have fun with your little girlfriend,
649
00:31:52.955 --> 00:31:54.289
but we own your ass."
650
00:31:54.289 --> 00:31:57.292
♪
651
00:32:07.511 --> 00:32:08.220
- You're fired.
652
00:32:11.098 --> 00:32:12.683
GIANCARLO:
September 2012,
653
00:32:12.683 --> 00:32:15.227
Becki gives me a call saying,
"Hey, do you wanna meet Donald Trump?"
654
00:32:15.227 --> 00:32:17.688
'Cause at the time,
he wasn't who he is today.
655
00:32:17.688 --> 00:32:21.483
He wasn't running for president.
He was just the star on The Apprentice.
656
00:32:21.483 --> 00:32:23.569
They knew that I liked Donald Trump,
657
00:32:23.569 --> 00:32:25.863
that I read his book, The Art of the Deal.
658
00:32:25.863 --> 00:32:27.948
LILIA:
My brother loved business
659
00:32:27.948 --> 00:32:30.617
and thought Donald Trump was great,
and so he was like--
660
00:32:30.617 --> 00:32:31.618
- Yeah, absolutely!
661
00:32:32.744 --> 00:32:34.705
MARK:
They were bringing him into a world
662
00:32:34.705 --> 00:32:37.040
that he couldn't even imagine.
663
00:32:37.040 --> 00:32:41.962
"Real estate, politics,
my future, everything is here."
664
00:32:42.546 --> 00:32:45.465
He had never in his life imagined
665
00:32:45.465 --> 00:32:49.344
being able to be allowed entrée
into that world.
666
00:32:51.471 --> 00:32:54.391
I paid
for the ticket from Miami to Lynchburg,
667
00:32:54.391 --> 00:32:55.976
then they put me at a hotel.
668
00:32:55.976 --> 00:32:58.312
But after a day, they're like, "Hey,
you don't need to stay there actually.
669
00:32:58.312 --> 00:33:00.105
Just come stay with us at our house."
670
00:33:00.731 --> 00:33:03.025
It was the first time
that I met their kids.
671
00:33:03.025 --> 00:33:05.277
I don't think they suspected anything
at the moment.
672
00:33:05.277 --> 00:33:08.488
Jerry and Becki did tell the kids
they were helping me out,
673
00:33:08.488 --> 00:33:12.242
that they wanna give me
the opportunity to rise within business.
674
00:33:12.659 --> 00:33:16.371
Jerry was the leader
of this Christian university,
675
00:33:16.371 --> 00:33:18.707
so they're around young adults.
676
00:33:19.374 --> 00:33:20.501
It's actually pretty reasonable.
677
00:33:20.501 --> 00:33:23.128
No one really asked why I was around.
678
00:33:23.128 --> 00:33:24.963
I just kind of blended right in.
679
00:33:26.423 --> 00:33:27.716
I was kind of expecting
680
00:33:27.716 --> 00:33:31.220
this weird Bible college
in the middle of nowhere,
681
00:33:31.220 --> 00:33:34.389
but Liberty University is one
of the nicest campuses I've seen.
682
00:33:35.641 --> 00:33:36.975
Jerry was very proud,
683
00:33:36.975 --> 00:33:40.562
and he mentioned that the endowment
was about two billion dollars.
684
00:33:41.188 --> 00:33:45.234
Coming from Miami where you have
people from all parts of the world,
685
00:33:45.234 --> 00:33:46.485
it's a melting pot,
686
00:33:46.485 --> 00:33:50.739
but what I did notice at Liberty,
there weren't many Black students.
687
00:33:50.739 --> 00:33:53.325
It was mostly white evangelicals.
688
00:33:55.536 --> 00:33:58.830
MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.: Today,
I want to say to the people of America
689
00:33:58.830 --> 00:34:00.457
and the nations of the world,
690
00:34:01.291 --> 00:34:03.418
we are not about to turn around.
691
00:34:04.586 --> 00:34:05.921
We are on the move now.
692
00:34:07.172 --> 00:34:10.926
Yes, we are on the move,
and no wave of racism can stop us.
693
00:34:12.678 --> 00:34:17.432
- March 1965 is a big turning point
for many white evangelical pastors
694
00:34:17.432 --> 00:34:19.309
to understand that the world was changing.
695
00:34:19.309 --> 00:34:20.811
They would have to consider
696
00:34:20.811 --> 00:34:23.605
what side of that world
that they wanted to be on.
697
00:34:23.605 --> 00:34:27.025
Would they be on the side
of the Civil Rights Movement,
698
00:34:27.025 --> 00:34:29.778
or would they be on the side
of white supremacy?
699
00:34:29.778 --> 00:34:31.822
And Jerry Falwell Sr. made a choice.
700
00:34:32.489 --> 00:34:35.951
JERRY SR.:
I remember preaching a sermon
justifying the segregationist position.
701
00:34:36.535 --> 00:34:39.204
One can make the Bible say almost anything
he wants to make it say.
702
00:34:39.204 --> 00:34:41.582
- Our God is marching on.
703
00:34:41.582 --> 00:34:43.542
Glory hallelujah!
704
00:34:44.084 --> 00:34:45.836
Glory hallelujah!
705
00:34:46.420 --> 00:34:48.255
Glory hallelujah!
706
00:34:49.756 --> 00:34:54.219
- Jerry Falwell Sr. says that ministers
should not be involved in the political,
707
00:34:54.219 --> 00:34:58.140
they should only be involved
in preaching the Gospel of Jesus.
708
00:34:58.140 --> 00:35:00.434
But later on, his game had changed.
709
00:35:01.602 --> 00:35:04.104
REPORTER:
School districts began desegregating today
710
00:35:04.104 --> 00:35:05.564
under Supreme Court orders.
711
00:35:06.190 --> 00:35:08.442
- Jerry Falwell Sr. was not happy
712
00:35:08.442 --> 00:35:11.737
about the Brown v. Board of Education
decision.
713
00:35:11.737 --> 00:35:13.530
- But as the public schools reopen,
714
00:35:13.530 --> 00:35:17.910
a number of new private schools,
all white, sprang into existence.
715
00:35:17.910 --> 00:35:20.245
- He started his own
segregation academy there
716
00:35:20.245 --> 00:35:22.748
in conjunction with
the Thomas Road Baptist Church.
717
00:35:23.707 --> 00:35:26.460
- These segregation academies
were not called segregation academies.
718
00:35:26.877 --> 00:35:28.504
They had Christian names.
719
00:35:28.504 --> 00:35:30.422
But they were built to make sure
720
00:35:30.422 --> 00:35:35.344
that white children did not have to be
in contact with African American children.
721
00:35:35.344 --> 00:35:39.264
- The IRS wants to revoke
the tax exemptions for private schools
722
00:35:39.264 --> 00:35:42.601
which discriminate racially
in their admissions policies.
723
00:35:42.601 --> 00:35:45.145
MATTHEW SUTTON:
In the 1970s, the IRS determines
724
00:35:45.145 --> 00:35:48.315
that if you were
a charitable institution by definition,
725
00:35:48.315 --> 00:35:50.359
so it means you get tax exemption,
726
00:35:50.359 --> 00:35:52.027
you cannot practice segregation.
727
00:35:52.528 --> 00:35:56.073
And one of the things they'd then target
are these Christian-segregated academies.
728
00:35:57.074 --> 00:36:00.452
So this really wakes up Falwell
and a number of other ministers,
729
00:36:00.452 --> 00:36:03.455
and they realize that if they don't have
allies in the Federal Government,
730
00:36:03.455 --> 00:36:05.749
they're not gonna be able
to keep doing what they're trying to do.
731
00:36:06.667 --> 00:36:08.001
JERRY JR.:
I preached a few years ago
732
00:36:08.001 --> 00:36:10.546
that Christians
shouldn't be involved in politics,
733
00:36:10.546 --> 00:36:12.381
but I think we have every right to speak.
734
00:36:12.381 --> 00:36:13.715
We're citizens too.
735
00:36:13.715 --> 00:36:18.011
- He actually at least had the integrity
to acknowledge that he was a hypocrite.
736
00:36:18.011 --> 00:36:22.057
- Jerry Falwell Sr.'s idea
about ministers being involved in politics
737
00:36:22.057 --> 00:36:24.518
was to support the status quo
of white supremacy.
738
00:36:25.269 --> 00:36:28.188
- Falwell is really at the ground level
doing this through his school,
739
00:36:28.188 --> 00:36:30.232
through his academy
in Lynchburg, Virginia.
740
00:36:32.776 --> 00:36:34.778
♪
741
00:36:35.821 --> 00:36:37.823
- We're waiting in this back area.
742
00:36:37.823 --> 00:36:40.242
I'm with Becki and the kids.
743
00:36:41.243 --> 00:36:43.453
And then Trump and Jerry walk in.
744
00:36:43.453 --> 00:36:46.498
Immediately, Trump just
sucked up the energy of the room.
745
00:36:46.498 --> 00:36:49.793
Jerry says, "I wanna introduce you
to our business partner in-- in Florida.
746
00:36:49.793 --> 00:36:51.378
He-- He used to work
at the Fontainebleau."
747
00:36:54.548 --> 00:36:58.218
And then he signed my book, and he wrote,
you know, "Giancarlo, work hard!"
748
00:36:59.094 --> 00:37:00.429
And it was-- it was a cool moment.
749
00:37:00.929 --> 00:37:03.265
And it just reinforced all the things
that Becki was telling me,
750
00:37:03.765 --> 00:37:06.602
that I'm very lucky
to be mentored by Jerry.
751
00:37:06.602 --> 00:37:08.145
I mean, he's clearly well-connected.
752
00:37:08.145 --> 00:37:11.023
He's in a powerful position,
there's a lot of influence.
753
00:37:11.023 --> 00:37:13.609
If I learn from him,
look what I can potentially become.
754
00:37:13.609 --> 00:37:15.527
I felt special.
755
00:37:15.527 --> 00:37:19.656
Like I was part of this exclusive club,
part of their inner circle.
756
00:37:19.656 --> 00:37:21.074
It was intoxicating.
757
00:37:22.117 --> 00:37:23.368
Michael Cohen was present.
758
00:37:24.286 --> 00:37:25.746
I didn't know who he was,
759
00:37:25.746 --> 00:37:29.958
I just saw him as, uh, like,
"Oh, his attorney or business associate."
760
00:37:30.792 --> 00:37:33.378
Michael Cohen kinda leaned over,
he's like, "Who is that guy?"
761
00:37:34.046 --> 00:37:36.340
Like, he just didn't really get it.
762
00:37:36.340 --> 00:37:39.718
He's like, "What? I mean,
this guy's, you know, 21 years old."
763
00:37:39.718 --> 00:37:41.220
At that moment,
I'm like, "Does he know?"
764
00:37:41.887 --> 00:37:43.931
Like, it was just this moment
like, "Why-- Why did he ask him?
765
00:37:43.931 --> 00:37:45.641
Why did he react that way?"
766
00:37:45.641 --> 00:37:49.186
- He was paid,
you know, to dig up dirt on people
767
00:37:49.186 --> 00:37:52.064
and to be able
to control them with that dirt.
768
00:37:52.064 --> 00:37:56.068
- At that moment, he registered
that there may be something here.
769
00:38:00.447 --> 00:38:03.033
Liberty University has this big arena.
770
00:38:04.868 --> 00:38:05.827
I walk in.
771
00:38:06.703 --> 00:38:08.205
I'm not sure
how many people are seated there,
772
00:38:08.205 --> 00:38:11.166
I don't know what the capacity is,
but thousands.
773
00:38:11.166 --> 00:38:12.209
Thousands of students.
774
00:38:12.960 --> 00:38:15.587
We're on the big screen
and people were clapping for us
775
00:38:15.587 --> 00:38:17.130
as we were walking to the front row.
776
00:38:17.130 --> 00:38:19.675
We are the sole focus of the show.
777
00:38:19.675 --> 00:38:20.717
I-- I just couldn't believe it.
778
00:38:21.802 --> 00:38:24.346
Trump was speaking
at this thing they called the Convocation.
779
00:38:24.847 --> 00:38:26.181
I didn't know what Convocation was.
780
00:38:26.849 --> 00:38:30.102
♪
781
00:38:30.102 --> 00:38:32.688
DUSTIN:
Convocation is sort of like a big chapel.
782
00:38:32.688 --> 00:38:34.231
It's three times a week.
783
00:38:34.231 --> 00:38:37.150
If you live on campus,
you are required to be there.
784
00:38:37.150 --> 00:38:39.361
- You have no right to be ordinary.
785
00:38:42.865 --> 00:38:45.033
DUSTIN:
The person that comes up to speak,
786
00:38:45.033 --> 00:38:49.246
they get the blessing of having
a stage that they can stand on
787
00:38:49.246 --> 00:38:51.540
that has spiritual legitimacy.
788
00:38:52.082 --> 00:38:55.210
So it's especially nefarious
when that stage is abused.
789
00:38:55.794 --> 00:38:57.129
And that stage is abused all the time.
790
00:38:57.129 --> 00:38:59.047
WOMAN:
Good morning, Liberty University.
791
00:38:59.047 --> 00:39:00.799
Are you excited to be here?
792
00:39:01.592 --> 00:39:04.428
- Mr. Trump
single-handedly forced President Obama
793
00:39:04.428 --> 00:39:06.305
to release his birth certificate.
794
00:39:10.475 --> 00:39:13.187
I would like to ask Donald Trump
to join me at the podium.
795
00:39:14.897 --> 00:39:16.648
GIANCARLO:
Donald Trump gave a speech.
796
00:39:16.648 --> 00:39:21.236
- You know, your founder,
Jerry Falwell, was a great man.
797
00:39:21.236 --> 00:39:25.490
So impressive, so smart,
so tough when you had to be tough.
798
00:39:26.450 --> 00:39:28.368
GIANCARLO:
When I'm sitting there in the front row,
799
00:39:28.368 --> 00:39:29.745
I started to think to myself,
800
00:39:30.370 --> 00:39:33.332
"Everything about Liberty University
and the Falwells is all about power,
801
00:39:33.332 --> 00:39:35.751
and making sure
that people are aware of this power."
802
00:39:36.168 --> 00:39:39.713
- Don't let people take advantage--
This goes for a country too, by the way.
803
00:39:40.380 --> 00:39:43.300
Don't let people take advantage.
804
00:39:43.300 --> 00:39:44.384
Get even.
805
00:39:45.844 --> 00:39:47.221
GIANCARLO:
And then I find out
806
00:39:47.221 --> 00:39:49.264
that the students
aren't even allowed to dance,
807
00:39:49.264 --> 00:39:51.808
or drink alcohol,
or hold hands or hug, or anything.
808
00:39:53.602 --> 00:39:57.439
- The Liberty Way is this set of rules
809
00:39:57.439 --> 00:39:58.899
that students have to live by.
810
00:40:00.067 --> 00:40:01.652
Dress modestly.
811
00:40:01.652 --> 00:40:03.028
You cannot attend a dance.
812
00:40:03.529 --> 00:40:04.905
You're not allowed to drink
813
00:40:04.905 --> 00:40:08.617
And it controlled
the sexual conduct of the students.
814
00:40:09.409 --> 00:40:11.912
And you agree that, you know,
"The school can fine me
815
00:40:11.912 --> 00:40:13.914
if I violate one of these rules."
816
00:40:14.957 --> 00:40:17.960
For a small violation like swearing,
817
00:40:17.960 --> 00:40:21.755
you're probably just gonna end up
getting a few points put on your record.
818
00:40:21.755 --> 00:40:24.550
For something more serious,
like possession of alcohol,
819
00:40:24.550 --> 00:40:27.052
right away, you could get a $300 fine,
820
00:40:27.886 --> 00:40:32.975
which is the same potential fine
for committing a felony, like rape.
821
00:40:33.475 --> 00:40:35.644
- They run a Christian university,
but this is what they're doing.
822
00:40:35.644 --> 00:40:37.855
They're staying at the Fontainebleau
and partying and drinking.
823
00:40:38.438 --> 00:40:40.816
MARK:
This is Jerry Falwell Jr.,
824
00:40:40.816 --> 00:40:42.484
this is Becki Falwell,
825
00:40:42.484 --> 00:40:47.114
and this is their ultimate hypocrisy.
826
00:40:47.114 --> 00:40:48.907
Becki and Jerry as a team,
827
00:40:48.907 --> 00:40:51.994
they didn't play
by anyone's rules but their own.
828
00:40:51.994 --> 00:40:53.370
GIANCARLO:
I started feeling guilty.
829
00:40:53.370 --> 00:40:56.957
The students, they have no idea
what's really going on behind the scenes.
830
00:40:56.957 --> 00:41:00.919
They all think that the Falwells
are this godly, perfect family.
831
00:41:01.753 --> 00:41:02.963
I just felt very awkward.
832
00:41:04.756 --> 00:41:08.427
- You know, it's not too late to get back
in the presidential race, is it?
833
00:41:08.427 --> 00:41:09.469
I don't know.
834
00:41:10.804 --> 00:41:13.473
- Jerry and his family
have absolute control,
835
00:41:13.473 --> 00:41:17.895
and no one is going to stand up to them
'cause they're gonna get crushed.
836
00:41:17.895 --> 00:41:19.897
- My brother was so into this world,
837
00:41:19.897 --> 00:41:23.567
he was, like, high
off the power and the money,
838
00:41:23.567 --> 00:41:26.987
and being around
all these powerful people.
839
00:41:26.987 --> 00:41:29.406
He owned this building on Miami Beach.
840
00:41:29.406 --> 00:41:31.074
He was, like, on top of the world.
841
00:41:31.909 --> 00:41:35.162
♪
842
00:41:35.621 --> 00:41:37.539
GIANCARLO:
When my ex-girlfriend and I broke up,
843
00:41:37.539 --> 00:41:39.625
Becki pretended like she was sad,
844
00:41:39.625 --> 00:41:41.293
but she was obviously very excited
845
00:41:41.793 --> 00:41:44.129
because it meant
that we were gonna go back
846
00:41:44.129 --> 00:41:46.465
to the original nature
of the relationship.
847
00:41:46.465 --> 00:41:49.301
You know, we just started up again
as we did on day one.
848
00:41:49.301 --> 00:41:53.388
A part of me
felt like I-- I owed them this.
849
00:41:53.388 --> 00:41:56.391
They had this weird
psychological hold over me
850
00:41:56.391 --> 00:42:00.729
with these constant guilt trips
and me being financially tied to them.
851
00:42:00.729 --> 00:42:03.398
I can't really explain it,
but I felt like I had to.
852
00:42:03.398 --> 00:42:05.442
♪
853
00:42:05.442 --> 00:42:07.486
I get invited to Trey's wedding.
854
00:42:09.279 --> 00:42:11.657
LILIA:
There's like the first level of weirdness
855
00:42:11.657 --> 00:42:12.658
about the whole thing,
856
00:42:12.658 --> 00:42:17.329
and then what really took
my weird feelings to the next level
857
00:42:17.329 --> 00:42:19.665
is when he started
being friendly with the kids.
858
00:42:21.542 --> 00:42:23.418
The Falwells stayed
at the Presidential Suite.
859
00:42:24.545 --> 00:42:26.630
- Why the fuck
are you going to that wedding?
860
00:42:26.630 --> 00:42:28.924
I mean, why are you invited to that?
861
00:42:31.176 --> 00:42:34.388
- And I would just sneak away,
go to the room, and we would have sex.
862
00:42:34.388 --> 00:42:37.015
MARK:
The idea of getting caught
863
00:42:37.015 --> 00:42:39.393
was part of their sexual kink.
864
00:42:39.393 --> 00:42:41.687
Why else would you be so reckless?
865
00:42:41.687 --> 00:42:44.648
There was a sense
that if they just went along
866
00:42:44.648 --> 00:42:45.941
and got the university rich,
867
00:42:45.941 --> 00:42:47.401
that people would leave them alone
868
00:42:47.401 --> 00:42:51.280
and that they could pursue
this very racy private life.
869
00:42:51.947 --> 00:42:54.116
GIANCARLO:
Becki would refer to Trey
870
00:42:54.116 --> 00:42:57.035
and their other son, Wesley,
and their daughter as my siblings.
871
00:42:57.786 --> 00:42:59.454
If you look at it,
it's a good cover story.
872
00:42:59.454 --> 00:43:00.747
They were always gonna be able to say,
873
00:43:00.747 --> 00:43:03.041
"Yeah, you know what?
We saw him as a son
874
00:43:03.041 --> 00:43:04.626
and we were just trying to help him out."
875
00:43:04.626 --> 00:43:07.337
Christians are known
to reach out to people that are vulnerable
876
00:43:07.337 --> 00:43:09.089
and going through a tough time,
and lifting them up.
877
00:43:09.923 --> 00:43:11.508
The kids saw it as something admirable.
878
00:43:12.217 --> 00:43:13.552
They had no idea
879
00:43:13.552 --> 00:43:17.556
that their dad liked to watch his wife
get fucked in a room by a younger guy.
880
00:43:18.682 --> 00:43:21.226
LILIA:
Involving your kids with this person
881
00:43:21.226 --> 00:43:23.228
that you had
this sexual relationship with,
882
00:43:23.228 --> 00:43:26.773
they're the adults in the room,
they run a university, they're parents.
883
00:43:26.773 --> 00:43:29.651
He was at the age of,
like, I think, one of their sons.
884
00:43:29.651 --> 00:43:31.570
The whole thing was just, like, icky.
885
00:43:32.404 --> 00:43:34.615
With family vacations,
whenever they went down to Miami,
886
00:43:34.615 --> 00:43:38.243
Becki would just sneak away
and, you know, have sex with me.
887
00:43:38.243 --> 00:43:41.371
There was a running joke
amongst the kids and everyone,
888
00:43:41.371 --> 00:43:42.748
they're always like, "Where's Becki?"
889
00:43:42.748 --> 00:43:44.291
She was always-- She was always missing.
890
00:43:44.291 --> 00:43:47.085
They actually made a shirt
that said, "Where's Becki?"
891
00:43:47.085 --> 00:43:49.338
It was a little inside joke
amongst everyone.
892
00:43:49.338 --> 00:43:50.547
She was hanging out with me.
893
00:43:51.298 --> 00:43:54.051
Jerry, his job was to distract the kids.
894
00:43:54.051 --> 00:43:55.177
"All right, let's go to the beach.
895
00:43:55.177 --> 00:43:57.763
Let's go to the pool.
Let's go get drinks. Let's go explore."
896
00:43:57.763 --> 00:43:59.890
And then Becki and I
would just hang out in the hotel.
897
00:43:59.890 --> 00:44:02.434
As long as we recorded it,
he was okay with it.
898
00:44:03.018 --> 00:44:04.811
A lot of pressure came from Jerry.
899
00:44:04.811 --> 00:44:10.275
Basically, her job was to seduce me
and successfully have sex with me.
900
00:44:10.275 --> 00:44:13.612
And if she wasn't able to do that,
Jerry would get upset.
901
00:44:15.030 --> 00:44:17.115
The lies just started building up.
902
00:44:17.533 --> 00:44:19.159
I had to lie to my girlfriends,
903
00:44:19.159 --> 00:44:20.953
I had to lie to my family.
904
00:44:20.953 --> 00:44:22.454
It was exhausting.
905
00:44:22.454 --> 00:44:25.666
If you look at the Falwells,
they were living their best life.
906
00:44:25.666 --> 00:44:28.168
They were professionals
at living a double life.
907
00:44:29.211 --> 00:44:31.755
Over the years,
it just-- it weighed on me.
908
00:44:31.755 --> 00:44:34.424
When you're forced
to hold this secret and lie to everyone,
909
00:44:34.424 --> 00:44:35.884
you start to become a liar.
910
00:44:35.884 --> 00:44:37.386
And I didn't like who I was becoming.
911
00:44:37.386 --> 00:44:40.013
At a certain point, you just--
you just don't wanna do it anymore.
912
00:44:44.768 --> 00:44:45.894
MARK:
And then all of a sudden,
913
00:44:45.894 --> 00:44:51.358
the Fernandez duo, father and son,
started making claims what they would do.
914
00:44:51.358 --> 00:44:53.318
And they started making threats,
915
00:44:53.318 --> 00:44:55.404
and they started being a pain in the ass.
916
00:44:55.904 --> 00:44:58.615
- I think that visions of grandeur
and money,
917
00:44:58.615 --> 00:45:00.158
that was in everybody's head.
918
00:45:00.158 --> 00:45:01.660
Everything kind of turned sour.
919
00:45:01.660 --> 00:45:03.704
Greed fucks everybody up.
920
00:45:06.331 --> 00:45:07.833
GIANCARLO:
I hadn't heard from the Fernandezes
921
00:45:07.833 --> 00:45:09.334
since the deal closed,
922
00:45:09.334 --> 00:45:12.880
then all of a sudden, in fall, 2014,
923
00:45:12.880 --> 00:45:15.299
I received a letter from an attorney
who was representing them.
924
00:45:16.675 --> 00:45:18.760
And it had to do with breach of contract.
925
00:45:19.928 --> 00:45:23.891
They were claiming that they were promised
50% of my equity stake,
926
00:45:23.891 --> 00:45:25.893
but they weren't promised an equity stake.
927
00:45:26.476 --> 00:45:28.520
- To the best of my understanding,
928
00:45:28.520 --> 00:45:31.982
the agreement
was a real estate commission.
929
00:45:31.982 --> 00:45:35.694
I've never heard of them speaking
about being 50-50 in the property.
930
00:45:35.694 --> 00:45:37.529
GIANCARLO:
I give him a call.
931
00:45:37.529 --> 00:45:40.574
- Hello, Mr. Giancarlo Granda.
932
00:45:40.574 --> 00:45:41.950
- Just being theatrical.
933
00:45:41.950 --> 00:45:44.328
- As a devout Christian, I'm heartbroken
934
00:45:44.328 --> 00:45:48.290
about the things that my client
is telling me about the Falwells.
935
00:45:48.290 --> 00:45:50.459
GIANCARLO:
He referenced compromising images,
936
00:45:51.043 --> 00:45:52.586
photos of me and Becki.
937
00:45:53.795 --> 00:45:56.965
Obviously, I'm like, "Oh, my God,
everyone's gonna find out.
938
00:45:56.965 --> 00:45:58.550
"My family's gonna find out.
939
00:45:58.550 --> 00:46:00.219
"This is all gonna crumble.
940
00:46:00.219 --> 00:46:01.720
"Oh, my God, what-- what do they have?
941
00:46:01.720 --> 00:46:04.723
"Did they have the videos of me and Becki?
942
00:46:04.723 --> 00:46:06.600
Do they have that?
I didn't-- I didn't really know."
943
00:46:06.600 --> 00:46:08.477
It does not feel good when you know
944
00:46:08.477 --> 00:46:11.897
that this secret part of your life
is about to be exposed.
945
00:46:12.564 --> 00:46:13.774
- He was definitely nervous.
946
00:46:13.774 --> 00:46:18.904
I think this also started
his becoming a little paranoid.
947
00:46:18.904 --> 00:46:21.073
Who do you trust? Who you can't trust?
948
00:46:21.740 --> 00:46:23.367
GIANCARLO:
I was so frustrated
949
00:46:23.367 --> 00:46:27.704
at the fact that I was being betrayed
by someone who I saw as a friend.
950
00:46:27.704 --> 00:46:28.997
It's just disgusting
951
00:46:29.498 --> 00:46:32.751
to threaten to reveal our private lives.
952
00:46:33.252 --> 00:46:36.588
You know, later, I found out that
his dad owed a lot of money.
953
00:46:36.588 --> 00:46:40.008
He owed like, I don't know, like,
34 million dollars or something like that.
954
00:46:40.008 --> 00:46:44.847
So the $15,000 that they got
from commission wasn't gonna put a dent.
955
00:46:44.847 --> 00:46:49.393
Jesus and his father
are always looking for the next hustle,
956
00:46:49.393 --> 00:46:51.478
and that was Jerry Falwell Jr.
957
00:46:52.479 --> 00:46:54.523
- I just told him, "You're gonna
be hearing from my attorney."
958
00:46:54.523 --> 00:46:56.692
Called Jerry immediately after.
959
00:46:56.692 --> 00:46:59.152
I said, "It seems like
we're being blackmailed here."
960
00:46:59.820 --> 00:47:02.364
♪
961
00:47:05.075 --> 00:47:06.326
There's a mediation.
962
00:47:06.326 --> 00:47:07.870
Jerry flies down to Miami.
963
00:47:09.246 --> 00:47:13.417
- The Falwell attorneys
actually made an offer to the Fernandezes.
964
00:47:13.417 --> 00:47:15.752
But you see, greed doesn't play that game.
965
00:47:16.378 --> 00:47:18.130
GIANCARLO:
The reason why it was a shakedown
966
00:47:18.130 --> 00:47:19.798
and not just a normal legal dispute
967
00:47:19.798 --> 00:47:22.676
is because they were claiming
for half of my equity stake
968
00:47:22.676 --> 00:47:23.677
and anything that I made.
969
00:47:24.303 --> 00:47:27.431
And we offered it to 'em,
and they declined.
970
00:47:27.431 --> 00:47:30.058
- They figured
they could get a hell of a lot more.
971
00:47:30.058 --> 00:47:33.270
- They didn't really want half
of the equity stake, they wanted millions.
972
00:47:33.270 --> 00:47:36.106
He disguised this shakedown as a lawsuit.
973
00:47:36.106 --> 00:47:38.192
It was just them saying,
974
00:47:38.192 --> 00:47:40.819
"We know what happened
with this relationship.
975
00:47:40.819 --> 00:47:43.488
"Not only do we know,
but we have compromising material.
976
00:47:43.488 --> 00:47:44.656
We have photographs."
977
00:47:55.792 --> 00:47:58.420
"If you don't pay us,
then it's gonna become public."
978
00:47:59.421 --> 00:48:01.882
At this meeting, they showed the images,
979
00:48:01.882 --> 00:48:04.343
and it was the images
that she shared with me.
980
00:48:04.343 --> 00:48:06.678
LILIA:
Pictures? Okay.
981
00:48:06.678 --> 00:48:10.641
Like, pictures of you guys doing stuff?
982
00:48:11.058 --> 00:48:11.934
- Yeah.
983
00:48:11.934 --> 00:48:13.310
- Well, you're fucked.
984
00:48:14.811 --> 00:48:17.147
- I told Jerry, I'm like,
"Like, I didn't give it to them.
985
00:48:17.147 --> 00:48:19.066
They just somehow obtained them."
986
00:48:19.483 --> 00:48:22.611
And Jerry's like, "Look, I trust you.
Don't even worry about it.
987
00:48:22.611 --> 00:48:24.071
I know we're all on the same team here."
988
00:48:24.571 --> 00:48:26.406
I tell him, like,
"We need to call the FBI.
989
00:48:26.406 --> 00:48:28.033
"We shouldn't pay them,
you know, a penny."
990
00:48:28.367 --> 00:48:32.788
But it seemed like Jerry, he never
really wanted to testify under oath.
991
00:48:32.788 --> 00:48:34.122
He has a lot to hide.
992
00:48:35.040 --> 00:48:37.918
MARK:
He knew the volatility in those photos,
993
00:48:37.918 --> 00:48:43.465
and he knew that they had something
that could literally destroy him.
994
00:48:43.465 --> 00:48:45.884
- I told Jerry, I'm like,
"What did you tell your attorneys?"
995
00:48:45.884 --> 00:48:48.762
And he's like, "Well, I told them
that you had a crush on Becki,
996
00:48:48.762 --> 00:48:53.058
and you somehow got, you know, the images,
and then your friends got it somehow."
997
00:48:53.642 --> 00:48:55.519
I'm like, "Uh, that's not what happened."
998
00:48:55.936 --> 00:48:59.147
And at that point, I'm like,
"Is this-- Am I being represented here?
999
00:48:59.147 --> 00:49:01.733
"Like, are they looking out
for my best interests
1000
00:49:01.733 --> 00:49:03.443
at this point for this lawsuit?"
1001
00:49:03.443 --> 00:49:05.988
I mean, I was concerned
because, obviously, Jerry has influence.
1002
00:49:05.988 --> 00:49:07.781
He has power. He has connections.
1003
00:49:08.448 --> 00:49:12.995
I just saw how easy it was for them
to just spin this to favor the Falwells.
1004
00:49:12.995 --> 00:49:15.831
At that point, I'm like, "I'm screwed."
1005
00:49:21.587 --> 00:49:25.382
- Once the threat
of the Fernandezes started getting real,
1006
00:49:25.382 --> 00:49:27.050
things might come out.
1007
00:49:27.050 --> 00:49:30.220
He, I think, thought,
"Well, let me tell my parents
1008
00:49:30.220 --> 00:49:32.014
before they find out any other way."
1009
00:49:32.014 --> 00:49:34.850
- "I don't want any secrets.
This is what happened. It was stupid.
1010
00:49:34.850 --> 00:49:37.227
"But we are business partners,
and that's it.
1011
00:49:37.227 --> 00:49:40.314
It was stupid,
I was young, but I'm moving on."
1012
00:49:41.857 --> 00:49:43.442
Obviously, my parents were upset.
1013
00:49:43.442 --> 00:49:45.152
My mom was blown away by that.
1014
00:49:45.152 --> 00:49:46.236
She was shocked.
1015
00:49:46.737 --> 00:49:49.781
You know, she really thought
that they were an amazing family
1016
00:49:49.781 --> 00:49:50.991
for helping me out.
1017
00:49:50.991 --> 00:49:52.201
It broke her heart.
1018
00:49:52.784 --> 00:49:56.455
♪
1019
00:49:57.331 --> 00:49:58.415
Becki called me.
1020
00:49:59.291 --> 00:50:01.418
I told her I was stressed out.
1021
00:50:01.418 --> 00:50:02.503
I want no part of this.
1022
00:50:02.503 --> 00:50:03.837
I'm-- I want out.
1023
00:50:03.837 --> 00:50:06.507
"Oh, the lawsuit?
Don't even worry about it.
1024
00:50:06.507 --> 00:50:07.883
"We called our friend, Michael Cohen,
1025
00:50:07.883 --> 00:50:10.052
"and he's gonna take care
of those guys that are suing us.
1026
00:50:10.969 --> 00:50:13.347
It's never even gonna go public.
We're in good hands."
1027
00:50:15.098 --> 00:50:17.309
Whenever you need something
to go away or get settled,
1028
00:50:17.309 --> 00:50:19.770
or any sort of legal dispute
to be, uh, resolved,
1029
00:50:19.770 --> 00:50:23.440
then, uh, people within Trump's orbit,
they would reach out to Michael Cohen.
1030
00:50:25.734 --> 00:50:27.611
After Michael Cohen intervened,
1031
00:50:27.611 --> 00:50:30.447
it seemed like
our problems just went away.
1032
00:50:30.447 --> 00:50:33.283
The Fernandezes
and the lawsuit just vanished, you know?
1033
00:50:33.283 --> 00:50:34.701
And it did for a while, at least.
1034
00:50:46.171 --> 00:50:49.466
- It's true that Michael Cohen
helped them out with the legal dispute.
1035
00:50:49.466 --> 00:50:53.303
But he didn't just help 'em out,
now he owns the compromising material.
1036
00:50:54.471 --> 00:50:56.390
MARK:
This story isn't quite over
1037
00:50:56.390 --> 00:51:00.310
in terms of Michael Cohen
and what his business was
1038
00:51:00.310 --> 00:51:03.730
and may still be with the Falwells.
1039
00:51:03.730 --> 00:51:05.983
Who owns who in this situation?
1040
00:51:07.276 --> 00:51:10.279
♪
1041
00:51:11.655 --> 00:51:13.657
GIANCARLO:
I'm at the hostel doing work.
1042
00:51:13.657 --> 00:51:16.118
I get a phone call from Jerry and Becki,
1043
00:51:16.118 --> 00:51:17.995
and they told me they were in Miami.
1044
00:51:17.995 --> 00:51:19.538
And they said,
"Hey, come over to the Loews,
1045
00:51:19.538 --> 00:51:21.164
we gotta talk about something serious."
1046
00:51:21.832 --> 00:51:23.876
And I'm like, "Oh, shit, what's going on?"
1047
00:51:25.335 --> 00:51:27.379
So the first thing that Jerry says--
1048
00:51:28.130 --> 00:51:31.717
He offered me
1.1 million dollars for my equity stake
1049
00:51:31.717 --> 00:51:32.968
in the property in South Beach.
1050
00:51:32.968 --> 00:51:36.722
And then he also said
he owns a hotel in-- in Lynchburg,
1051
00:51:36.722 --> 00:51:37.931
it's La Quinta.
1052
00:51:37.931 --> 00:51:42.895
And they-- they offered me an equity stake
just equivalent of $50,000 a year.
1053
00:51:43.312 --> 00:51:45.606
He said, "Do you want it?"
And I said, "Yeah."
1054
00:51:45.606 --> 00:51:47.441
I accepted immediately
right there on the spot.
1055
00:51:47.441 --> 00:51:51.069
But he's like, "We're gonna have
to wait till we settle this lawsuit
1056
00:51:51.069 --> 00:51:53.614
because there's this legal claim on us."
1057
00:51:53.614 --> 00:51:54.990
It's like kind of, like, having a lien.
1058
00:51:54.990 --> 00:51:57.409
I was essentially
handcuffed to this property.
1059
00:51:58.410 --> 00:52:02.581
- I think at this point, he was
very much over the bullshit of it all.
1060
00:52:02.581 --> 00:52:04.416
Over the years,
Jerry would always tell me,
1061
00:52:04.416 --> 00:52:06.793
"Wouldn't it be nice
if you just come work over at Liberty?"
1062
00:52:06.793 --> 00:52:08.754
He just really wanted me in that world.
1063
00:52:09.421 --> 00:52:13.842
I asked, "Why are you being so generous
with this proposition? What's going on?"
1064
00:52:14.176 --> 00:52:17.304
Then he told me, he's like,
"Michael Cohen approached me,
1065
00:52:17.304 --> 00:52:19.973
"and Donald Trump's
gonna run for president,
1066
00:52:19.973 --> 00:52:21.892
and they want my endorsement."
1067
00:52:23.727 --> 00:52:25.979
I didn't take it seriously.
I'm like, "You can't be serious, right?"
1068
00:52:25.979 --> 00:52:27.481
Like, it's probably for ratings.
1069
00:52:27.481 --> 00:52:29.191
There's no way he's actually running.
1070
00:52:29.191 --> 00:52:31.360
He's like,
"No, no. He really wants to run.
1071
00:52:31.360 --> 00:52:33.695
And, uh, we believe
that he can actually win."
1072
00:52:35.072 --> 00:52:37.699
If Jerry was gonna get
more involved with politicians,
1073
00:52:37.699 --> 00:52:39.159
just like how his dad did,
1074
00:52:39.159 --> 00:52:42.287
he had to ensure
that all loose ends were tied.
1075
00:52:45.123 --> 00:52:46.375
MATTHEW:
In the 1970s,
1076
00:52:46.375 --> 00:52:49.920
when the evangelicals and Jerry Falwell
became engaged in politics,
1077
00:52:49.920 --> 00:52:52.214
they realized that
the civil rights issue was wrong,
1078
00:52:52.214 --> 00:52:53.966
like, they-- they were
on the wrong side of that one.
1079
00:52:53.966 --> 00:52:55.884
And so they begin
to shift towards other issues.
1080
00:52:55.884 --> 00:52:58.971
- There was a kind of a period
of almost market testing
1081
00:52:58.971 --> 00:53:03.100
to see which issues would grab
these evangelical voters.
1082
00:53:03.684 --> 00:53:05.352
MATTHEW:
They go after the feminist movement.
1083
00:53:05.352 --> 00:53:08.105
JERRY SR.: God didn't make women
for NFL football or combat,
1084
00:53:08.105 --> 00:53:09.273
or a lot of other things.
1085
00:53:09.273 --> 00:53:14.319
I don't believe we should demean womanhood
by saying that men and women are the same.
1086
00:53:14.319 --> 00:53:16.321
- They also began to go after pornography.
1087
00:53:16.655 --> 00:53:19.616
JERRY SR.: Until once again
the pornographers are looked on
1088
00:53:19.616 --> 00:53:23.203
as the sleazy merchants of garbage
as they once were,
1089
00:53:23.203 --> 00:53:25.372
and in fact, still are, we haven't won.
1090
00:53:25.372 --> 00:53:27.040
- They go after the gay rights movement.
1091
00:53:27.040 --> 00:53:30.502
- The scriptures are very clear
that homosexuality is moral perversion.
1092
00:53:30.502 --> 00:53:33.630
And that's in violation of everything
that the Word of God teaches.
1093
00:53:33.630 --> 00:53:36.133
- In a nation
that's becoming ever more diverse,
1094
00:53:36.133 --> 00:53:39.178
Falwell is trying to roll back
any progressive change
1095
00:53:39.178 --> 00:53:40.220
that's gonna happen.
1096
00:53:40.220 --> 00:53:44.725
- In a landmark ruling, the Supreme Court
today legalized abortions.
1097
00:53:44.725 --> 00:53:47.436
The majority, in cases
from Texas and Georgia said
1098
00:53:47.436 --> 00:53:51.148
that the decision to end a pregnancy
during the first three months
1099
00:53:51.148 --> 00:53:54.776
belongs to the woman and her doctor,
not the government.
1100
00:53:54.776 --> 00:53:59.865
- Abortion was considered a Catholic issue
by evangelicals in the 1970s.
1101
00:53:59.865 --> 00:54:03.410
- Evangelicals really felt
like abortion was a personal decision
1102
00:54:03.410 --> 00:54:05.495
that could be made
with a minister and a doctor.
1103
00:54:05.495 --> 00:54:08.123
What they don't want
is the state telling people what to do.
1104
00:54:08.540 --> 00:54:11.502
RANDALL:
It wasn't until the '78 midterm elections,
1105
00:54:11.502 --> 00:54:14.796
abortion finally begins
to appear on the radar screen
1106
00:54:14.796 --> 00:54:16.757
of American evangelicals.
1107
00:54:16.757 --> 00:54:20.844
- Abortion could be
the most volatile, single, political issue
in the country today,
1108
00:54:20.844 --> 00:54:24.264
and the right-to-lifers,
the most powerful, single issue block.
1109
00:54:24.264 --> 00:54:28.685
RANDALL:
Several conservative activists,
pro-lifers, Roman Catholics,
1110
00:54:29.520 --> 00:54:31.271
target four senate races.
1111
00:54:31.271 --> 00:54:34.316
Right-to-lifers passed out
300,000 leaflets
1112
00:54:34.316 --> 00:54:35.943
the weekend before the election.
1113
00:54:35.943 --> 00:54:37.110
RANDALL:
Two days later,
1114
00:54:37.110 --> 00:54:41.323
all four Democratic nominees
who were highly favored
1115
00:54:41.323 --> 00:54:44.952
lost to anti-abortion Republicans.
1116
00:54:45.744 --> 00:54:48.580
At that point, Falwell realized
1117
00:54:48.580 --> 00:54:51.083
they had an issue
that would work for them politically.
1118
00:54:53.585 --> 00:54:57.339
- Jerry Falwell Sr. does not preach
his first sermon against abortion
1119
00:54:57.339 --> 00:55:00.092
until five years after Roe v. Wade.
1120
00:55:00.092 --> 00:55:01.927
JERRY SR.:
Abortion is a moral issue.
1121
00:55:01.927 --> 00:55:03.470
It is a human rights issue.
1122
00:55:03.470 --> 00:55:07.099
An issue that concerns the human rights
of unborn babies,
1123
00:55:07.099 --> 00:55:12.354
who, by the hundreds of thousands,
are being murdered.
1124
00:55:12.354 --> 00:55:15.107
Abortion becomes
the number-one wedge issue
1125
00:55:15.107 --> 00:55:18.569
that they can all agree on,
and all get in line behind.
1126
00:55:18.569 --> 00:55:21.029
Jerry Falwell Sr. saw that as a way
1127
00:55:21.029 --> 00:55:24.658
to put himself in the forefront
of the culture wars of the day.
1128
00:55:24.658 --> 00:55:27.953
It's much easier
to say you don't want abortion
1129
00:55:27.953 --> 00:55:30.831
than to say you don't want
a little Black child on the school bus
1130
00:55:30.831 --> 00:55:31.915
with your little white girl.
1131
00:55:33.000 --> 00:55:36.753
And this becomes
a very lucrative business proposition.
1132
00:55:36.753 --> 00:55:39.298
- I want every one of you
to leave here this morning
1133
00:55:39.298 --> 00:55:41.925
without a penny, a nickel,
a dime, or a quarter.
1134
00:55:41.925 --> 00:55:43.177
No change left.
1135
00:55:43.177 --> 00:55:45.512
This is the cash receipts department.
1136
00:55:46.013 --> 00:55:50.058
I'm guessing, today,
they will probably do $200,000 here.
1137
00:55:50.058 --> 00:55:52.352
- $200,000 a day?
1138
00:55:52.769 --> 00:55:54.104
REPORTER:
At its peak,
1139
00:55:54.104 --> 00:55:58.483
Falwell's ministry brought in
nearly 100 million dollars a year.
1140
00:55:58.483 --> 00:56:03.155
- This is the country God has raised up
for the purpose of world evangelization.
1141
00:56:03.155 --> 00:56:04.239
ANNOUNCER:
Jerry Falwell,
1142
00:56:04.239 --> 00:56:07.326
a Lynchburg, Virginia, preacher
who runs Moral Majority,
1143
00:56:07.326 --> 00:56:09.953
a new political machine
that's anti-abortion,
1144
00:56:09.953 --> 00:56:12.372
anti-ERA, anti-gay rights,
1145
00:56:12.372 --> 00:56:14.875
and for, what he calls, a "Moral America."
1146
00:56:14.875 --> 00:56:18.295
- All the moral issues that count today
are in the political arena.
1147
00:56:18.295 --> 00:56:21.256
There's no way to fight these battles
except in that arena.
1148
00:56:21.256 --> 00:56:24.301
REPORTER:
Moral Majority claims
47 state organizations
1149
00:56:24.301 --> 00:56:27.262
and a network of 72,000 preachers,
1150
00:56:27.262 --> 00:56:30.933
combining to form, what some call,
a Christian political machine.
1151
00:56:30.933 --> 00:56:33.143
MATTHEW:
They want to use political power
1152
00:56:33.143 --> 00:56:35.562
to help elect a president
who can appoint judges
1153
00:56:35.562 --> 00:56:38.315
to reverse
the Court's decision on abortion.
1154
00:56:38.315 --> 00:56:41.109
- We're gonna make it impossible
for a fellow to run for dog catcher
1155
00:56:41.109 --> 00:56:42.277
if he's pro-abortion.
1156
00:56:42.277 --> 00:56:44.947
Liberty University
is going to be the essential stop
1157
00:56:44.947 --> 00:56:46.532
for political candidates,
1158
00:56:46.532 --> 00:56:47.950
especially Republican Candidates,
1159
00:56:47.950 --> 00:56:50.327
especially Conservative
Republican Candidates,
1160
00:56:50.327 --> 00:56:51.495
for getting out your message
1161
00:56:51.495 --> 00:56:54.248
and for substantiating
what you wanted to do with the country.
1162
00:56:56.416 --> 00:56:59.294
ANNOUNCER:
This is an NBC News Special Report.
1163
00:57:00.087 --> 00:57:03.257
- Donald Trump is lining up,
what could be, key endorsements.
1164
00:57:05.884 --> 00:57:08.262
For Trump,
a major evangelical endorsement,
1165
00:57:08.262 --> 00:57:09.972
Jerry Falwell Jr.
1166
00:57:09.972 --> 00:57:13.267
Falwell could give Trump
the credibility he needs.
1167
00:57:13.267 --> 00:57:15.727
- Can we just put our hands together
for our great president?
1168
00:57:15.727 --> 00:57:17.187
President Falwell, everybody. Come on.
1169
00:57:24.528 --> 00:57:29.157
- Matthew 7:16 tells us
that by their fruits, you shall know them.
1170
00:57:29.157 --> 00:57:32.953
In my opinion, Donald Trump
lives a life of loving and helping others
1171
00:57:32.953 --> 00:57:35.163
as Jesus taught in the great commandment.
1172
00:57:35.163 --> 00:57:39.084
Please welcome back
to Liberty University, Mr. Donald Trump.
1173
00:57:40.210 --> 00:57:41.211
- Wow.
1174
00:57:43.046 --> 00:57:44.339
It's an honor to be here.
1175
00:57:44.840 --> 00:57:46.049
I wrote The Art of the Deal,
1176
00:57:46.049 --> 00:57:47.134
I wrote many bestsellers.
1177
00:57:47.134 --> 00:57:51.597
I always say,
a deep, deep second to the Bible.
1178
00:57:51.597 --> 00:57:53.265
The Bible is the best. The Bible.
1179
00:57:54.558 --> 00:57:57.352
GIANCARLO:
Jerry was entrenched
in, now, the political world
1180
00:57:57.352 --> 00:57:59.146
in campaigning for Donald Trump.
1181
00:57:59.146 --> 00:58:02.316
- Evangelicals are tired
of being betrayed.
1182
00:58:02.316 --> 00:58:05.944
And I think the song from 1971 by The Who,
1183
00:58:05.944 --> 00:58:10.324
Won't Get Fooled Again,
is very pertinent in this situation.
1184
00:58:10.324 --> 00:58:12.993
And I think
that's how a lot of evangelicals feel.
1185
00:58:13.744 --> 00:58:15.537
We don't wanna get fooled again.
1186
00:58:16.038 --> 00:58:19.249
DONALD:
Jerry Falwell Jr. was so helpful.
He was so helpful.
1187
00:58:19.249 --> 00:58:22.002
You know,
I'm leading with the evangelicals.
1188
00:58:22.002 --> 00:58:23.086
I'm a good Christian.
1189
00:58:23.086 --> 00:58:25.047
- The majority of evangelicals believe
1190
00:58:25.047 --> 00:58:27.758
that Donald Trump is best equipped
to save the country.
1191
00:58:27.758 --> 00:58:31.303
He was one
of the very first Christian leaders
1192
00:58:31.303 --> 00:58:33.639
who made it possible
for other Christian leaders
1193
00:58:33.639 --> 00:58:34.556
to get on board
1194
00:58:34.556 --> 00:58:36.683
and get their congregations on board
with the Trump campaign.
1195
00:58:37.100 --> 00:58:38.977
- The evangelicals, they're with me
1196
00:58:38.977 --> 00:58:41.063
'cause they know one thing about me,
I'm not a liar.
1197
00:58:41.063 --> 00:58:43.023
- Well, you just heard it
from Donald Trump.
1198
00:58:43.023 --> 00:58:44.650
Christians love him.
1199
00:58:44.650 --> 00:58:46.485
If Trump didn't get
into real estate development,
1200
00:58:46.485 --> 00:58:48.695
he could've been an evangelical preacher.
1201
00:58:49.112 --> 00:58:51.031
- There's 15 devils.
1202
00:58:51.031 --> 00:58:52.491
GIANCARLO:
And he's a character.
1203
00:58:52.491 --> 00:58:54.993
All these pastors, they're all characters,
1204
00:58:54.993 --> 00:58:56.245
they're putting on a show.
1205
00:58:56.245 --> 00:58:57.788
- Everybody wants to talk about my hair.
1206
00:58:57.788 --> 00:59:00.374
- Maybe they don't like my hair,
which is real, by the way.
1207
00:59:00.374 --> 00:59:01.208
Look at that sucker.
1208
00:59:02.376 --> 00:59:04.086
RANDALL:
You can make a case that Donald Trump
1209
00:59:04.086 --> 00:59:07.339
is very much in the tradition
of the televangelist.
1210
00:59:07.339 --> 00:59:09.716
He was an evangelist for capitalism.
1211
00:59:10.217 --> 00:59:12.886
- Many of you would need
to anoint your billfold with this oil
1212
00:59:12.886 --> 00:59:14.096
for a financial blessing.
1213
00:59:14.930 --> 00:59:17.224
DONALD:
Trump Steaks are by far the best tasting,
1214
00:59:17.224 --> 00:59:19.226
most flavorful beef you've ever had.
1215
00:59:19.560 --> 00:59:23.814
And so, Donald Trump emerged
as the champion for the religious right,
1216
00:59:23.814 --> 00:59:25.232
much like Reagan did in 1980.
1217
00:59:26.358 --> 00:59:29.069
RONALD REAGAN:
I was asked once what book I would choose
1218
00:59:29.069 --> 00:59:30.988
if I were shipwrecked on an island.
1219
00:59:31.488 --> 00:59:32.322
The Bible.
1220
00:59:33.073 --> 00:59:35.409
RANDALL:
What this is, is politics.
1221
00:59:35.409 --> 00:59:36.785
Politics in the pulpit.
1222
00:59:36.785 --> 00:59:38.370
REPORTER:
Few concern themselves
1223
00:59:38.370 --> 00:59:41.456
with the delicate balance
between church and state.
1224
00:59:41.456 --> 00:59:43.500
JERRY SR.:
Mr. Reagan's enemies are my enemies,
1225
00:59:44.251 --> 00:59:45.294
and they're yours too.
1226
00:59:45.294 --> 00:59:48.839
- Donald Trump is the only candidate
who cannot be bought.
1227
00:59:49.631 --> 00:59:54.386
- I am the law and order candidate.
1228
00:59:54.386 --> 00:59:56.263
- You wanted law and order in this town,
1229
00:59:56.263 --> 00:59:57.389
you've got it.
1230
01:00:04.229 --> 01:00:06.940
- All of us are sinners.
All of us are redeemable.
1231
01:00:06.940 --> 01:00:08.317
- Falwell stood by his side
1232
01:00:08.317 --> 01:00:11.111
and continued to argue
that Christians should support him.
1233
01:00:11.111 --> 01:00:12.529
JERRY JR.:
Five years from now,
1234
01:00:12.529 --> 01:00:14.781
when the Supreme Court is stacked
1235
01:00:14.781 --> 01:00:17.492
with people who will rip
our Constitution to shreds,
1236
01:00:17.492 --> 01:00:19.203
get rid of the Second Amendment,
1237
01:00:19.203 --> 01:00:21.580
nobody's gonna be thinking
about what Donald Trump said
1238
01:00:21.580 --> 01:00:23.790
on a videotape in 2005.
1239
01:00:23.790 --> 01:00:26.793
Evangelicals didn't care
about Donald Trump not being Christian.
1240
01:00:26.793 --> 01:00:30.130
They were willing to take a man
who had been married three times
1241
01:00:30.130 --> 01:00:32.758
and had five children
from three different mothers,
1242
01:00:33.258 --> 01:00:36.553
just like they didn't care
that Ronald Reagan wasn't evangelical.
1243
01:00:37.304 --> 01:00:38.972
RANDALL:
Here you have Jimmy Carter,
1244
01:00:38.972 --> 01:00:43.519
a born again,
Southern Baptist, progressive evangelical.
1245
01:00:43.519 --> 01:00:46.980
And evangelicals,
they turned dramatically against him
1246
01:00:46.980 --> 01:00:49.107
and then settled, improbably,
1247
01:00:49.107 --> 01:00:54.404
on a divorced and remarried,
former Hollywood actor,
1248
01:00:54.404 --> 01:00:57.908
who, as Governor of California in 1967,
1249
01:00:57.908 --> 01:01:01.203
signed into law the most liberal
abortion bill in the country.
1250
01:01:01.203 --> 01:01:04.456
- When you interrupt a pregnancy,
you are taking a human life.
1251
01:01:04.957 --> 01:01:06.250
- As you know, I'm pro-life.
1252
01:01:06.750 --> 01:01:08.210
INTERVIEWER:
Should the woman be punished
1253
01:01:08.210 --> 01:01:09.211
for having an abortion?
1254
01:01:09.211 --> 01:01:11.004
- There has to be some form of punishment.
1255
01:01:11.004 --> 01:01:12.130
For the woman?
- Yeah.
1256
01:01:12.130 --> 01:01:14.341
- Moral Majority founder,
the Reverend Jerry Falwell
1257
01:01:14.341 --> 01:01:15.217
is quoted as saying,
1258
01:01:15.217 --> 01:01:18.512
he expects a reshaped Supreme Court
by President Reagan
1259
01:01:18.512 --> 01:01:20.305
would outlaw most abortions.
1260
01:01:20.305 --> 01:01:23.141
- Do you wanna see the Court
overturn Roe v. Wade?
1261
01:01:23.141 --> 01:01:26.520
- Well, if we put
another two or perhaps three justices on,
1262
01:01:26.520 --> 01:01:29.147
that's really what's going to be--
That will happen.
1263
01:01:29.147 --> 01:01:32.442
- Evangelicals,
all they wanted to do was win,
1264
01:01:32.442 --> 01:01:35.696
and they were willing to win
with anyone that they possibly could.
1265
01:01:35.696 --> 01:01:39.324
BOTH:
We will make America great again.
1266
01:01:39.324 --> 01:01:42.953
- In 1984, my father stood
at this convention
1267
01:01:43.537 --> 01:01:45.205
and offered the opening prayer
1268
01:01:45.205 --> 01:01:48.166
before our party's candidate,
Ronald Reagan.
1269
01:01:48.166 --> 01:01:49.710
- We pray for our beloved president.
1270
01:01:50.460 --> 01:01:52.546
Upon a man that many of us believe,
1271
01:01:52.546 --> 01:01:55.799
indeed, to be our greatest president
since Lincoln.
1272
01:01:57.342 --> 01:02:00.345
- Ronald Reagan went on
to accept the nomination
1273
01:02:00.345 --> 01:02:01.805
and win in a landslide.
1274
01:02:02.139 --> 01:02:04.266
A little over 30 years later,
1275
01:02:04.266 --> 01:02:07.352
I stand here with the sincerest prayer
1276
01:02:07.352 --> 01:02:12.149
that history is about to repeat itself
with the election of Donald J. Trump.
1277
01:02:17.863 --> 01:02:20.949
Just about four days
before the Republican National Convention,
1278
01:02:20.949 --> 01:02:22.868
I received a text message from Jerry.
1279
01:02:23.911 --> 01:02:26.371
He said that
"You have equity in the company,
1280
01:02:26.371 --> 01:02:29.249
you've worked really hard
in maximizing the value of this company."
1281
01:02:29.249 --> 01:02:30.292
No matter what happens,
1282
01:02:30.292 --> 01:02:33.128
whether he buys it out
or we sell the property,
1283
01:02:33.128 --> 01:02:36.507
that he would ensure
that I get no less than $600,000.
1284
01:02:37.007 --> 01:02:38.759
I was making it clear
that this legal dispute
1285
01:02:38.759 --> 01:02:41.637
was, you know,
taking a toll on my mental health.
1286
01:02:41.637 --> 01:02:43.514
I just wasn't feeling well. I wanted out.
1287
01:02:44.014 --> 01:02:45.891
He probably wanted
a clean cut from everything too.
1288
01:02:46.517 --> 01:02:50.896
This was just another form
of trapping my brother in,
1289
01:02:50.896 --> 01:02:53.106
giving him a reason
to, you know, stay close.
1290
01:02:53.106 --> 01:02:55.817
Now there was this whole new dynamic.
1291
01:02:55.817 --> 01:03:00.656
Jerry Falwell was getting himself involved
with the future president of this country,
1292
01:03:00.656 --> 01:03:03.825
so he needed to make sure
that his circle was tight,
1293
01:03:03.825 --> 01:03:08.372
and that no one was gonna be out there
saying anything crazy about them.
1294
01:03:09.456 --> 01:03:13.168
ANNOUNCER:
Fox News decision desk has called
1295
01:03:13.752 --> 01:03:15.838
Pennsylvania for Donald Trump.
1296
01:03:16.255 --> 01:03:19.466
This means that Donald Trump will be
1297
01:03:19.466 --> 01:03:23.136
the 45th president of the United States.
1298
01:03:23.136 --> 01:03:24.721
ANTHEA:
Evangelicals have played a role
1299
01:03:24.721 --> 01:03:28.308
in electing every Republican president
since Ronald Reagan.
1300
01:03:28.308 --> 01:03:30.227
NARRATOR:
The numbers were overwhelming.
1301
01:03:30.227 --> 01:03:34.064
81% of self-identified white,
born again, or evangelical Christians
1302
01:03:34.064 --> 01:03:35.357
ultimately voted for Trump.
1303
01:03:35.357 --> 01:03:37.484
It was an evangelical turnout for Trump
1304
01:03:37.484 --> 01:03:40.153
that exceeded George W. Bush in 2004,
1305
01:03:40.153 --> 01:03:42.030
John McCain in 2008,
1306
01:03:42.030 --> 01:03:43.490
and Mitt Romney in 2012.
1307
01:03:45.409 --> 01:03:47.578
MARK:
Much like his father before him,
1308
01:03:47.578 --> 01:03:50.706
Jerry Falwell Jr. is now a kingmaker.
1309
01:03:51.915 --> 01:03:54.334
DUSTIN:
After Trump was inaugurated as president,
1310
01:03:54.334 --> 01:03:56.044
Falwell felt invincible.
1311
01:03:56.670 --> 01:04:00.215
And he was increasingly weaponizing
Liberty University,
1312
01:04:00.215 --> 01:04:03.510
and making it into an arm
of the Trump Administration.
1313
01:04:04.011 --> 01:04:07.347
- I call Liberty the Fox News Network
of the academic world.
1314
01:04:07.931 --> 01:04:10.809
- Why is it that the left mocks God?
1315
01:04:10.809 --> 01:04:15.564
- Welcome to the United States of America,
1316
01:04:15.564 --> 01:04:19.860
where illegal aliens have more rights
1317
01:04:19.860 --> 01:04:22.613
than American citizens.
1318
01:04:22.613 --> 01:04:25.741
DONALD TRUMP JR.:
Enough. Enough of the PC garbage.
1319
01:04:25.741 --> 01:04:28.410
Enough of the never-ending movement
of the woke.
1320
01:04:28.410 --> 01:04:33.415
- Gun owners know that the only
truly free people that have ever lived
1321
01:04:33.415 --> 01:04:34.917
have been armed people.
1322
01:04:35.375 --> 01:04:39.588
- President Jerry Falwell,
I'm inspired by the work you're doing.
1323
01:04:40.839 --> 01:04:43.717
You're forcing them
to attend every single speech,
1324
01:04:43.717 --> 01:04:45.344
and you're repeating the same rhetoric.
1325
01:04:45.344 --> 01:04:47.638
To me, that's--
that's kind of like indoctrination.
1326
01:04:47.638 --> 01:04:48.639
- Praise Jesus.
- Yes.
1327
01:04:49.348 --> 01:04:51.475
- Jerry and I have gotten
to be friends over the last year,
1328
01:04:51.475 --> 01:04:53.685
and I can tell you,
my respect for him is boundless.
1329
01:04:53.685 --> 01:04:58.232
- It's so refreshing
to come to a university
1330
01:04:58.232 --> 01:05:00.400
where people care about their country,
1331
01:05:00.400 --> 01:05:02.444
and-- and it's okay
to say, "Merry Christmas."
1332
01:05:02.861 --> 01:05:04.530
JERRY JR.:
John Kelly, Rex Tillerson,
1333
01:05:04.530 --> 01:05:07.908
lots of deep state people,
really run the government.
1334
01:05:07.908 --> 01:05:11.662
- That issue of the Confederate flag
was not about hate.
1335
01:05:11.662 --> 01:05:15.082
- As Christians,
we should be unbelievably concerned
1336
01:05:15.082 --> 01:05:18.836
that the left, first and foremost,
they wanna turn government into God.
1337
01:05:19.253 --> 01:05:22.673
Jerry and Charlie Kirk
founded the Falkirk Center.
1338
01:05:22.673 --> 01:05:25.509
It operates as Liberty's think tank.
1339
01:05:25.509 --> 01:05:27.845
But they don't do actual research.
1340
01:05:27.845 --> 01:05:31.515
There's no academic product
that comes from the Falkirk Center.
1341
01:05:31.515 --> 01:05:34.643
It's just like a big Trump troll farm.
1342
01:05:34.643 --> 01:05:38.605
The launch of this center
is answering the important questions:
1343
01:05:38.605 --> 01:05:40.524
Was Jesus Christ a socialist?
1344
01:05:40.524 --> 01:05:43.277
MARK:
Jerry had the board under his thumb.
1345
01:05:43.277 --> 01:05:45.571
And as soon as someone
from the board spoke up,
1346
01:05:46.154 --> 01:05:47.155
boom.
1347
01:05:47.656 --> 01:05:48.574
New this morning,
1348
01:05:48.574 --> 01:05:51.368
a Liberty University board member
has resigned
1349
01:05:51.368 --> 01:05:54.288
after publicly criticizing
the school's president.
1350
01:05:54.288 --> 01:05:58.584
DUSTIN:
Mark DeMoss was Jerry Falwell Sr.'s
personal chief of staff.
1351
01:05:58.584 --> 01:06:01.378
DeMoss speaks
to the Washington Post and says,
1352
01:06:01.378 --> 01:06:05.340
"Donald Trump's behavior
does not reflect the Christian values
1353
01:06:05.340 --> 01:06:07.968
that have been taught
at Liberty for generations."
1354
01:06:07.968 --> 01:06:12.055
That was the last time a board member
stood up to challenge Falwell.
1355
01:06:12.639 --> 01:06:14.933
At this point,
I noticed that Jerry's behavior
1356
01:06:14.933 --> 01:06:17.853
was becoming more
just egotistical and arrogant.
1357
01:06:17.853 --> 01:06:19.563
- Can you imagine
if the governor was trying
1358
01:06:19.563 --> 01:06:21.690
to take away our First Amendment rights?
1359
01:06:21.690 --> 01:06:24.860
Second Amendment's
just as-- just as sacred.
1360
01:06:24.860 --> 01:06:26.945
- The culture at Liberty was affected
1361
01:06:26.945 --> 01:06:29.531
by this permissiveness
that Falwell Jr. felt.
1362
01:06:29.531 --> 01:06:31.992
- I think they're gonna be faced
with civil disobedience,
1363
01:06:31.992 --> 01:06:35.329
not just by citizens
but by police officers.
1364
01:06:35.746 --> 01:06:39.499
Jerry was offered
the position of secretary of education.
1365
01:06:39.499 --> 01:06:41.293
They said, "Are you gonna take it?"
1366
01:06:41.877 --> 01:06:43.045
And he said,
1367
01:06:43.045 --> 01:06:46.590
"My dad told me that it's better
to be a kingmaker than a king."
1368
01:06:46.590 --> 01:06:49.384
I think he was just, like, drunk on power.
1369
01:06:49.384 --> 01:06:50.511
LILIA:
And literally drunk,
1370
01:06:50.511 --> 01:06:53.055
with his bottle of tequila
in his hand at all times.
1371
01:06:53.055 --> 01:06:56.266
- Mr. Trump learned about Clyde Fra--
Ooh, sorry.
1372
01:06:58.101 --> 01:07:00.604
- He would walk around campus
with a water bottle
1373
01:07:00.604 --> 01:07:02.773
with half-water, half-tequila.
1374
01:07:02.773 --> 01:07:04.942
- A lot of people at Liberty had told me
1375
01:07:04.942 --> 01:07:08.195
that Jerry was drinking during the day
at the university,
1376
01:07:08.195 --> 01:07:11.490
that he was going into meetings
smelling of alcohol.
1377
01:07:11.490 --> 01:07:13.033
DUSTIN:
He literally said--
1378
01:07:13.033 --> 01:07:16.119
- I couldn't say half the things I say
at any other university either.
1379
01:07:17.371 --> 01:07:18.956
DUSTIN:
Which was exactly right.
1380
01:07:18.956 --> 01:07:21.416
He couldn't, uh, because
someone would hold him accountable.
1381
01:07:21.416 --> 01:07:23.126
But nobody at Liberty ever did.
1382
01:07:23.126 --> 01:07:24.503
- Look at this.
1383
01:07:26.505 --> 01:07:28.340
- Jerry texted me a picture
1384
01:07:28.340 --> 01:07:31.468
of a former student
exposing herself at his private property.
1385
01:07:33.554 --> 01:07:35.722
MARK:
Just think of that young girl's parents.
1386
01:07:35.722 --> 01:07:37.724
They're paying
for their kid to go to Liberty,
1387
01:07:37.724 --> 01:07:39.977
and this is the receipt they got?
1388
01:07:39.977 --> 01:07:41.645
- He was basically untouchable.
1389
01:07:42.563 --> 01:07:44.481
♪
1390
01:07:44.481 --> 01:07:47.109
They own, like, a 500, 600-acre farm
1391
01:07:47.109 --> 01:07:49.862
with a Confederate cemetery on it.
1392
01:07:50.529 --> 01:07:52.489
Shooting guns in the backyard.
1393
01:07:52.489 --> 01:07:54.700
And then Jerry said,
"Well, the good thing is,
1394
01:07:54.700 --> 01:07:57.077
"now I know if Becki
were to run away with someone,
1395
01:07:57.077 --> 01:07:58.078
I know who it is."
1396
01:07:58.078 --> 01:08:00.455
He said, "If that were to happen,
if she tried to divorce me,
1397
01:08:00.455 --> 01:08:01.748
I'd probably have her killed."
1398
01:08:03.166 --> 01:08:06.336
At that moment,
I really took it as a serious threat.
1399
01:08:07.921 --> 01:08:10.966
People have so much influence,
they control this town.
1400
01:08:10.966 --> 01:08:15.179
If they wanted to make me disappear,
they could do it without a trace.
1401
01:08:15.804 --> 01:08:17.014
LILIA:
I mean, at the end of the day,
1402
01:08:17.014 --> 01:08:19.266
Jerry endorsed the guy
who ended up becoming president.
1403
01:08:19.266 --> 01:08:21.852
So you're like,
"I don't wanna fuck with these people.
1404
01:08:21.852 --> 01:08:24.563
I don't know what they would do to me
to keep their charade going."
1405
01:08:24.563 --> 01:08:26.356
You don't know
what lengths people are willing to go,
1406
01:08:26.356 --> 01:08:28.275
especially when they have so much to lose.
1407
01:08:29.610 --> 01:08:30.736
GIANCARLO:
As time went on,
1408
01:08:30.736 --> 01:08:33.238
his behavior continued
to become more radical.
1409
01:08:33.906 --> 01:08:37.659
- How the establishment, the deep state--
They look at all of us as deplorables.
1410
01:08:37.659 --> 01:08:41.455
But I have the distinct honor
of being the first person
1411
01:08:41.455 --> 01:08:43.749
that Hillary Clinton called a deplorable.
1412
01:08:43.749 --> 01:08:49.004
It was 2015, and it was right after
the San Bernardino shootings, and I said--
1413
01:08:49.004 --> 01:08:52.341
If some of those people
in that community center
1414
01:08:52.341 --> 01:08:55.177
had had what I've got
in my back pocket right now--
1415
01:08:59.056 --> 01:09:02.893
If more good people
had concealed carry permits,
1416
01:09:02.893 --> 01:09:04.686
then we could end those Muslims
1417
01:09:04.686 --> 01:09:07.064
before they--
before they walk in and kill.
1418
01:09:08.774 --> 01:09:12.486
- At this point, I didn't really see
much common ground with Jerry anymore.
1419
01:09:12.486 --> 01:09:16.532
- It just boggles my mind
that anybody would be against
1420
01:09:16.532 --> 01:09:19.660
what Jesus told his disciples
in Luke 22:36.
1421
01:09:19.660 --> 01:09:23.580
He told 'em if they had to sell their coat
to buy a sword, to do it.
1422
01:09:23.580 --> 01:09:25.541
Because he knew danger was coming,
1423
01:09:25.541 --> 01:09:27.668
and he wanted them to defend themselves.
1424
01:09:28.669 --> 01:09:32.631
GIANCARLO:
We have seen the divide happen
between Conservatives and Liberals,
1425
01:09:32.631 --> 01:09:34.258
and, you know, he was cognizant of that.
1426
01:09:34.258 --> 01:09:35.509
He would just always bring it up.
1427
01:09:35.509 --> 01:09:39.096
- Virginians, including my family,
went to war in the Revolutionary War.
1428
01:09:39.096 --> 01:09:41.306
Revolution always bubbles up.
1429
01:09:42.850 --> 01:09:44.476
CHILD:
Wow, good shot!
1430
01:09:44.476 --> 01:09:46.812
- That's what's happened
with President Trump.
1431
01:09:46.812 --> 01:09:49.940
And so they can--
they can oppress people for a while,
1432
01:09:49.940 --> 01:09:52.943
but, eventually,
people speak for themselves,
1433
01:09:52.943 --> 01:09:53.986
and they've had enough.
1434
01:09:55.195 --> 01:09:57.322
He would say,
"We're so close to a civil war."
1435
01:09:58.240 --> 01:09:59.241
- Got it.
1436
01:09:59.241 --> 01:10:03.829
- I'm noticing this really obvious,
blatant divide within our country.
1437
01:10:04.913 --> 01:10:09.459
This extreme violent rhetoric
being pushed by Trump
1438
01:10:09.459 --> 01:10:11.920
and everyone within his orbit,
including Jerry.
1439
01:10:12.462 --> 01:10:15.174
I started noticing that there's
actual consequences to these words.
1440
01:10:15.174 --> 01:10:16.216
It's not just words anymore.
1441
01:10:16.550 --> 01:10:18.010
It's leading to violence.
1442
01:10:18.427 --> 01:10:20.345
People proudly had
their Confederate flags.
1443
01:10:20.345 --> 01:10:21.805
They're not talking about racism.
1444
01:10:21.805 --> 01:10:22.848
They love their flag.
1445
01:10:22.848 --> 01:10:25.100
It represents the South.
They like the South.
1446
01:10:25.100 --> 01:10:26.518
People, right now, like the South.
1447
01:10:27.102 --> 01:10:29.813
A young white man
accused of killing nine people--
1448
01:10:29.813 --> 01:10:31.982
REPORTER 2:
Roof revealed that he chose the church
1449
01:10:31.982 --> 01:10:34.776
because it was
a historic African American church.
1450
01:10:34.776 --> 01:10:38.363
- Corrupt, power-hungry globalists.
1451
01:10:38.363 --> 01:10:39.907
You know what a globalist is, right?
1452
01:10:39.907 --> 01:10:41.575
You know what a globalist is.
1453
01:10:41.992 --> 01:10:44.453
A gunman
burst into the Tree of Life Temple
1454
01:10:44.453 --> 01:10:46.788
down the tree-lined streets
of Squirrel Hill.
1455
01:10:47.289 --> 01:10:48.624
11 people killed.
1456
01:10:48.624 --> 01:10:50.751
The shooter's social media page stating...
1457
01:10:55.339 --> 01:10:57.799
Do you think
somebody's helping that caravan?
1458
01:11:00.469 --> 01:11:02.888
I wouldn't-- I don't know who,
but I-- I wouldn't be surprised.
1459
01:11:02.888 --> 01:11:04.056
A lot of people say, "Yes."
1460
01:11:04.056 --> 01:11:07.935
- The shooter had posted
about the caravan of migrants
1461
01:11:07.935 --> 01:11:11.939
moving up from, uh, Central America,
called them invaders.
1462
01:11:11.939 --> 01:11:15.067
- That's an invasion.
That's not-- That's an invasion.
1463
01:11:15.984 --> 01:11:18.195
- And then, you-- you have
what happened in Charlottesville.
1464
01:11:24.409 --> 01:11:26.078
REPORTER 1:
Hundreds of white nationalists,
1465
01:11:26.078 --> 01:11:27.955
some wearing what appeared to be uniforms,
1466
01:11:27.955 --> 01:11:30.832
carrying weapons, Confederate flags,
and Nazi symbols--
1467
01:11:32.251 --> 01:11:36.171
A horrifying scene,
as this car plowed into a crowd of people.
1468
01:11:36.171 --> 01:11:38.173
- Very bad people in that group.
1469
01:11:38.173 --> 01:11:43.762
But you also had people
that were very fine people on both sides.
1470
01:11:44.346 --> 01:11:46.598
- Falwell rushed to Donald Trump's defense
1471
01:11:46.598 --> 01:11:47.641
as eagerly as ever.
1472
01:11:48.517 --> 01:11:50.269
JERRY JR.:
One of the reasons I supported him
1473
01:11:50.269 --> 01:11:54.189
is because he doesn't say
what's politically correct,
1474
01:11:54.189 --> 01:11:56.817
he says what's in his heart,
what he believes.
1475
01:11:56.817 --> 01:11:58.569
And sometimes, that gets him in trouble.
1476
01:11:59.194 --> 01:12:02.531
The seeds of that were
in the work of people like Jerry Falwell
1477
01:12:02.531 --> 01:12:04.116
generations earlier.
1478
01:12:04.116 --> 01:12:06.577
He laid the foundations
for-- for this kind of political violence
1479
01:12:06.577 --> 01:12:08.662
that we've seen, really, since the 1990s.
1480
01:12:08.662 --> 01:12:11.248
- The man charged
with killing an abortion doctor
1481
01:12:11.248 --> 01:12:13.792
says he has a defense, the Bible!
1482
01:12:14.793 --> 01:12:20.591
- Roe vs. Wade has resulted
in 10 to 12 million deaths
of little children.
1483
01:12:21.717 --> 01:12:24.386
MATTHEW:
Jerry Falwell has unleashed demons
1484
01:12:24.386 --> 01:12:25.971
that he can no longer control.
1485
01:12:27.806 --> 01:12:29.808
JERRY SR.:
Contrary to the wishes of the founders
1486
01:12:29.808 --> 01:12:34.021
who wanted neutrality as the policy
of the government toward religion,
1487
01:12:34.021 --> 01:12:36.231
in fact, the government
was becoming hostile,
1488
01:12:36.231 --> 01:12:37.733
in my opinion, towards religion.
1489
01:12:37.733 --> 01:12:39.359
- This new Christian nationalism
1490
01:12:39.359 --> 01:12:41.737
gives rise to things
like the Oklahoma City bombing--
1491
01:12:41.737 --> 01:12:44.990
REPORTER 1:
It looks like part of the building
has been blown away.
1492
01:12:44.990 --> 01:12:47.242
-Look at that shot.
-Wow. Holy cow!
1493
01:12:47.242 --> 01:12:48.827
REPORTER 2:
It is absolutely incredible.
1494
01:12:48.827 --> 01:12:50.704
- And nobody's bothering you, right?
- Well--
1495
01:12:52.456 --> 01:12:54.791
The bombing
at Centennial Olympic Park this morning
1496
01:12:54.791 --> 01:12:56.627
was an evil act of terror.
1497
01:12:56.960 --> 01:12:58.337
REPORTER 1:
Eric Rudolph is charged with
1498
01:12:58.337 --> 01:13:01.131
the 1996 Centennial Olympic Park bombing.
1499
01:13:01.131 --> 01:13:05.093
REPORTER 2:
Rudolph next struck at a Sandy Springs,
Georgia, abortion clinic,
1500
01:13:05.093 --> 01:13:06.428
then a gay bar in Atlanta,
1501
01:13:06.428 --> 01:13:09.556
and finally, another abortion clinic
in Birmingham, Alabama.
1502
01:13:09.556 --> 01:13:12.809
Rudolph is believed
to belong to the Christian identity
1503
01:13:12.809 --> 01:13:15.062
known as a white supremacist sect.
1504
01:13:15.062 --> 01:13:16.688
MATTHEW:
One thing Jerry Sr. taught us
1505
01:13:16.688 --> 01:13:21.068
was that politics, demagoguery,
and hysteria is a way to make more money,
1506
01:13:21.068 --> 01:13:22.653
give them more influence and more power.
1507
01:13:23.320 --> 01:13:24.947
And so, Jerry Jr. recognizes this
1508
01:13:24.947 --> 01:13:27.574
and really picks up
with what his father had started.
1509
01:13:27.574 --> 01:13:31.662
- I did notice that the only time
the president calls me to go on TV
1510
01:13:31.662 --> 01:13:33.038
is when he's in real trouble.
1511
01:13:33.038 --> 01:13:35.624
- I felt guilty.
I'm like, "I know the truth about Jerry.
1512
01:13:35.624 --> 01:13:37.626
"He's trying to appear
as this, like, strongman,
1513
01:13:37.626 --> 01:13:40.504
but I know him as just the cuck
in the corner of the room."
1514
01:13:43.549 --> 01:13:47.052
ARAM ROSTON:
I started looking at Jerry Falwell,
1515
01:13:47.052 --> 01:13:49.763
in part, because
of his endorsement for Trump.
1516
01:13:50.556 --> 01:13:51.849
For a lot of people, it was a surprise.
1517
01:13:51.849 --> 01:13:55.227
Trump didn't fit the model, necessarily,
of the evangelical candidate.
1518
01:13:55.811 --> 01:13:56.812
It was a puzzle.
1519
01:13:58.564 --> 01:14:01.108
One of the things you routinely do
as a-- as a journalist
1520
01:14:01.108 --> 01:14:02.609
is you look at people's backgrounds,
1521
01:14:02.609 --> 01:14:05.028
and one of those things is litigation.
1522
01:14:05.028 --> 01:14:08.657
And that's where I saw,
you know, this-- this-- this lawsuit.
1523
01:14:11.243 --> 01:14:13.120
The lawsuit alleged
1524
01:14:13.120 --> 01:14:18.166
that this father and son
had been inappropriately cut out
1525
01:14:18.166 --> 01:14:19.793
of this business transaction
1526
01:14:19.793 --> 01:14:23.630
involving this youth hostel,
Giancarlo Granda, and Falwell.
1527
01:14:24.882 --> 01:14:27.134
I did my best to find Giancarlo Granda.
1528
01:14:27.134 --> 01:14:28.927
I did my best to figure out who he was.
1529
01:14:31.471 --> 01:14:32.931
GIANCARLO:
Aram Roston texted me,
1530
01:14:32.931 --> 01:14:35.225
introducing himself,
that he's a journalist,
1531
01:14:35.225 --> 01:14:37.186
and he would like
to have a conversation with me.
1532
01:14:38.687 --> 01:14:41.273
He was asking questions about the lawsuit,
1533
01:14:41.273 --> 01:14:43.025
about Michael Cohen.
1534
01:14:43.025 --> 01:14:45.277
I realized that this was gonna get messy.
1535
01:14:46.236 --> 01:14:48.113
But I was instructed by the Falwells
1536
01:14:48.113 --> 01:14:49.198
to give him no comment,
1537
01:14:49.198 --> 01:14:52.117
and just to communicate
with my attorney, or Jerry.
1538
01:14:53.493 --> 01:14:54.828
LILIA:
What do you do, right?
1539
01:14:54.828 --> 01:14:56.330
He didn't know what the right thing was.
1540
01:14:56.330 --> 01:15:00.042
And then has the Falwells
really putting the pressure on him now
1541
01:15:00.042 --> 01:15:02.044
like, "This is the time.
We gotta stick together.
1542
01:15:02.044 --> 01:15:03.212
They don't have anything."
1543
01:15:03.212 --> 01:15:05.672
But at the end of the day,
you know, my brother was worried,
1544
01:15:05.672 --> 01:15:06.798
as he should've been,
1545
01:15:06.798 --> 01:15:10.052
because people are gonna dig
and more things are gonna come out.
1546
01:15:10.052 --> 01:15:14.181
- Everything that I was afraid of
was about to actually materialize here.
1547
01:15:14.181 --> 01:15:16.350
Uh, the whole world
was gonna find out about it.
1548
01:15:16.350 --> 01:15:19.353
♪
1549
01:15:19.353 --> 01:15:20.687
ARAM:
Our first BuzzFeed story,
1550
01:15:20.687 --> 01:15:23.815
it disclosed the existence
of this business relationship,
1551
01:15:23.815 --> 01:15:26.735
this unusual litigation,
1552
01:15:26.735 --> 01:15:28.570
this unusual youth hostel,
1553
01:15:29.071 --> 01:15:31.365
the involvement of the pool attendant.
1554
01:15:31.365 --> 01:15:33.492
It also mentioned Michael Cohen.
1555
01:15:33.492 --> 01:15:37.663
And it also mentioned the endorsement
and how important that endorsement was.
1556
01:15:39.081 --> 01:15:43.836
A source said that
even before announcing his candidacy,
1557
01:15:44.253 --> 01:15:46.755
this source believed
there was an understanding
1558
01:15:46.755 --> 01:15:48.882
that Trump would get
Falwell's endorsements,
1559
01:15:49.466 --> 01:15:51.718
which meant
there was some sort of relationship
1560
01:15:51.718 --> 01:15:53.512
between Falwell and Trump,
1561
01:15:53.512 --> 01:15:54.805
and I was trying to understand that.
1562
01:15:56.139 --> 01:15:59.893
What was clear was that we didn't know
as much as we thought we knew
1563
01:15:59.893 --> 01:16:01.311
about the Falwells.
1564
01:16:04.815 --> 01:16:08.861
- I should tell you that they don't have
what you're telling me they have,
1565
01:16:08.861 --> 01:16:12.239
because he made it
sound like they told him...
1566
01:16:12.239 --> 01:16:13.198
- Mm-hmm.
1567
01:16:13.198 --> 01:16:16.660
- ...that they have pictures
that supported their theory...
1568
01:16:16.660 --> 01:16:17.494
- Mm-hmm.
1569
01:16:17.494 --> 01:16:20.289
- ...that there was something
going on between you and me.
1570
01:16:20.289 --> 01:16:21.290
- Yeah.
1571
01:16:21.290 --> 01:16:23.417
- Just wanna let you know,
this is gonna work out fine.
1572
01:16:23.417 --> 01:16:24.418
- Yeah.
1573
01:16:25.252 --> 01:16:27.045
- I'm going to bed. Good night, y'all.
1574
01:16:27.045 --> 01:16:28.338
- Okay.
- All right, have a good night.
1575
01:16:28.338 --> 01:16:30.048
- You wait. You can talk to me.
1576
01:16:30.757 --> 01:16:32.634
- I'm actually really tired too.
1577
01:16:32.634 --> 01:16:34.178
- I'm sure you are.
1578
01:16:35.929 --> 01:16:36.930
It's so hard.
1579
01:16:37.890 --> 01:16:38.891
- Yeah.
1580
01:16:39.641 --> 01:16:41.018
- Especially when we're not talking,
1581
01:16:41.018 --> 01:16:42.311
I just feel lost.
1582
01:16:46.231 --> 01:16:47.774
I'm sorry about all this.
1583
01:16:48.525 --> 01:16:50.235
- Anyways, I'm gonna go to bed, okay?
1584
01:16:51.153 --> 01:16:52.321
- Okay.
1585
01:16:52.321 --> 01:16:53.989
- All right. Good night.
1586
01:16:55.490 --> 01:16:56.491
- I love you.
1587
01:16:57.492 --> 01:16:58.493
- Love you too.
1588
01:16:59.411 --> 01:17:02.664
- After the BuzzFeed story,
Giancarlo's fucked.
1589
01:17:04.041 --> 01:17:05.250
You go on the internet,
1590
01:17:05.250 --> 01:17:09.421
and anything attached to his name
read "Pool Boy,"
1591
01:17:09.421 --> 01:17:13.008
which became a meme in short order
1592
01:17:13.008 --> 01:17:17.346
and really started
to upend Giancarlo's life.
1593
01:17:17.346 --> 01:17:19.264
- They don't really have all the facts.
1594
01:17:19.264 --> 01:17:20.807
They started just spreading lies.
1595
01:17:21.308 --> 01:17:23.727
LILIA:
My brother now, he's in a bad place.
1596
01:17:23.727 --> 01:17:27.147
He's upset,
falls into, like, this depression.
1597
01:17:27.147 --> 01:17:29.399
- It was the first time
my name appeared in the press.
1598
01:17:29.816 --> 01:17:31.944
No one taught me how to deal with it.
1599
01:17:31.944 --> 01:17:33.111
It sucks.
1600
01:17:33.654 --> 01:17:37.658
Imagine that your job
that you had when you were in college
1601
01:17:37.658 --> 01:17:39.117
for one year of your life,
1602
01:17:39.117 --> 01:17:42.371
that that's what
now you're associated with forever.
1603
01:17:44.331 --> 01:17:46.625
- This is definitely
a manifestation of my worst fears,
1604
01:17:46.625 --> 01:17:49.044
from-- dating back to 2012.
1605
01:17:51.421 --> 01:17:53.841
MARK:
Perhaps BuzzFeed did him a favor,
1606
01:17:53.841 --> 01:17:56.468
'cause it planted the seeds
for his escape.
1607
01:18:00.013 --> 01:18:02.850
And as if this story
can't get more bizarre,
1608
01:18:02.850 --> 01:18:04.351
enter Tom Arnold.
1609
01:18:04.685 --> 01:18:06.895
Hello?
- Hey, buddy. Tom Arnold.
1610
01:18:07.437 --> 01:18:08.480
Tom, how are you?
1611
01:18:08.480 --> 01:18:10.357
- Happy 4th of July.
Happy Independence Day.
1612
01:18:10.357 --> 01:18:11.900
Same to you. Same to you.
1613
01:18:11.900 --> 01:18:13.068
How are you doing?
- I'm doing well.
1614
01:18:13.068 --> 01:18:18.365
So Tom Arnold audiotaped
a conversation he had with Michael Cohen
1615
01:18:18.365 --> 01:18:20.617
about the Falwells.
1616
01:18:20.617 --> 01:18:25.956
And Michael Cohen
told Tom Arnold about this episode.
1617
01:18:25.956 --> 01:18:27.583
And I'm just disappointed.
1618
01:18:27.583 --> 01:18:30.002
Donald doesn't speak to me anymore.
1619
01:18:30.002 --> 01:18:33.338
Um, even the Falwells,
who I brought to the table.
1620
01:18:33.338 --> 01:18:34.840
- Yes, you did. You did.
1621
01:18:34.840 --> 01:18:37.134
None of the evangelicals
wanted to support Trump.
1622
01:18:37.134 --> 01:18:39.428
- Right. Well,
you definitely brought the Falwells in.
1623
01:18:39.428 --> 01:18:41.471
You definitely-- With that--
1624
01:18:41.471 --> 01:18:45.267
I mean, you did the deal
with, uh, the pool, uh, the pool boy.
1625
01:18:45.267 --> 01:18:48.437
And Michael Cohen
laid out for him the scenario
1626
01:18:48.437 --> 01:18:49.771
where he said there were,
1627
01:18:49.771 --> 01:18:52.774
what Michael Cohen called,
personal photos.
1628
01:18:52.774 --> 01:18:54.693
Uh, he said
that they were the type of photos
1629
01:18:54.693 --> 01:18:57.821
that a couple wants
to keep between themselves.
1630
01:18:57.821 --> 01:18:58.572
- Yeah.
1631
01:18:58.572 --> 01:19:01.074
But there's a bunch of photographs,
1632
01:19:01.074 --> 01:19:03.410
you know, personal photographs, you know?
1633
01:19:03.410 --> 01:19:05.913
The evangelicals
are kinkier than Tom Arnold.
1634
01:19:05.913 --> 01:19:09.082
- I became a little obsessed
with this Jerry Falwell thing
1635
01:19:09.082 --> 01:19:12.377
because Jerry Falwell gave license
to all the other evangelicals
1636
01:19:12.377 --> 01:19:14.379
to go, "Yeah, this is the guy."
1637
01:19:15.047 --> 01:19:17.132
I had a show called
The Hunt for the Trump Tapes.
1638
01:19:17.132 --> 01:19:19.635
I-- I wanted to meet
everybody in Trump's world
1639
01:19:19.635 --> 01:19:20.844
that was kinda pushed out.
1640
01:19:20.844 --> 01:19:23.680
And so I just wanted to connect the dots--
I wanted the truth.
1641
01:19:23.680 --> 01:19:25.015
It's terrible, you know?
1642
01:19:25.015 --> 01:19:28.268
Nobody wants their--
You know, their private photos.
1643
01:19:28.268 --> 01:19:29.978
Especially not when you have children
1644
01:19:29.978 --> 01:19:31.396
and now grandchildren.
- Oh, geez.
1645
01:19:31.396 --> 01:19:33.982
So my heart went out for Becki, you know?
1646
01:19:33.982 --> 01:19:36.109
I loved them. They were like family to me.
1647
01:19:36.109 --> 01:19:37.903
- He goes, "No, no, what I did,"
1648
01:19:37.903 --> 01:19:40.197
and he explains
what he did for the Falwells.
1649
01:19:40.614 --> 01:19:44.826
And he's like, "No, it wasn't like sex.
It's like a boudoir picture of Becki."
1650
01:19:44.826 --> 01:19:45.827
And then he says--
1651
01:19:45.827 --> 01:19:47.287
I actually have one of the photos.
1652
01:19:47.704 --> 01:19:49.665
- He has--
He showed me some pictures.
1653
01:19:49.665 --> 01:19:53.252
I feel like
a bit of a scumbag too because
1654
01:19:53.836 --> 01:19:57.297
even the "boudoir" pictures are like porn.
1655
01:19:58.131 --> 01:19:59.758
But that's not the end of this story.
1656
01:20:00.175 --> 01:20:05.472
Michael Cohen used the pictures
to say, "Hey, look what I did for you.
1657
01:20:05.472 --> 01:20:07.224
Now I need you to do something for me."
1658
01:20:07.224 --> 01:20:09.142
It-- It was a quid pro quo.
1659
01:20:10.477 --> 01:20:12.896
- The Falwells enlisted
Michael Cohen's help
1660
01:20:12.896 --> 01:20:15.315
to make this blackmail threat go away.
1661
01:20:15.315 --> 01:20:17.109
Then the following January,
1662
01:20:17.109 --> 01:20:18.569
Cohen helped persuade Falwell
1663
01:20:18.569 --> 01:20:21.363
to issue his endorsement
of Trump's presidential candidacy.
1664
01:20:21.947 --> 01:20:25.158
- When Michael Cohen published his book,
he was very specific.
1665
01:20:25.158 --> 01:20:30.122
He said he would call in this favor,
not for himself but for the Boss,
1666
01:20:30.122 --> 01:20:34.168
at a crucial moment
in his journey to the presidency.
1667
01:20:34.168 --> 01:20:36.795
- It's fair to say that Jerry
was gonna endorse Trump,
1668
01:20:36.795 --> 01:20:40.465
but the compromising material
that Michael Cohen had,
1669
01:20:40.465 --> 01:20:42.467
I think that was just insurance.
1670
01:20:42.467 --> 01:20:45.470
♪
1671
01:20:51.476 --> 01:20:54.229
- These events may have
changed the course of history,
1672
01:20:54.229 --> 01:20:58.567
but in the New York Times' quest
to explain why Falwell endorsed Trump,
1673
01:20:58.567 --> 01:21:02.112
they left the most important question
unanswered:
1674
01:21:02.613 --> 01:21:04.489
Did someone fuck the pool guy?
1675
01:21:17.252 --> 01:21:21.423
- My brother, in 2018, gets accepted
into grad school at Georgetown,
1676
01:21:21.423 --> 01:21:22.424
to the master's program.
1677
01:21:22.424 --> 01:21:24.343
So we make a road trip out of it.
1678
01:21:24.343 --> 01:21:27.346
♪
1679
01:21:28.931 --> 01:21:32.976
It's me, my mom,
my brother, and the dog.
1680
01:21:36.855 --> 01:21:39.900
We go to DC.
My family's helping me move
into my new apartment.
1681
01:21:40.400 --> 01:21:43.403
♪
1682
01:21:45.989 --> 01:21:48.283
I get a phone call from Jerry.
1683
01:21:48.283 --> 01:21:51.036
He said, "Hey, we have
this event at the White House,
1684
01:21:51.036 --> 01:21:53.539
"but after that,
we're going to the Trump Hotel.
1685
01:21:53.539 --> 01:21:54.581
You guys should come over."
1686
01:21:54.581 --> 01:21:57.584
♪
1687
01:22:00.712 --> 01:22:02.297
LILIA:
They were at the White House for--
1688
01:22:02.297 --> 01:22:04.216
It was some sort of evangelical event.
1689
01:22:04.216 --> 01:22:08.053
Every top preacher in the country
was there that night at the White House.
1690
01:22:08.887 --> 01:22:10.889
GIANCARLO:
Meet up with the Falwells
at the Trump Hotel.
1691
01:22:14.351 --> 01:22:17.271
- Everyone's drinking
and having a really good time.
1692
01:22:17.271 --> 01:22:20.023
There was one in particular
that, I had no idea who she was,
1693
01:22:20.023 --> 01:22:22.359
but my mom's like,
"Oh, she's on TV. What's her name?"
1694
01:22:26.905 --> 01:22:28.907
- Her act is-- is crazy!
1695
01:22:33.328 --> 01:22:35.330
But when you meet her in person,
she's nothing like that.
1696
01:22:35.330 --> 01:22:38.709
She's kinda flirting with people.
She was flirting with me.
1697
01:22:39.543 --> 01:22:43.881
- I think that night my mom had
a kind of a-- a come-to-Jesus moment.
1698
01:22:43.881 --> 01:22:47.551
- She's like,
"Oh, I understand now. It's all a show."
1699
01:22:47.551 --> 01:22:49.261
They have a public image,
1700
01:22:49.261 --> 01:22:52.598
but behind the scenes, they're all freaks.
1701
01:22:53.974 --> 01:22:57.519
I think my mom was like,
"Okay, um, I think we're good.
1702
01:22:57.519 --> 01:22:59.229
"We don't need to be around them anymore.
1703
01:22:59.229 --> 01:23:00.272
Like, ever again."
1704
01:23:00.272 --> 01:23:03.275
♪
1705
01:23:07.279 --> 01:23:09.865
GIANCARLO:
I'm in my first semester of grad school,
1706
01:23:09.865 --> 01:23:11.867
and I'm trying
to just move away from the Falwells.
1707
01:23:13.160 --> 01:23:14.953
LILIA:
Once he starts school,
1708
01:23:14.953 --> 01:23:15.954
he's loving it.
1709
01:23:15.954 --> 01:23:17.664
He loves DC.
1710
01:23:17.664 --> 01:23:19.124
He's making new friends.
1711
01:23:19.124 --> 01:23:20.959
He starts applying for jobs.
1712
01:23:22.211 --> 01:23:25.464
It's a little difficult for him
to even get people to call him,
1713
01:23:25.464 --> 01:23:26.965
because they're googling his name,
1714
01:23:26.965 --> 01:23:29.259
and no one wants
to be associated with this.
1715
01:23:29.968 --> 01:23:31.637
GIANCARLO:
It was just 'cause they were worried.
1716
01:23:31.637 --> 01:23:33.805
Like, why would they go with me
1717
01:23:33.805 --> 01:23:36.600
where there's so many other people
with a similar resume
1718
01:23:36.600 --> 01:23:38.435
with no national scandal?
1719
01:23:38.435 --> 01:23:41.939
- But he finally gets
this interview with this company.
1720
01:23:41.939 --> 01:23:43.482
He's super excited.
1721
01:23:43.482 --> 01:23:45.108
- The hiring manager emailed me
1722
01:23:45.108 --> 01:23:49.196
saying, "Congratulations.
We wanna move forward with hiring you."
1723
01:23:49.196 --> 01:23:50.572
Right there, he offered me the job.
1724
01:23:50.572 --> 01:23:56.036
Finally, he sees some sort of light
at this end of this, like, insane tunnel.
1725
01:23:56.036 --> 01:23:57.538
- It was exactly what I needed.
1726
01:23:57.538 --> 01:24:01.375
I was so excited,
that, um, I just-- I shared it with Becki.
1727
01:24:02.125 --> 01:24:04.127
The following week,
I get an email from the firm,
1728
01:24:04.545 --> 01:24:07.005
and the hiring manager
rescinded the offer.
1729
01:24:10.217 --> 01:24:11.718
And, you know,
there's times where I felt like
1730
01:24:11.718 --> 01:24:14.555
he was purposefully
sabotaging everything around me
1731
01:24:14.555 --> 01:24:18.350
in order to keep me close
and them being my only option.
1732
01:24:18.851 --> 01:24:20.435
I just felt so overwhelmed.
1733
01:24:21.103 --> 01:24:24.690
That's it.
I'm forever attached to the Falwell name.
1734
01:24:24.690 --> 01:24:26.233
I was so loyal to this family.
1735
01:24:26.233 --> 01:24:28.527
I protected them. I lied for them.
1736
01:24:28.527 --> 01:24:31.196
And I end up
getting attacked by the media,
1737
01:24:31.196 --> 01:24:32.406
and I'm still defending them.
1738
01:24:33.532 --> 01:24:35.033
Everything was crumbling.
1739
01:24:35.033 --> 01:24:36.493
I felt like there's no way out.
1740
01:24:36.493 --> 01:24:37.953
It's all over for me.
1741
01:24:37.953 --> 01:24:40.372
- He felt like
that was just really the end of the world,
1742
01:24:40.372 --> 01:24:42.374
so he went into a really dark place.
1743
01:24:42.374 --> 01:24:45.002
It was a really difficult time.
1744
01:24:46.753 --> 01:24:48.964
- I started contemplating suicide.
1745
01:24:48.964 --> 01:24:51.175
I just wanted to go away peacefully.
1746
01:24:51.175 --> 01:24:52.676
And I told Becki, I said,
1747
01:24:52.676 --> 01:24:55.846
"My life and my reputation,
everything is completely ruined."
1748
01:25:02.728 --> 01:25:03.729
Um...
1749
01:25:04.688 --> 01:25:06.732
Then at that moment,
I just thought about my, uh,
1750
01:25:07.733 --> 01:25:10.485
I thought about my mom,
and my dad, and my sister
1751
01:25:11.278 --> 01:25:13.405
and I just-- I couldn't--
I couldn't make them go through that,
1752
01:25:13.405 --> 01:25:15.115
so I just-- I stopped.
1753
01:25:16.909 --> 01:25:18.368
Just-- I-- I need a moment.
1754
01:25:22.706 --> 01:25:24.625
LILIA:
You know, getting calls from your brother
1755
01:25:24.625 --> 01:25:26.960
telling you that he wants to kill himself,
1756
01:25:26.960 --> 01:25:28.504
that there's no way out of this,
1757
01:25:29.296 --> 01:25:30.923
he's never gonna recover.
1758
01:25:30.923 --> 01:25:31.924
It's--
1759
01:25:32.674 --> 01:25:37.179
It's hard to
explain what that feeling is like
1760
01:25:37.179 --> 01:25:40.557
when someone that you love so much,
1761
01:25:40.557 --> 01:25:44.478
someone that you want
nothing but the best for, is--
1762
01:25:46.021 --> 01:25:47.731
is thinking of hurting himself.
1763
01:25:56.907 --> 01:25:58.617
- That was obviously a dark time,
1764
01:25:58.617 --> 01:26:02.329
so... just had to relive it
at that moment there.
1765
01:26:02.329 --> 01:26:04.540
But
should be good now.
1766
01:26:07.709 --> 01:26:10.796
- And then, to add insult to the injury,
1767
01:26:10.796 --> 01:26:14.591
for an undisclosed amount
to make this lawsuit disappear,
1768
01:26:14.591 --> 01:26:18.303
Jerry Falwell Jr.
settles with Tito Fernandez.
1769
01:26:19.304 --> 01:26:22.099
There were three events
that pushed me to rock bottom
1770
01:26:22.099 --> 01:26:24.434
and left me at a crossroads.
1771
01:26:24.434 --> 01:26:27.855
The first one
was losing out on the job offer.
1772
01:26:28.730 --> 01:26:32.359
The second was Jerry settling with Tito.
1773
01:26:42.494 --> 01:26:46.123
- Meanwhile, my brother,
who actually worked his ass off for years
1774
01:26:46.123 --> 01:26:49.376
running this building,
managing it, overseeing it,
1775
01:26:50.252 --> 01:26:51.712
he had actual stakes in it.
1776
01:26:52.462 --> 01:26:54.173
- How do you think Giancarlo felt
1777
01:26:54.173 --> 01:26:59.928
knowing that of all people to get a check,
it would be Jesus Fernandez?
1778
01:27:00.596 --> 01:27:02.598
GIANCARLO:
I was upset because they settled,
1779
01:27:02.598 --> 01:27:05.434
but there was no more talks
about buying me out
1780
01:27:05.434 --> 01:27:08.979
or any word from Jerry saying
that he was gonna honor his promise.
1781
01:27:08.979 --> 01:27:10.647
They just kept stringing me along.
1782
01:27:10.647 --> 01:27:13.942
- They, you know, dangled the carrot
of, like, "We're gonna help you.
1783
01:27:13.942 --> 01:27:17.154
"We're gonna set you up with,
you know, real estate and get you going
1784
01:27:17.154 --> 01:27:19.406
so you can fulfill all of your dreams."
1785
01:27:19.406 --> 01:27:22.034
And they just
completely fucked him in the end.
1786
01:27:22.868 --> 01:27:24.161
GIANCARLO:
I texted Jerry.
1787
01:27:32.044 --> 01:27:33.921
"Just own up to your promises
1788
01:27:33.921 --> 01:27:36.089
and we can move on with our lives
in a peaceful manner."
1789
01:27:36.757 --> 01:27:40.302
- He wasn't threatening them,
he was saying, "I want my life back.
1790
01:27:40.302 --> 01:27:41.512
"Give me what you owe me.
1791
01:27:41.512 --> 01:27:45.057
"Let's call it a day.
Let's go our separate ways.
1792
01:27:45.057 --> 01:27:46.433
Let's be done with this."
1793
01:27:46.433 --> 01:27:50.312
- The third and final blow
was... what broke all of us.
1794
01:27:50.312 --> 01:27:51.647
It was summer 2020.
1795
01:27:52.648 --> 01:27:54.024
REPORTER 1:
In just a few short months,
1796
01:27:54.024 --> 01:27:58.195
this pandemic has infected
some two million here at home.
1797
01:27:58.195 --> 01:28:00.280
MARK:
So by the summer of 2020,
1798
01:28:00.280 --> 01:28:03.659
the mood in this country
was like, "Is the world gonna end?
1799
01:28:03.659 --> 01:28:06.912
Was Jerry Sr. right?
Are end times upon us?"
1800
01:28:06.912 --> 01:28:11.250
I mean, it's biblical
how fucked up this world had become.
1801
01:28:11.834 --> 01:28:13.335
REPORTER 1:
100,000.
1802
01:28:13.335 --> 01:28:17.130
The obituary names grow daily
with no end in sight.
1803
01:28:17.130 --> 01:28:18.632
JERRY JR.:
There's some bad strain of the flu
1804
01:28:18.632 --> 01:28:20.175
that comes in every two years.
1805
01:28:20.175 --> 01:28:22.177
For some reason,
it's always on election years.
1806
01:28:22.177 --> 01:28:23.846
I don't-- I don't know why that is.
1807
01:28:23.846 --> 01:28:26.265
GIANCARLO:
2020, it was a terrible year.
1808
01:28:26.265 --> 01:28:27.516
We had the pandemic.
1809
01:28:27.516 --> 01:28:28.600
George Floyd's murdered.
1810
01:28:31.019 --> 01:28:33.230
Civil unrest is unfolding,
1811
01:28:33.230 --> 01:28:34.189
it's intensifying.
1812
01:28:36.275 --> 01:28:38.443
And then you have Trump just,
uh, kind of doubling down
1813
01:28:38.443 --> 01:28:40.863
and not trying to unite the country.
1814
01:28:40.863 --> 01:28:42.197
Instead, he was enjoying this.
1815
01:28:42.197 --> 01:28:43.824
And he was magnifying this division.
1816
01:28:44.324 --> 01:28:47.160
You know what I say?
Protesters, your ass.
1817
01:28:47.911 --> 01:28:50.372
These are not acts of peaceful protest.
1818
01:28:50.372 --> 01:28:53.250
These are acts of domestic terror.
1819
01:28:54.001 --> 01:28:55.752
- You know, initially, going back to 2012,
1820
01:28:55.752 --> 01:28:56.962
I admired Trump.
1821
01:28:56.962 --> 01:28:59.506
I thought he was someone
I would like to become.
1822
01:29:00.132 --> 01:29:02.759
But now he aspired to be a dictator.
1823
01:29:03.677 --> 01:29:07.347
My family fled a country
where there was a dictator
1824
01:29:07.347 --> 01:29:08.807
that consolidated power.
1825
01:29:09.683 --> 01:29:13.353
I didn't feel optimistic
about our country's future.
1826
01:29:14.188 --> 01:29:15.522
At that moment, I realized
1827
01:29:15.522 --> 01:29:19.318
how much weight there was
behind, uh, Jerry Falwell Jr.'s words.
1828
01:29:19.318 --> 01:29:23.989
And if this man was able
to anoint Donald Trump in 2016,
1829
01:29:23.989 --> 01:29:27.993
then why wouldn't he have
that same power in 2020?
1830
01:29:28.994 --> 01:29:34.875
Giancarlo certainly feels like
Jerry is responsible for all this chaos.
1831
01:29:34.875 --> 01:29:36.502
You know, and why wouldn't he?
1832
01:29:37.252 --> 01:29:38.754
The kingmaker, right?
1833
01:29:39.421 --> 01:29:40.631
Now, look what happened.
1834
01:29:43.759 --> 01:29:46.094
GIANCARLO:
When I hit rock bottom, I had two choices:
1835
01:29:46.094 --> 01:29:48.847
take my own life or take back control.
1836
01:29:48.847 --> 01:29:54.019
And, um, you know, one big takeaway
from, uh, from Trump's speech in 2012,
1837
01:29:54.603 --> 01:29:58.273
in his advice to win
in real estate or business,
1838
01:29:58.273 --> 01:29:59.733
or whatever you're doing is--
1839
01:29:59.733 --> 01:30:02.736
- Don't let people take advantage.
1840
01:30:03.237 --> 01:30:04.238
Get even.
- Get even.
1841
01:30:04.696 --> 01:30:07.950
It feels like right now,
this is happening for a reason.
1842
01:30:08.367 --> 01:30:10.369
Me confessing to the world
what happened...
1843
01:30:12.913 --> 01:30:15.249
would somehow stop
one of Trump's closest allies,
1844
01:30:15.249 --> 01:30:16.708
which is Jerry Falwell Jr.
1845
01:30:16.708 --> 01:30:18.252
I felt like I had a responsibility.
1846
01:30:18.919 --> 01:30:20.337
I texted Jerry.
1847
01:30:41.650 --> 01:30:45.737
- I think he just wanted
to just unburden himself of all of this
1848
01:30:45.737 --> 01:30:47.990
and just say,
"This is what actually happened."
1849
01:30:47.990 --> 01:30:50.242
He had no other choice left at that point
1850
01:30:50.242 --> 01:30:53.620
but to just come out and speak his truth.
1851
01:30:53.620 --> 01:30:55.622
♪
1852
01:30:56.206 --> 01:30:59.334
- I'd been trying
to talk to Giancarlo Granda
1853
01:30:59.334 --> 01:31:01.587
since I first started working on this.
1854
01:31:01.587 --> 01:31:03.589
And I-- I didn't have any luck.
1855
01:31:05.048 --> 01:31:06.049
GIANCARLO:
I texted him.
1856
01:31:06.049 --> 01:31:08.385
I said, "Hey, I would love
to meet with you
1857
01:31:08.385 --> 01:31:10.137
and just talk about everything
that happened."
1858
01:31:11.263 --> 01:31:14.808
- I finally met Giancarlo near DC.
1859
01:31:15.601 --> 01:31:17.769
GIANCARLO:
Obviously, he was shocked,
1860
01:31:17.769 --> 01:31:21.440
but, like, it kinda confirmed
everything that he, uh, speculated.
1861
01:31:21.940 --> 01:31:24.401
- There was an element of hypocrisy here
1862
01:31:24.401 --> 01:31:26.195
that was very glaring.
1863
01:31:27.529 --> 01:31:31.408
To stand up our story,
we needed some corroborating evidence.
1864
01:31:31.408 --> 01:31:36.914
- I had certain evidence
dating back to 2012, 2013, 2014.
1865
01:31:38.123 --> 01:31:39.708
ARAM:
There were these texts.
1866
01:31:40.626 --> 01:31:43.462
Sort of romantic, loaded phrases.
1867
01:31:44.379 --> 01:31:46.840
And another one was this audio recording.
1868
01:31:47.257 --> 01:31:50.594
- All right.
- Gian's been very busy lately, studying.
1869
01:31:50.594 --> 01:31:51.929
- Yeah, yeah, sorta.
- It's good, good.
1870
01:31:51.929 --> 01:31:55.140
- His new thing is, like, telling me
every time he hooks up with people,
1871
01:31:55.140 --> 01:31:57.392
like, I-- like I don't have feelings
or something.
1872
01:31:57.392 --> 01:31:59.269
- You're gonna make her jealous, Gian.
- Yeah.
1873
01:31:59.269 --> 01:32:00.938
- Aw. I'm not trying to do that.
1874
01:32:00.938 --> 01:32:04.650
- Like a week ago,
I was in tears for a whole freakin' day.
1875
01:32:04.650 --> 01:32:05.817
Completely depressed.
1876
01:32:06.360 --> 01:32:08.779
- Come on. You don't--
You don't care about me anymore.
1877
01:32:08.779 --> 01:32:10.989
- Maybe the more you tell me,
the more I'll get used to it.
1878
01:32:10.989 --> 01:32:12.366
- You don't care about me anymore.
1879
01:32:12.908 --> 01:32:14.451
- Oh, yeah? Really?
1880
01:32:15.452 --> 01:32:16.703
Yeah, obviously.
1881
01:32:17.621 --> 01:32:18.455
- In an ideal world,
1882
01:32:18.455 --> 01:32:20.290
you'd have videotape
of everything that ever happens,
1883
01:32:20.290 --> 01:32:22.751
but this is not the way the world works.
1884
01:32:25.003 --> 01:32:26.672
GIANCARLO:
When I showed them the video,
1885
01:32:26.672 --> 01:32:28.423
I mean, it was case closed right there.
1886
01:32:29.132 --> 01:32:31.969
On January 16th, 2019,
1887
01:32:32.469 --> 01:32:35.305
Becki and I, uh,
we hop on a FaceTime call,
1888
01:32:35.722 --> 01:32:37.933
and she's drinking white wine,
1889
01:32:38.559 --> 01:32:41.728
and then she starts stripping,
uh, completely naked.
1890
01:32:42.229 --> 01:32:44.523
She's walking around the house.
1891
01:32:44.523 --> 01:32:47.985
She's going from room to room,
the places where we've had sex.
1892
01:32:47.985 --> 01:32:49.278
She's says, "Oh, do you remember this?"
1893
01:32:49.278 --> 01:32:51.446
She's going to the kitchen,
she's showing the island.
1894
01:32:52.030 --> 01:32:53.740
"Oh, I know you remember doing it there."
1895
01:32:53.740 --> 01:32:56.201
And then she went into the kids' rooms,
"Remember doing it there?"
1896
01:32:56.201 --> 01:33:00.330
Which is crazy, as, you know,
we-- we had sex in, uh, their kids' rooms.
1897
01:33:01.206 --> 01:33:03.792
"So, do you remember this spot?
Do you remember this spot?"
1898
01:33:04.710 --> 01:33:05.836
And at one point,
1899
01:33:05.836 --> 01:33:08.672
Jerry Jr. appears to peek out
from behind a doorway.
1900
01:33:11.592 --> 01:33:13.719
GIANCARLO:
And at that moment, I'm like, "Oh, my God,
1901
01:33:13.719 --> 01:33:16.847
"I finally have
the smoking gun that I needed,
1902
01:33:16.847 --> 01:33:18.515
uh, to prove my side of the story."
1903
01:33:20.893 --> 01:33:22.102
- Well, that helped.
1904
01:33:23.687 --> 01:33:26.315
I mean, that--
that was the-- the, you know?
1905
01:33:26.315 --> 01:33:28.525
That was, uh, very helpful,
1906
01:33:28.525 --> 01:33:32.571
the, uh, FaceTime video with Becki naked.
1907
01:33:34.323 --> 01:33:38.285
Like, this is 100% true,
and Jerry has been involved since day one.
1908
01:33:40.329 --> 01:33:42.623
- Well, we wouldn't have been able
to run the story
1909
01:33:42.623 --> 01:33:44.291
if we hadn't been convinced,
1910
01:33:44.291 --> 01:33:47.252
if there wasn't the corroboration
that there was.
1911
01:33:49.171 --> 01:33:53.008
- A photo posted then deleted
from Jerry Falwell Jr.'s Instagram
1912
01:33:53.008 --> 01:33:54.259
is now going viral.
1913
01:33:54.259 --> 01:33:57.387
A Houston Chronicle reporter
posted this screenshot
1914
01:33:57.387 --> 01:34:01.058
showing Liberty University's president
with his pants unzipped--
1915
01:34:01.058 --> 01:34:04.102
MEGAN:
And it was an atomic scandal at Liberty.
1916
01:34:04.102 --> 01:34:07.689
All these things that were not permissible
inside the Liberty community,
1917
01:34:07.689 --> 01:34:09.316
are contained in this photograph.
1918
01:34:09.316 --> 01:34:14.321
- This scandal was just another thing
that was going to back me up.
1919
01:34:14.321 --> 01:34:15.864
INTERVIEWER:
And I'm just gonna throw it to you.
1920
01:34:15.864 --> 01:34:17.741
What was up
with that picture on Instagram?
1921
01:34:17.741 --> 01:34:19.660
JERRY JR.:
You know, it was weird .
1922
01:34:19.660 --> 01:34:21.036
She was-- She's pregnant,
1923
01:34:21.036 --> 01:34:23.914
so she couldn't get her--
she couldn't get her pants zipped.
1924
01:34:24.498 --> 01:34:27.167
And, uh, I was, like, trying to, like--
1925
01:34:28.293 --> 01:34:31.463
My-- I had a pair of jeans
that I haven't worn in a long time,
1926
01:34:31.463 --> 01:34:33.173
so I couldn't get mine zipped either.
1927
01:34:33.173 --> 01:34:35.592
- It was evident
that he was drunk on that call.
1928
01:34:35.592 --> 01:34:37.052
I mean, he was slurring his words.
1929
01:34:37.052 --> 01:34:39.763
JERRY JR.:
I promised my kids I'm gonna try to be--
1930
01:34:39.763 --> 01:34:42.224
I'm gonna try
to be a good boy from here on out.
1931
01:34:42.224 --> 01:34:43.851
- It just showed you who he really was.
1932
01:34:43.851 --> 01:34:45.686
He was just-- He was a mess.
1933
01:34:45.686 --> 01:34:49.064
- This announcement was made
just before 05:00 this afternoon.
1934
01:34:49.064 --> 01:34:51.400
It followed a meeting
of the Executive Committee
1935
01:34:51.400 --> 01:34:53.527
of Liberty's Board of Trustees.
1936
01:34:53.527 --> 01:34:57.531
The committee requested Falwell
take an indefinite leave of absence.
1937
01:34:57.531 --> 01:34:58.740
Falwell agreed.
1938
01:34:59.449 --> 01:35:03.287
- Liberty's board was going to pay
for Falwell's rehab,
1939
01:35:03.287 --> 01:35:06.790
and they fully anticipated
to bring him back, uh, afterwards.
1940
01:35:07.457 --> 01:35:09.960
Either they didn't think
that they would get caught
1941
01:35:09.960 --> 01:35:11.420
or that it would come back to them,
1942
01:35:11.420 --> 01:35:14.298
or on some level,
Jerry Falwell just didn't care.
1943
01:35:14.298 --> 01:35:16.216
Because there was
some part of him that thought,
1944
01:35:16.216 --> 01:35:20.846
"If I can't live my life
in this very fun way,
1945
01:35:20.846 --> 01:35:22.431
then I don't even want this life."
1946
01:35:24.433 --> 01:35:27.686
My brother was talking
to the reporter for months.
1947
01:35:28.395 --> 01:35:30.647
I, at one point, had to speak to him
1948
01:35:30.647 --> 01:35:33.775
because they really
just went through every detail,
1949
01:35:33.775 --> 01:35:35.360
they fact-checked everything.
1950
01:35:35.944 --> 01:35:38.989
- I'm an investigative reporter,
so I take a long time with stories.
1951
01:35:39.531 --> 01:35:43.702
You know, we never publish
until we get it, you know, damn solid.
1952
01:35:44.536 --> 01:35:45.662
GIANCARLO:
It was a tough process,
1953
01:35:45.662 --> 01:35:46.997
and there were certain times
where I'm like,
1954
01:35:46.997 --> 01:35:48.415
"I don't think this is gonna happen.
1955
01:35:48.415 --> 01:35:49.708
I think it's gonna get killed."
1956
01:35:49.708 --> 01:35:51.835
- At this point, he knows
1957
01:35:51.835 --> 01:35:57.466
that perhaps Falwell and his team
are planning something nefarious.
1958
01:35:57.466 --> 01:35:58.467
To his credit,
1959
01:35:59.259 --> 01:36:00.761
Giancarlo was right.
1960
01:36:00.761 --> 01:36:02.888
♪
1961
01:36:02.888 --> 01:36:06.892
The night before
we were going to run our story,
1962
01:36:06.892 --> 01:36:12.481
a local newspaper here in Washington
published this statement by Jerry Jr.
1963
01:36:12.481 --> 01:36:14.775
that laid out this alternate account
1964
01:36:14.775 --> 01:36:19.071
of the entire relationship
between Giancarlo and the Falwells.
1965
01:36:19.071 --> 01:36:20.364
REPORTER:
Jerry Falwell Jr.,
1966
01:36:20.364 --> 01:36:24.451
the son of one of the most influential
TV evangelists of all time,
1967
01:36:24.451 --> 01:36:27.913
is publicly sharing a story
of his wife's infidelity,
1968
01:36:27.913 --> 01:36:31.291
which led to, what he describes as,
an extortion scheme.
1969
01:36:31.291 --> 01:36:33.710
Although I was expecting it,
when you actually see it written,
1970
01:36:33.710 --> 01:36:37.047
"Oh, extortionist. He's a criminal,"
this and that, it-- it hurts.
1971
01:36:37.047 --> 01:36:39.883
It's like, uh-- It's like
just getting punched in the gut.
1972
01:36:40.384 --> 01:36:42.803
- It's extremely fucked up how,
1973
01:36:42.803 --> 01:36:45.097
for my brother
to be able to tell his story
1974
01:36:45.097 --> 01:36:46.306
and to come public with it,
1975
01:36:46.306 --> 01:36:48.559
it had to go through months of vetting,
1976
01:36:48.559 --> 01:36:51.854
and then on the flip side,
you have the Falwells
1977
01:36:51.854 --> 01:36:57.192
who just email someone
that they know at the Washington Examiner ,
1978
01:36:57.192 --> 01:37:02.322
and they just basically
copy and paste whatever Jerry said,
1979
01:37:02.322 --> 01:37:04.575
and then it gets published that same day.
1980
01:37:04.575 --> 01:37:07.953
- They published this,
uh, this bullshit article
1981
01:37:07.953 --> 01:37:10.831
to attempt to discredit my move
of coming forward.
1982
01:37:11.456 --> 01:37:12.457
REPORTER:
Falwell writes,
1983
01:37:12.457 --> 01:37:16.336
"Becki had an inappropriate
personal relationship with this person,
1984
01:37:16.336 --> 01:37:18.714
something in which I was not involved."
1985
01:37:18.714 --> 01:37:23.969
It deteriorated into, what he describes
as, a fatal attraction type of situation.
1986
01:37:23.969 --> 01:37:26.471
The man is Giancarlo Granda,
who worked poolside--
1987
01:37:26.471 --> 01:37:28.015
MARK:
The main takeaway was,
1988
01:37:28.015 --> 01:37:31.018
that motherfucker
just threw his wife under the bus.
1989
01:37:32.019 --> 01:37:34.062
- And they were doing everything possible,
1990
01:37:34.062 --> 01:37:35.814
everything in their power
to kill that story.
1991
01:37:35.814 --> 01:37:37.649
And they almost did.
1992
01:37:37.649 --> 01:37:39.484
But I was waiting. I was waiting.
1993
01:37:39.985 --> 01:37:42.821
And the next day,
you know, the Reuters article comes out.
1994
01:37:57.503 --> 01:37:58.670
GIANCARLO:
And then Becki texted me.
1995
01:38:01.632 --> 01:38:03.050
"Jerry just resigned."
1996
01:38:03.050 --> 01:38:05.219
REPORTER 1:
This morning, Jerry Falwell Jr.'s time
1997
01:38:05.219 --> 01:38:08.305
as president of Liberty University
may be coming to an end.
1998
01:38:08.805 --> 01:38:10.933
Falwell telling
The Wall Street Journal overnight
1999
01:38:10.933 --> 01:38:13.018
he submitted his resignation letter.
2000
01:38:13.018 --> 01:38:15.646
"Because I don't want
something my wife did
2001
01:38:15.646 --> 01:38:18.315
to harm the school
I've spent my whole life building."
2002
01:38:18.315 --> 01:38:22.069
Today's news comes
amid allegations that Jerry Falwell Jr.,
2003
01:38:22.069 --> 01:38:25.781
while president of one of the nation's
largest Christian universities,
2004
01:38:25.781 --> 01:38:29.576
used to watch his wife Becki have sex
with another man.
2005
01:38:30.160 --> 01:38:33.914
- Quickly, the empire starts crumbling,
as it should.
2006
01:38:34.248 --> 01:38:38.502
Liberty University is suing
its former president, Jerry Falwell Jr.,
2007
01:38:38.502 --> 01:38:41.129
for upwards of 40 million dollars.
2008
01:38:41.129 --> 01:38:44.299
It alleges he was dishonest
with the Executive Committee
2009
01:38:44.299 --> 01:38:46.510
when negotiating
a generous severance package.
2010
01:38:46.510 --> 01:38:48.720
Now, the school claims during that time,
2011
01:38:48.720 --> 01:38:53.267
Falwell Jr. knew a brewing sex scandal
would likely force him out at some point.
2012
01:38:53.267 --> 01:38:56.436
- Giancarlo took on
all these people by himself.
2013
01:38:56.436 --> 01:38:58.355
That's a fucking lonely place.
2014
01:38:58.355 --> 01:39:00.315
Giancarlo put a stake in his heart.
2015
01:39:00.315 --> 01:39:01.483
He just buried it.
2016
01:39:02.150 --> 01:39:04.862
- Jerry was, you know,
in the room, laying--
2017
01:39:04.862 --> 01:39:07.447
You know, there's two beds,
he was laying on one bed.
2018
01:39:08.031 --> 01:39:10.742
So Jerry texted me
after the article was published,
2019
01:39:11.660 --> 01:39:13.912
and, uh, he wasn't too happy about it.
He texted me...
2020
01:39:16.248 --> 01:39:19.209
I mean, he's obviously...
He's kind of fucked at this point.
2021
01:39:19.209 --> 01:39:21.378
- Jerry Falwell, as you know,
has accused you of lying,
2022
01:39:21.378 --> 01:39:23.505
saying that while you did
have an affair with his wife,
2023
01:39:23.505 --> 01:39:25.132
he was not involved in any way.
2024
01:39:25.132 --> 01:39:26.133
- Jerry's lying.
2025
01:39:26.133 --> 01:39:28.093
Um, that was his game plan
from the beginning,
2026
01:39:28.093 --> 01:39:30.762
to just throw her under the bus,
um, which I--
2027
01:39:30.762 --> 01:39:34.766
- The Falwells are predators,
and they prey upon people.
2028
01:39:35.350 --> 01:39:38.103
It's psychologically so abusive.
2029
01:39:38.103 --> 01:39:41.481
Granda also calling
Jerry Falwell Jr. a predator,
2030
01:39:41.481 --> 01:39:43.233
alleging Falwell sent him an image
2031
01:39:43.233 --> 01:39:47.613
of a Liberty University student
exposing herself at their farm.
2032
01:39:47.613 --> 01:39:49.448
GIANCARLO:
In the middle of the media blitz,
2033
01:39:49.448 --> 01:39:50.949
Politico drops a bombshell.
2034
01:39:51.366 --> 01:39:54.995
And in this article,
one of Trey's bandmates,
2035
01:39:54.995 --> 01:39:57.331
he claimed that, uh,
Becki jumped into bed
2036
01:39:57.331 --> 01:39:58.790
while he was sleeping
2037
01:39:58.790 --> 01:40:01.627
and she started performing oral sex.
2038
01:40:02.586 --> 01:40:04.004
But he didn't really want it.
2039
01:40:04.588 --> 01:40:07.341
REPORTER 1:
The Falwells deny the allegation.
2040
01:40:07.341 --> 01:40:09.635
- When he mentioned
that, uh, she was pursuing him,
2041
01:40:09.635 --> 01:40:14.181
sending him, uh, like, love songs
and, uh, inspirational quotes,
2042
01:40:14.181 --> 01:40:16.433
it just reminded me of my younger self.
2043
01:40:16.433 --> 01:40:19.102
I'm like, "Yeah, that's exactly
what she was doing with me."
2044
01:40:19.102 --> 01:40:23.565
- Anytime you have sex,
and then lies, and then mix religion,
2045
01:40:25.108 --> 01:40:27.402
I mean, that's some nasty, nasty shit.
2046
01:40:28.862 --> 01:40:33.534
What Granda did
was to make it possible for other students
2047
01:40:33.534 --> 01:40:37.788
or other victims
of the Falwells and of the culture
2048
01:40:37.788 --> 01:40:39.748
to come forward with their stories.
2049
01:40:39.748 --> 01:40:45.087
REPORTER 1:
A new lawsuit says Liberty University
"Enabled on-campus rapes."
2050
01:40:45.087 --> 01:40:49.550
- According to over 50
former female students and staffers--
2051
01:40:49.550 --> 01:40:53.220
- I was drugged and forcibly raped
2052
01:40:54.638 --> 01:40:55.931
by multiple people.
2053
01:40:56.932 --> 01:40:59.476
REPORTER 2:
Heather filed this police report
2054
01:40:59.476 --> 01:41:01.728
naming her alleged attackers.
2055
01:41:01.728 --> 01:41:05.315
- My assailants were prayed for
and let go back into society.
2056
01:41:05.816 --> 01:41:10.737
REPORTER 3:
They also allege that LU weaponized
its honor code, The Liberty Way.
2057
01:41:10.737 --> 01:41:11.864
REPORTER 4:
Jane Doe 6 claims
2058
01:41:11.864 --> 01:41:14.533
her boyfriend
slipped drugs into her drink,
2059
01:41:14.533 --> 01:41:17.828
but LU fined her $500
for breaking the Liberty Way
2060
01:41:17.828 --> 01:41:18.996
for drinking alcohol.
2061
01:41:18.996 --> 01:41:23.542
- I think 100% the Liberty Way has been
weaponized against women on campus.
2062
01:41:25.544 --> 01:41:28.338
♪
2063
01:41:28.338 --> 01:41:29.840
LILIA:
I'm very proud of my brother.
2064
01:41:30.340 --> 01:41:32.050
To see these other stories come out,
2065
01:41:32.050 --> 01:41:33.969
I was like, "You did this."
2066
01:41:33.969 --> 01:41:38.348
Like, "You came out, you told your truth,
you went through so much shit,
2067
01:41:39.057 --> 01:41:41.393
but now there's, like,
a light at the end of the tunnel."
2068
01:41:41.393 --> 01:41:43.770
Like, "People believe you
because you're telling the truth.
2069
01:41:43.770 --> 01:41:47.983
"You put a spotlight on the grossness
that was going on in the school,
2070
01:41:47.983 --> 01:41:49.443
the abuse of power."
2071
01:41:50.360 --> 01:41:52.196
This is who these people really are.
2072
01:41:52.196 --> 01:41:56.950
They're not the good Christians
that they try to portray themselves to be.
2073
01:41:58.035 --> 01:42:00.704
- I am a survivor of-- of abuse,
2074
01:42:00.704 --> 01:42:02.289
and I believe Giancarlo is.
2075
01:42:02.789 --> 01:42:05.876
Because now we-- we think of abuse
in a lot of different ways.
2076
01:42:07.711 --> 01:42:11.882
- Coming forward and exposing
your-- your-- your, uh, private life,
2077
01:42:11.882 --> 01:42:15.302
and everybody knowing
your-- your-- your business, it's not fun.
2078
01:42:15.719 --> 01:42:17.387
But I knew that I did the right thing.
2079
01:42:19.765 --> 01:42:22.226
Jerry,
he has literally been kind of exiled
2080
01:42:22.226 --> 01:42:25.729
from the place that he built
and his family's sort of legacy.
2081
01:42:26.063 --> 01:42:29.942
You have to remember,
his parents are buried on that campus.
2082
01:42:29.942 --> 01:42:32.861
By banning him,
they have effectively prevented him
2083
01:42:32.861 --> 01:42:34.321
from visiting his parents' graves.
2084
01:42:35.155 --> 01:42:37.824
Falwell tells CBS News
he believes he was targeted
2085
01:42:37.824 --> 01:42:41.578
because of the number of evangelicals
that he was able to bring over
2086
01:42:41.578 --> 01:42:43.956
for Donald Trump in 2016.
2087
01:42:43.956 --> 01:42:45.457
He told us today by phone,
2088
01:42:45.457 --> 01:42:49.795
"Bottom line, it's an election year
and I expected this."
2089
01:42:50.546 --> 01:42:53.257
Falwell Jr. didn't make
any more political appearances,
2090
01:42:53.757 --> 01:42:55.384
and no more endorsements of Donald Trump.
2091
01:42:57.302 --> 01:42:59.555
♪
2092
01:42:59.555 --> 01:43:02.140
- The Fox News decision desk
can now project
2093
01:43:02.140 --> 01:43:07.229
that former Vice Present Joe Biden
will win Pennsylvania and Nevada,
2094
01:43:07.229 --> 01:43:11.066
putting him over
the 270 electoral votes he needs
2095
01:43:11.066 --> 01:43:14.903
to become the 46th president
of the United States.
2096
01:43:14.903 --> 01:43:18.699
- The Associated Press said
that Joe Biden is president.
2097
01:43:24.204 --> 01:43:25.289
DUSTIN:
After the election,
2098
01:43:25.289 --> 01:43:29.209
Conservative Christians,
Trump Republicans, were telling lies
2099
01:43:29.209 --> 01:43:32.337
about what had happened in the election
and-- and trying to spread doubt.
2100
01:43:32.337 --> 01:43:36.049
- At this point, we do not know
who has prevailed in the election.
2101
01:43:36.049 --> 01:43:39.303
Tonight,
President Trump refusing to admit defeat.
2102
01:43:40.721 --> 01:43:42.598
God has voted.
2103
01:43:42.598 --> 01:43:46.643
Donald J. Trump will stand again
in this land, whether you like it or not.
2104
01:43:46.643 --> 01:43:49.813
- All hell is going
to break loose tomorrow.
2105
01:43:49.813 --> 01:43:52.107
- You are not gonna steal this election.
2106
01:43:52.107 --> 01:43:55.194
DUSTIN:
There were Falkirk Center contributors
2107
01:43:55.194 --> 01:43:58.071
who were at the January 6th insurrection.
2108
01:43:59.072 --> 01:44:01.825
TOM:
Charlie Kirk paid for 80 buses of people
2109
01:44:01.825 --> 01:44:05.579
to go to the insurrection rally
on the-- the 6th of January.
2110
01:44:06.246 --> 01:44:09.666
That money could have come
from Jerry Falwell and Liberty University.
2111
01:44:16.089 --> 01:44:18.342
RANDALL:
These are people parading around
2112
01:44:18.342 --> 01:44:20.511
with Christian symbolism,
2113
01:44:20.511 --> 01:44:24.973
and invoking God, and Jesus, and the Bible
2114
01:44:24.973 --> 01:44:28.018
in the service of sedition.
2115
01:44:28.018 --> 01:44:29.394
- We fight like hell.
2116
01:44:29.394 --> 01:44:32.689
And if you don't fight like hell,
you're not gonna have a country anymore.
2117
01:44:33.357 --> 01:44:35.108
DUSTIN:
There was nothing Christian, obviously,
2118
01:44:35.108 --> 01:44:37.319
about what happened on January 6th.
2119
01:44:37.861 --> 01:44:42.074
There's nothing Christlike
about Trumpism or Christian nationalism.
2120
01:44:42.074 --> 01:44:45.702
JACOB CHANSLEY:
Thank you, Heavenly Father,
for blessing us with this opportunity.
2121
01:44:45.702 --> 01:44:46.870
We love you and we thank you.
2122
01:44:46.870 --> 01:44:48.372
In Christ's holy name, we pray.
2123
01:44:48.372 --> 01:44:49.998
ALL:
Amen!
2124
01:44:49.998 --> 01:44:52.501
ANTHEA:
Christian extremism is just as dangerous,
2125
01:44:52.501 --> 01:44:55.087
or even more dangerous
than Islamic extremism
2126
01:44:55.087 --> 01:44:56.672
for one very big reason:
2127
01:44:56.672 --> 01:44:58.674
Christian extremists live next door to us.
2128
01:44:58.674 --> 01:45:01.802
They sit in the pews next to you,
and they work with you.
2129
01:45:05.347 --> 01:45:06.223
- Help!
2130
01:45:07.015 --> 01:45:09.560
ANTHEA:
And the attack in the Capitol on 1/6
2131
01:45:09.560 --> 01:45:11.019
was Christian jihad.
2132
01:45:11.019 --> 01:45:15.148
- We are gonna have one nation under God,
we have to have one religion under God.
2133
01:45:15.148 --> 01:45:16.900
ANTHEA:
Evangelicalism today
2134
01:45:16.900 --> 01:45:20.571
inserts their belief system
into the government of America,
2135
01:45:20.571 --> 01:45:25.576
hoping to change it into a theocracy
ruled by white Christians specifically,
2136
01:45:25.576 --> 01:45:27.286
and men in particular.
2137
01:45:27.911 --> 01:45:31.790
You cannot be a Christian
and vote Democrat in this nation!
2138
01:45:31.790 --> 01:45:36.253
They are God-denying demons
that butcher babies and hate this nation!
2139
01:45:36.253 --> 01:45:38.422
REPORTER 1:
The Supreme Court has ruled
2140
01:45:38.422 --> 01:45:42.009
on the future of abortion rights
in the United States.
2141
01:45:42.009 --> 01:45:44.845
The landmark decision
from the United States Supreme Court
2142
01:45:44.845 --> 01:45:48.473
which has ended
Constitutional protections for abortion
2143
01:45:48.473 --> 01:45:51.101
that had been in place
for nearly 50 years
2144
01:45:51.101 --> 01:45:54.521
Evangelicals became
fully radicalized in the goal.
2145
01:45:54.521 --> 01:45:58.400
That was the justification
for the religious right's deal
with Donald Trump.
2146
01:45:58.400 --> 01:46:01.361
He single-handedly shifted
the Court far enough to the right,
2147
01:46:01.361 --> 01:46:04.239
it could finally undo
abortion rights in this country.
2148
01:46:04.907 --> 01:46:06.617
MEGAN:
In a very real way,
2149
01:46:06.617 --> 01:46:10.245
Jerry Falwell Jr. has now
officially completed the work
2150
01:46:10.245 --> 01:46:11.580
that his father began.
2151
01:46:12.247 --> 01:46:16.960
The black sheep and the rejected member
of the evangelical community
2152
01:46:16.960 --> 01:46:20.714
actually has delivered to them
in a very tangible way,
2153
01:46:20.714 --> 01:46:22.591
the one thing that they most sought.
2154
01:46:23.717 --> 01:46:26.261
RANDALL:
One of the great glories of this nation,
2155
01:46:26.261 --> 01:46:30.307
and I believe America's best idea,
is the First Amendment
2156
01:46:30.307 --> 01:46:32.267
and the separation of church and state.
2157
01:46:35.103 --> 01:46:38.357
This whole so-called
Christian nationalism movement
2158
01:46:38.357 --> 01:46:43.654
that insists that America was
and always has been a Christian nation,
2159
01:46:44.321 --> 01:46:46.949
the founders were
very, very clear about that.
2160
01:46:46.949 --> 01:46:49.076
Their intention
was precisely the opposite.
2161
01:46:49.743 --> 01:46:53.705
To protect the nation,
protect the government,
2162
01:46:53.705 --> 01:46:57.543
protect the people
from religious factionalism.
2163
01:46:58.210 --> 01:47:00.963
Go back on that fundamental principle,
2164
01:47:01.713 --> 01:47:03.006
to compromise that in some way,
2165
01:47:03.006 --> 01:47:06.051
I think is deeply, deeply perilous.
2166
01:47:18.939 --> 01:47:21.942
♪