Officials say Jerry Falwell Jr. has resigned as head of Liberty University, but Falwell says he doesn’t plan to leave

RICHMOND, VA. — Jerry Falwell Jr.‘s future at evangelical Liberty University was unclear late Monday, with a senior school official saying he had resigned from his leadership post but Falwell telling at least one news outlet that he does not plan to leave permanently.

A formal announcement from the school was expected later Monday, according to the school official, who spoke with The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter. The disclosure of Falwell’s resignation followed the publication of news stories about his wife’s sexual encounters with a much younger business partner.

Late Monday, attorneys for Falwell and the school were negotiating the details of a possible departure, according to a person close to the school’s board of trustees who also spoke on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to discuss it.

But Virginia Business reported that Falwell, who was already on an indefinite leave of absence, said in a phone interview he has not agreed to leave the post permanently, nor does he plan to.

Falwell did not return a call from the AP seeking comment.

The uncertainty developed a day after Falwell issued a statement to The Washington Examiner publicly disclosing that his wife had an extramarital affair and saying the man involved had been threatening to reveal the relationship “to deliberately embarrass my wife, family, and Liberty University unless we agreed to pay him substantial monies.”

Falwell said he was seeking mental health counseling after dealing with fallout from the affair, which he said he had no role in.

“Over the course of the last few months this person’s behavior has reached a level that we have decided the only way to stop this predatory behavior is to go public,” the statement said.

But hours before the school official confirmed Falwell’s resignation, Reuters reported that he knew of his wife’s affair and participated in some of the liaisons as a voyeur. The news agency based the information on an interview with Giancarlo Granda, whom they identified as the man involved in the affair.

Falwell, an early and ardent supporter of President Donald Trump, began a leave of absence from the university on Aug. 7 after an uproar sparked by a photo he posted on social media showing him with his pants unzipped, stomach exposed and arm high around the waist of his wife’s pregnant assistant. Falwell has said the photo was taken at a costume party during a family vacation.

Critics of the photo said it was evidence of hypocritical behavior from the leader of a university where students must follow a strict code of conduct that includes modest dress and a ban on alcohol consumption and premarital sex.

The possible break with Falwell came amid growing calls for an overhaul of leadership at the school, where alumni recently launched a campaign urging him to step aside.

“I really think the board of directors should have done this a long time ago, and if there’s anybody who needs to go next, it needs to be them,” said Maina Mwaura, a Liberty graduate who helped organize a June letter from Black alumni criticizing Falwell.

“This school has become the laughingstock of the country,” Mwaura added, noting that the board could have prevented the current furor had it acted more quickly to rein in Falwell. The founder’s son was given a long leash for poor behavior, Mwaura said, “because he was the rainmaker” who brought in significant financial resources.

Falwell’s work to shore up Liberty’s finances after taking over as president in 2007 bolstered his already significant goodwill among the school’s board members, several of whom were close to his late father. But as the younger Falwell’s propensity toward divisive public behavior grew — and particularly after his endorsement of Trump in early 2016 — dissatisfaction built up with what some critics saw as a shift toward being conservative first and Christian second.

Schor reported from New York.