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FBI taped Hutcherson/Falwell Jr. phone conversation
By Conor Reilly
mreilly@newsadvance.com
March 29, 2006
An FBI agent taped a phone conversation between Jerry Falwell Jr. and Lynchburg Mayor Carl Hutcherson in January 2005 without Falwell Jr.’s knowledge, a government motion filed Tuesday revealed.
Falwell Jr. said Tuesday evening that the government only recently told him that the call was recorded.
“It was a surprise to me,” Falwell Jr. said. “(But) everything in that conversation is consistent with what we said later.”
The mayor faces fraud charges related to a $32,500 donation from the Falwell ministries alleging that he used the money to improperly pay off tax debts, then lied to cover up his actions.
The 14-page document filed Tuesday says the government investigated “the possibility of public corruption by covertly recording a telephone call placed by Hutcherson at the government’s direction to Jerry Falwell Jr.”
The 13-minute conversation taped on Jan. 27, 2005 - the same day Hutcherson was first interviewed by the FBI - focused almost exclusively on the $32,500 gift from the Falwell ministries to a church group Hutcherson directed.
“The resultant taped conversation confirmed Hutcherson’s denials of a bribery scheme,” the motion says. “The taped conversation made clear that Falwell Jr. meant for the $32,500 to be a donation to Trinity CDC and not for Trinity CDC to be a mere shell or funnel for money to be given to Hutcherson.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Bondurant is asking a judge to allow the conversation to be used as evidence at Hutcherson’s trial, set to begin next month.
Defense attorney John Fishwick said in a prepared statement that Tuesday was the first time he had a chance to see the transcript.
“We have always anticipated that the contents of the conversation are supportive of our case,” he said in the statement. “We can’t wait for the jury to hear it.”
Bondurant argues that Hutcherson knew the money wasn’t a loan to his funeral home.
The government says Hutcherson’s defense team will likely argue that the Falwells intended the money to go to the mayor all along, so no criminal intent existed.
Prosecutors say in the motion the “conversation is relevant because it demonstrates Hutcherson’s true criminal intent and refutes his potential defense.”
Hutcherson made the initial contact with Falwell Jr.’s Liberty University office at 2:36 p.m. while FBI Special Agent Christian Pettyjohn was present.
The mayor begins the conversation by informing Falwell that an FBI agent was asking questions about the donation. The mayor then tells Falwell the agent “knew it was a direct loan, and uh, um, to me.”
Here is one exchange between Hutcherson and Falwell Jr. from the transcript, which was posted on the federal court’s Web site Tuesday along with a motion to introduce it as evidence.
Hutcherson: I didn’t answer, I didn’t answer a lot after that because uh, ultimately what they did was issue me a subpoena.
Falwell: Is that right?
Hutcherson: I just didn’t know what to say or do.
Falwell: Alright, well we, it was a donation to that New Life, that’s who we made the check out to, right?
Hutcherson: Yes, uh huh.
Falwell: So what’s, I don’t understand what’s wrong with that.
Hutcherson: I don’t, I don’t know.
Over the course of the conversation, Falwell repeatedly says the money was given as a donation to the CDC, not a personal loan.
“They’re just uh, but I just uh, I can’t think, Carl, what it would be that uh, would be so bad,” Falwell said. “Even if we had just loaned the funeral home.”
Falwell also refers to the Ericsson rezoning on the north campus of LU from the year before that initially drew the attention of federal investigators.
From the transcript:
“But at the time you voted on that rezoning for us, it was nothing, no business relationship at all,” Falwell said.
“That’s, no, no. There wasn’t. No,” Hutcherson said.
Falwell also said during the conversation “they’re just trying to scare you.”
Falwell said Tuesday that the Bank of the James, the institution where the donation was deposited, was responsible for the entire investigation beginning.
In the transcript, Falwell tells Hutcherson, “… Now, it’s probably Bank of the James that’s brought that up.”
Hutcherson says “Probably so.”
Falwell says, “Oh, yeah. I don’t trust those people.”
JLFJR wrote:Thanks for your input, PA! Very helpful.
JLFJR wrote:Thanks for your input, PA! Very helpful.
PAmedic wrote:you're absolutely right
Hold My Own wrote:How smart was that to donate to a charity rather than making a straight loan or give money.....it's going to be hard to catch JR in something illegal
LUconn wrote:well hopefully it's because he's not doing anything illegal.I liked the wording of that myself, LUconn!
JLFJR wrote:Thanks for your input, PA! Very helpful.
PAmedic wrote:That's kind of why I posted this article here. I thought it illustrated very nicely just how honest the guy is. There was nothing shady going on, even though everyone (locally) was foaming at the mouth for some dirt to be exposed. I already had a high opinion of him, and this just backed it up further. He's an extremely smart man.Hold My Own wrote:How smart was that to donate to a charity rather than making a straight loan or give money.....it's going to be hard to catch JR in something illegalLUconn wrote:well hopefully it's because he's not doing anything illegal.I liked the wording of that myself, LUconn!
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