Congressman Scott DesJarlais asked for forgiveness from his constituents this morning, during an appearance on a talk radio program. The Republican from Jasper has been on the defensive, since transcripts were released of divorce proceedings from his first wife.
Conservative talk show host Ralph Bristol took DesJarlais to task, asking if he misled people about his history with abortion. DesJarlais is pro-life, he’s denied pressuring his mistress to have an abortion, but divorce transcripts reveal his ex-wife had two during their marriage. DesJarlais responded that he believes in grace and redemption.
“But I know God’s forgiven me. I simply ask my fellow Christians and constituents to doing the same for me. So, I don’t think I was intentionally misleading anybody.”
Earlier this week, a watchdog group filed an ethics complaint against DesJarlais, saying he lied to the public about his divorce and extramarital affairs, therefore he broke Congressional rules. Some Republicans in DesJarlais’ district have said they’ll challenge him in the next primary election, but many of the state’s top GOP leaders have had little to say about DesJarlais and the questions surrounding his personal life.
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