Giancarlo Granda, the pool attendant who was accused of trying to blackmail Jerry Falwell Jr.’s family after having an affair with his wife vehemently denied the claims in a statement to The Washington Examiner, insisting “the WHOLE truth will come out.” In a statement to the Examiner, the suspended Liberty University president said that his wife, Becki Tilley, had an affair with the couple’s “pool boy”— identified by news outlets as Granda—who then threatened to come forward. Falwell claimed that while he and his wife have “tried to distance ourselves from him over time...he unfortunately became increasingly angry and aggressive. Eventually, he began threatening to publicly reveal this secret relationship with Becki and to deliberately embarrass my wife, family, and Liberty University unless we agreed to pay him substantial monies.” The Christian school on Friday said it was investigating “rumors and claims” about Falwell, who was put on leave after a photo of him with his pants unzipped surfaced.

Granda, who was 21 at the time of the alleged affair, denied ever extorting the family, saying “any allegation of extortion is falsely, defamatory and belied by clear documentary evidence. The Falwell’s attempt to sandbag me, and the Examiner, with a last minute story without providing the Examiner clear evidence that this was not simply an ‘affair’ with concocted allegations of extortion reeks desperation. The WHOLE truth will come out.”