Duggar Interview Truth Analysis

[FundieFarmer]

Hi all. By popular request, here's my analysis of the truthfulness in the Duggar interview last night. Thanks to BCNN1 for the transcript, which I used as a base before editing to my knowledge of the situation as well as added commentary. If you catch something I didn't, please let me know. I've used the transcripts as uploaded by Happy Atheist, and some general internet research to try to get this sorted out.

 

It appears the Duggar parents have mentally divided the incidents into "serious" and "not serious" based on when they finally decided the molestations were severe enough to warrant removing Josh from the household. My understanding is that initial incidents took place while the girls were sleeping and were over the clothes, a brief period of prayer and supervision took place, and then the molestations became more severe, occurring when the girls were awake and with direct skin-to-skin contact before Josh was ultimately sent away (13 days later after revelation to family and church elders).

 

Surprisingly, it appears that most of the interview was mild enough to be accurate. Some of the tougher questions revealed cracks in the story. The interview is color-coded: green for correct, red for incorrect or questionable. There was a lot of Gothardese, and the interview went in circles in several places, such that it was difficult to figure out what they were talking about when. I've done my best to decipher it, but it was actually tougher than I anticipated. I did what I could to keep my snark out of it and report only the facts. I did add one personal observation as it pertained to discrepancies in the interview text. Obviously feel free to comment if you see anything differently than I did, or have more information to add.

 

 

_______________MEGYN KELLY, HOST: It is a story that has generated hundreds of thousands of headlines and plenty of criticism. Tonight for the very first time, the family that became famous for their conservative Christian values and their 19 children speak out about a painful secret involving their oldest son and the actions that he now admits were inexcusable. Welcome to “The Kelly File,†everyone. I’m Megyn Kelly. Just hours ago in Arkansas, I sat down with members of the Duggar family, stars of the hit TLC show “19 Kids and Counting.†We discussed the serious allegations of inappropriate touching some 12 years ago by then teenaged Josh Duggar. Some of the topics we will discuss tonight are troubling and not intended for young viewers.

 

But first, a look at how we got here.

 

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

 

MICHELLE DUGGAR, “19 KIDS AND COUNTINGâ€: This is the story of my family. We are the Duggars.

 

KELLY (voice-over): The Duggars, a clean-cut family of 21, 10 boys, nine girls, who from the outside looking in, seemed to live a charmed and sheltered life. The kids, homeschooled. Reliable. Responsible.

 

JOSH’S VOICE: To keep things together with our mega-family, we’re each in charge of certain areas.

 

M. DUGGAR: Joseph takes out the trash. Josiah, he organizes and straightens the pantry.

 

KELLY: Self-sufficient. Extremely well-behaved. The family first rose to prominence in Arkansas where in the late 1990s and early 2000s Jim Bob Duggar served in the state’s House of Representatives. But it was in 2004 that the Duggars gained national notoriety.

 

JOSH’S VOICE: If you lost count, allow us to help.

 

KELLY: First, with documentaries about their unusually large family.

 

JOSH’S VOICE: We are the Duggar family.

 

KELLY: And later with the hit series on TLC that today is known as “19 Kids and Counting.†The show would focus on the Duggars’ ever expanding family, their devout faith, traditional values and strict courting that includes chaperones, no kissing before marriage and no hand holding before an engagement.

 

M. DUGGAR: We think it’s a great plan to be pure, wait, you know, for the one that God has for you, and on your wedding day, you get to enjoy all the physical aspects of that relationship.

 

KELLY: The program was an enormous hit, drawing millions of devoted viewers. But with celebrity came controversy. Criticism of what some view as their more controversial opinions from their views on abortion —

 

M. DUGGAR: There’s a baby holocaust taking place where doctors and nurses are being paid to take the lives of innocent, unborn children.

 

KELLY: To those on gay marriage.

 

JOSH DUGGAR, “19 KIDS AND COUNTINGâ€: What’s really at stake here is the American family. Marriage is central to the family and every single child deserves a mother and father.

 

KELLY: Or emphasis that women should submit to their husbands. Their detractors even starting a petition, demanding that their show be canceled, accusing the family of gay fear mongering.Despite it all, the shows rating continued to soar. The 2014 wedding of daughter Jill Duggar drawing more than 4.4 million viewers, the network’s biggest telecast in four years. And then a bombshell. May 19, 2015. In Touch Weekly reports the Duggars’ 27-year-old son Josh had been named in a prior sexual abuse investigation. Two days later on May 21st, the magazine reprints what turned out to be an illegally released police report. It reveals that Josh while 14 or 15 years old forcibly touched at least five girls in 2002 and 2003. The report makes clear the victims include Josh’s younger sisters.

The police report was not actually illegally released. Under the FOIA act, it can be requested since no charges were pressed. The local police department released a statement to attest to this.

 

The Duggars consulted church elders. They sent Josh to a kind of rehab program and reported him to a state trooper who was an acquaintance of the family. However, no formal investigation was launched until police received an anonymous tip in 2006. By that time, the statute of limitations had run, and no charges were filed. The day of the second In Touch report, Josh Duggar issues an apology, writing in part, “12 years ago as a young teenager, I acted inexcusably for which I am extremely sorry and deeply regret. I hurt others including my family and close friends.†His parents and wife of six years also issue statements. Wife Anna saying Josh told her about his past before they got engaged, that she was shocked but that he had gotten help, humbled himself before God and changed the direction of his life.

The media pounced.

 

[VARIOUS MEDIA QUOTES]

 

KELLY: So why would a family with such a painful secret launch a reality TV show and was it hypocritical to preach family values knowing of their own son’s repeated sins?

I ask them that and much more in our Duggar family interview right now.

 

(on camera): Take us back to 2002. How did you first learn that this was a problem with Josh?

 

JIM BOB DUGGAR, “19 KIDS AND COUNTINGâ€: Well, 12 years ago, we went through one of the most darkest times that our family have ever gone through, and our son Josh came to us on his own, and he was crying. And he had just turned 14, and he said that he had actually improperly touched some of our daughters. And it was —

 

MICHELLE DUGGAR, “19 KIDS AND COUNTINGâ€: We were shocked. I mean, we were just devastated. I don’t think any parent is prepared for a trauma like that. And I think we had one way of hope and that Josh had a tender conscience, and he was the one that came and shared on his own even though the others really didn’t know anything of his wrongdoing.

 

KELLY: This is a young boy who has come to you with shocking information. What did he say? I mean, how did you respond to him? What was that like, that exchange?

 

M. DUGGAR: There was so much grief in our hearts. I think as parents we felt, we’re failures. You know, here we tried to raise our kids to do what’s right, to know what’s right. And yet one of our children made some really bad choices, and I think as a parent, we were just — we were devastated.

 

KELLY: Did he explain why? I mean, was that a question that you asked?

 

J. B. DUGGAR: He said he was just curious about girls, and he had gone in and just basically touched them over their clothes while they were sleeping. They didn’t even know he had done it. And so we went, and the first thing was to protect the girls. And so we went in —

This is accurate regarding the first incidents in the girls’ room in March 2002, and again for the babysitter on the couch in July of 2002.

 

KELLY: The girls all slept together?

 

M. DUGGAR: Hm-mm.

 

J. B. DUGGAR: Yes. The girls had two bedrooms at the time.

This took place at the family’s Johnson Road residence.

 

KELLY: How many girls are we talking about?

 

J. B. DUGGAR: We had five girls at the time.

 

KELLY: OK.

 

J. B. DUGGAR: So, anyway, he went in and said he had done this, and so we, first off, of course, really talked to him and then we went and talked to all the girls, the children.

 

M. DUGGAR: It was so important for us as parents to talk to our girls and make sure that nothing else had happened.

 

KELLY: So, what did they say?

 

M. DUGGAR: One by one, as we talked with them, none of them were aware of Josh’s wrongdoings.

Regarding only the first incidents in the girls' bedroom, this is most likely accurate.

 

KELLY: So they learned about it from you.

 

M. DUGGAR: Yes.

 

J. B. DUGGAR: Yes. Yes.

 

KELLY: At that point, he had said that he had done this to how many of the girls?

 

J. B. DUGGAR: That was to two.

 

KELLY: OK. But neither one had any recollection of it.

 

J. B. DUGGAR: They did not know.

 

KELLY: And what was their reaction when they learned it from you?

 

J. B. DUGGAR: They didn’t — they really didn’t know. Actually, what happened was we asked them at first if anything happened. And then it was after some other things happened that we actually shared with them, and we actually — but we took a lot of steps. And first we tried to deal with this in-house as parents. We were in shock and we were trying to figure out what was the next step. But really, looking back, we did the best we could under the circumstances.

 

KELLY: You’re saying, what am I going to do? You’re saying, he says he’s touched two of the daughters, and you don’t know what to do, right?

 

J. B. DUGGAR: Didn’t know. Because at that point now nobody knew about it besides Michelle and I and Josh. And so we thought, what do we do with this information? And the girls, we talked to them, and they didn’t know that anything had happened because they were asleep. And so we talked to him, we put all kinds of punishments on him, we watched him, like, all the time. I took him to work with me, and he just — I mean, we just poured our life into it.

 

KELLY: Like when you went to bed at night during that time frame, were you scared? Were you worried? You know, he’s 14, he’s having this problem. What’s going to happen when we go to sleep?

 

J. B. DUGGAR: Right. Nothing ever happened like that again in the girls’ bedrooms after that.

 

KELLY: OK.

 

J. B. DUGGAR: OK. So, we had safeguards that protected them from that. But there was another incident where — two different incidents where the girls were, like, laying on the couch, and it was — he had touched, like, over the couch and actually touched their breast while they were asleep. And so –

 

M. DUGGAR: Over their clothes.

This is accurate only for the first set of incidents.

 

J. B. DUGGAR: — over their clothes. And so it was a very difficult situation. But as we talked to other parents and different ones since then, a lot of families have said that they’ve had similar things happen in their families. And so — I mean, this is, for us, of course, this is public shame that our son did this back 12, 13 years ago.

 

KELLY: When you heard that the behavior had resumed, describe what that was like for you.

 

J. B. DUGGAR: We thought, you know, at first that Josh, you know, was on the road to mend at first, but he was still a kid, you know, and he was still a juvenile. He wasn’t an adult. And so there was a couple more times that he came and told us what he had done, and we were just devastated. All of these — again, this was not rape or anything like that, this was like touching somebody over their clothes. There were a couple incidents where he touched them under their clothes, but it was like a few seconds and then he came to us and was crying and told us what happened, and it was after that third time he came to us is where we really felt like, you know what? We have done everything we can as parents to handle this in-house. We need to get help.

That is accurate. See incidents mentioned above; Josh is reported to have called his parents almost immediately afterward.

 

And that’s actually when we went to outside folks and we asked some very close friends if they could come over, and some of my best friends came over. We talked about it, and so at that point we pulled Josh out of the home, and we knew of a man who mentors young men, and he really helped young men who had made unwise choices in their lives to get straightened out, and he was running a little training center in Little Rock, Arkansas. And under the roof of that training center, he had Little Rock Police Department on one side, then you had a prison minister on the other. And he said Josh could come down there and actually do some construction work with him and he would counsel him and work with him and hopefully get him straightened out.

This center was run by Harold Walker, and is called the Basic Life Principles Training Center. No search results of that training center come up in Google for a search customized for articles or posts printed before 1 May 2015, and first appear 22 May 2015. A search of Mr. Walker turns up a comment that he doesn’t remember why Josh was sent to the center, and a comment on RecoveringGrace reads as follows: “That's a lot of bull that they did not know what the program was called. The Little Rock "Training Center" at that point was just a large empty shell with one wing of one floor of staff rooms. Everyone knew that the Police Department was a separate entity, period. The door between the facilities was locked. For them to pretend the "program" was legitimized by the proximity to a PD is pure smokescreen. Harold Walker lived in a home on the grounds of the property. He had small children at the time. I wonder if he even knew why Josh was being sent. Apparently he was a little clueless about the whole thing, from some other articles I've read…â€

 

KELLY: Some people have said, why did they wait? Why didn’t they go to the authorities or go for the counseling at the very first time he came to you?

 

J. B. DUGGAR: You know, I talked to somebody that worked at one of those juvenile youth sex offender facilities, and he described how they actually take care of these situations down there, and the success rate is not very good. And so we felt like that going from a perspective of really reaching his heart first would be important, and so that’s the reason we sent him down to Little Rock to work with this man.

 

KELLY: Did legal ever pop into your mind? Like we may have legal obligations?

 

J. B. DUGGAR: You know, what? As parents you’re not mandatory reporters. The law allows for parents to do what they think is best for their child. And so we got him out of the home, and we sent him down to this place, and that was really probably the best decision we made through this whole process, because it was at that place — this was the first time Josh has been out of the home.

Several articles have pointed out that while parents may not be mandatory reporters, it is not a free pass to keep situations like this under wraps. Doing so could have resulted in criminal charges, according to several sources.

 

KELLY: He was 15 at this point.

 

J. B. DUGGAR: He had just turned 15. And it was that the point that he came into himself, and God really worked in his life. As a matter of fact, he broke. And he went and asked God to forgive him. He went back and asked those who he had offended to forgive him. But we felt like the last jurisdiction of who to make things right with was the law.

 

KELLY: And we’ll going to get to that in one second. The subsequent incidents after the first one involved daughters who were awake, at least a couple of them?

 

J. B. DUGGAR: There was a couple, yes. And they didn’t really understand, though, what happened.

The daughter from the book incident clearly stated to the police that it felt weird. Also, report page 23 says that one daughter cried before stating she remembers something with the washing machine. Another daughter was fully conscious and awake when Josh put his hands up her shirt in the laundry room.

 

KELLY: Yes. What —

 

M. DUGGAR: It was more his heart, his intent. He knew that it was wrong. But in theirs they weren’t even aware. They were like, you know, it wasn’t — to them they didn’t probably even understand that it was an improper touch.

 

KELLY: I know that the ultimate one before you really got help involved a very young daughter, and I’ll avoid the age because I don’t want to identify anyone specifically, but a single digit. I mean, what was that like for you to hear? You know, one, you must have thought for some time this is a pubescent boy, I don’t know what he’s going through, but he’s testing. But when it moves to a young daughter —

 

J. B. DUGGAR: Right. At that point, that’s when we pulled him out of the house and we said, he can’t be here. And so, we pulled him out and then, he went through working with that man —

 

KELLY: Yes. He goes through counseling.

 

J. B. DUGGAR: Yes.

 

KELLY: And then when he was done with the counseling, this is not like a licensed therapist, it’s somebody, a Christian-based —

Accurate. This therapist/counseling program was not licensed, as seen above it is simply a ministry connected with IBLP. Note that JB/M skirt this statement.

 

J. B. DUGGAR: Christian based. But I’ll tell you why.

 

KELLY: Treatment facility.

 

J. B. DUGGAR: It really had a huge impact on his life. And it really, that was the turning point in his life. And this man really reached his heart.

 

KELLY: And before Josh went away, you know, in the period where the girls knew, and he knew and you knew when you’re living in the house together, what was that like? I mean, what was the dinner table like?

 

J. B. DUGGAR: Well, we tried to make things as normal as we can, but also, you know, Michelle and I both were keeping an eye on Josh, you know, all the time and watching his behaviors, watching his attitudes.

 

KELLY: And prior to him leaving, were you concerned for the safety of your daughters?

 

M. DUGGAR: Well, we definitely put safeguards in our home.

 

J. B. DUGGAR: Yes, and we also talked to our daughters and reminded them about wrong and right touch and about if anybody ever touched you in a wrong way for you to come and tell your mom immediately.

Personal note but without evidence: I find this contradictory to their statements above where they mention the daughters didn’t know it was wrong. If they were "reminded", then they should've already been taught, which would indicate that they either did know it was wrong to begin with, or JB/M never imparted the lesson in the first place.

 

 

M. DUGGAR: Immediately. And we tell them that you have a safe place to share your heart. And so we were trying to protect and watch and make sure that their hearts were safe, they had a safe place to talk, and at the same time putting boundaries and safeguards up in our home.

 

J. B. DUGGAR: Yes. We weren’t going to give up on Josh.

(END OF FACTUAL JB/M INTERVEIW, REST IS CONVERSATION RE: TLC AND GIRLS' PREVIEW)

[FundieFarmer]

ALSO... I just reviewed Buzzard's reviews again, and realized this analysis missed a good part of the interview. This pretty much sums up the first part so I'll move on to the second part using Buzzard's transcript.

[OodOnTheLoo]

Spin, spin, spin, sheep, Jesus, Josh's heart, agenda, police chief is (probably a giant lesbian with an agenda to hurt victims and make a profit because otherwise she would have fallen all over herself to shake Josh's hand and not have released the record illegally) perplexing us, we are talking to lawyers and we'll see (so far they all laugh at us, probably because they also have agendas) God will do good with this (dont really believe this we just want you to tune in to see it...kinda like when we teased you about a Duggar going to Nashville, how it wasn't really a Duggar but we still got paid).

Now our daughters will tell you how much the media has victimized them with ILLEGALLY accessed reports by people with agendas seeking profit (no, not us this time. Except, yeah...)

Josh is NOT a pedophile...he was almost a whole year away from that definition! Thank you very much!

[FundieFarmer]

J'megyn saves the Duggars part 2

Megyn - the duggars were faced with questions including what to tell police and how to protect their children Did it feel at all like a sophies's choice?

Boob - we felt like our son's heart had gone astray. Jesus shared a story... sheep... going after one... as parents we loved josh "and our other ones" we had to make sure that josh didnt make wrong choices.

Michelle - it doesnt mean that youre not a good shephard, jesus was a good shephard but he went after one that went astray. We were doing the best we could to protect these and go after one... blah blah... devastated.. .we have to send him out. He has to go and get help. It was that evening when they left and took him, he was weeping and shared what he had done and we were weeping... and the little one was like "whats wrong?" The next day and for days I said 'josh has done some very bad things (tearless crying) and hes very sorry."

Boob - I was thankful, and the ray of hope was... josh came and told us and his heart was still soft. We wouldnt have known if he hadnt came and told us. None of the victims really knew about this or understand what he had done...

Inaccurate; previous statements include that JB/M had told them each what had happened before Josh was went away.

Megyn - what about that jim bob, as a parent, do you feel guilty when you learned that his behavior had continued and other girls had became victims?

Boob - yes. We, I think as parents you feel like a failure when one of your kids does something wrong. You feel like "If I had done more training, or maybe something else" this wouldnt have happened but the truth is that kids will make their own choices and they will make decisions even though youve taught them right and wrong

Megyn - I'm talking about, as the father of your girls not the father of josh. It must have been very hard to look at your little one and know that the behavior had been ongoing.

Boob - right. I was so thankful, though that josh came and told us and that our girls, even though this was a bad situation, as we;ve talked to other families that have had other things happen, a lot of their stories were even worse.

Megyn - just to clarify, it was 4 daughters and a babysitter, and you notified her...

Boob - right, he called her and asked for forgiveness. She didnt know that had done anything either. It was more like just a, fondling, touch, while they were asleep for most of them and there were 2 incidents when they were awake. It was a bad thing. It was something we'd like to forget.

By my understanding of the police reports, it was actually three (plus one where the girl woke up): hand up shirt, incident on washing machine, incident while reading a book (and the incident where the sister thought he just needed a blanket).

Megyn - let me move back to therapy. You sent josh to this treatment center. Was there more therapy for josh and the girls?

Boob - yes. What happened was, when josh came back from little rock, the last step was to make things right with the law because he had broken the law. We took him down to the local police station, the closest one to our house, and walked in and talked to a man there.

Megyn - what was that like? How do you make the decision as a parent to bring your child to law enforcement and turn him over

Boob - we felt like it was an important step for josh to confess to the police what he had done because he had broken the law and if we didnt do this that this would be something hanging over his head for the rest of his life...

Megyn - was that terrifying?

Boob - it was very terrifying. We didnt know if they were going to arrest him at that point or what they were going to do...

Michelle - and now, we were waiting to hear... we didnt know if they were going to come...

Duggars make it all better part 3

Megyn - How did you choose the person to whom you would surrender him? Because theres been some question about whether you chose a friend, someone you knew who would go easy on him

Boob - I had a towing business for years so I did know officers. We went into headquarters, went in and talked to him... we took a witness with us and he shared everything... we had no idea what that officer was going through...

Megyn - did you have any idea what the officer was going through...

Boob and Megyn reinforce that Boob knew nothing about it.

Boob - I was questioning why he would say it (that Josh hadnt told everything). Maybe he'll get out on parole or something. We took a witness... he told everything

Michelle - He said "if you continue down this path you are going to destroy your life and you could end up in prison.

Megyn - when that was over... you thought it was over

Boob - we didnt know. A few weeks went by, months went by... someone called the hotline...

Megyn - we'll get to that but I want to talk about counseling. Was that the only counseling he got and what about your daughters?

Boob - no, Josh actually went and had complete

Michelle - All of our children recieved professional counseling after this, including josh who paid for his own counseling himself

Boob - from an accredited, professional counselor.

Personal note: if this is the case, we don't have any proof to affirm or deny.

Megyn - did you feel, when josh had been though all of this, and he emerged, did you feel that he was a threat?

Boob - not at all

Megyn - did you ever worry that the treatment didnt work

Boob - no. Josh was a changed person

This is actually correlated by one of the police reports, which indicates he was "tamer" after returning from treatment.

Michelle - and we still had those safeguards in place. I mean, its like, there were a lot of things that changed. This first son... to come to this place... things we learned even since then... (A) we dont let boys babysit, they dont play hide and seek... your'e not alone in a room iwth someone else. (B) Little ones dont sit on big boys laps or even family members, unless its your daddy ... we just, theres boundaries that we've learned.

(A) The police report indicates that the boys do indeed still babysit for short periods of time.

(B) As noted here on FJ, this simply isn't true. Exhibit A: Dolly Parton trip.

Lies, LIES! ALL LIES! Part 4

Shots of duggars in frumpers walking in a line...

In 2004 they gained national media attention. In 2006 things almost unraveled. Someone LEAKED the story... reads the email. Harpo called authorities... police reports... the family told police the truth. FIVE victims were interviewed and they denied further abuse. SOL had run and case was closed.

Megyn - its all behind you and then in 2008 you launched the show. What would make you launch a tv show about your family given this past

Boob - you know, back in early on, it was after all this was taken care of in 2002-2003. A magazine came and asked to do a story...

Megyn - are you thinking "wait, this may not be a good idea"... cameras discovered things

Boob - we had nothing to hide. We had taken care of this years before and when they asked us to do the reality tv show all this had been taken care of 5 years before and we had a clean bill of health from the state

megyn did any of the girls or josh say "hold on mom and dad"

Boob - we had no fear because we hadnt, everything was taken care of. It was a sealed juvenile record. They told us all this was sealed and under law it couldnt come out

As noted in the recently-released Springdale Police Department statement: "The requested record was not sealed or expunged, and at the time the report was filed, the person listed in the report was an adult."

Megyn - did you live in fear that this could come out?

Michelle - I dont know that we lived in fear because it was resolved, forgiven, we had moved on in life

Megyn - when you heard that, in late may, that the story had broken and you hadnt been given a heads up, that they were going to do this, what was your reaction?

InTouch reports that it has documentation that the Duggars were warned before the information is released, though FOIA does not require that measure to be taken.

Boob - I said "god, I know that there are a lot of families out there that are hurting and you know what, this isnt something we wanted to come out but if people can see that josh, who did these very bad things when he was a young person, god can forgive him for these terrible things, then I hope other people realize that god can forgive them and make them a new creature.

Megyn - do, do you - was there any motivation for this police chief, that you know of, to want to hurt your family?

Michelle - I figure there must be an agenda

Boob - I dont know if there was a bribe or a personal agenda

The second InTouch report would indicate there is no such thing, as the County vs City apparently do not interact in release of records.

Michelle - it definitely wasnt to be caring about the victims

Megyn - have you had any prior dealings with her?

Boob - I think josh had talked to her one day at a meeting and she turned and wouldnt talk to him. She was getting ready to retire... she said there were a few things I want to do before I retire... I think I was on the list.

Megyn - any chance of you suing her or the city for this disclosure?

Boob - we're talking to some attorneys and we'll see. The big picture is protecting juveniles records, we want to be an advocate for protecting juveniles records because the mistakes juveniles make when they're young should be sealed.

Megyn - how has this effected your daughers?

Boob - our daughters were shocked. It crushed them at first. They didnt want this out. No victim wants their minor story to be told. Every victim should have the right to have their own sotry told, not a tabloid.

Megyn - the main story we've heard has been they are hypocrites, they preached family values... they had this secret and they werent honest

Boob - I dont think you go up to total strangers and say "hi, my name is so and so and i want you to know what I did as a child." Every family has things happen in the familes. Some have darker things than other.

Megyn - what the critics are going for is you shouldnt be preaching moral values, calling other people sinners when you in fact are sinners

Boob - our son violated god's principles of doing improper touching. Thats terrible, but its been recently said that what josh did was inexcusable, but its not unforgivable.

Megyn - Mike Huckabee said that. I know he is a friend of your family. Michelle, let me ask you, because you were in the news for making a robocall that suggested trans people would go into the bathrooms and may be child molesters... how could you unfairly in their view, suggest they are child molestors, knowing what you know about josh.

Michelle - I think that protecting young girls and not allowing men and young men go into a girl's locker room is just common sense

Megyn - But this is different because you injected child molestation into it

Boob - I think you actually said pedophile. A pedophile is an adult that preys on children. Joshua was 14 and had just tuned 15. The legal definition is 16 preying on a child. He was a child preying on a child. We do not view josh as a pedophile.

Megyn - what I'm asking you is can you understand the critics reaction to this news.

Michelle - every one of us has done something wrong. Thats why jesus came. I feel like this is more about ... pause... pause... theres an agenda... pause... and theres people that are purposing to bring things out and twisting them to hurt and slander

WE'RE BEING PERSEQUOOOOTED!!!!!!!!!! Part 5

Megyn - do you think that the backlash has been greater because of who you are and what you stand for?

Michelle - I think some out there do

Megyn - do you think in particular your christian beliefs are at issue here

Boob - I think as people on the outside think well, christians are supposed to be perfect... no, all of us, as christian struggle everyday

Megyn - what happenes to the duggars from here?

Boob - I dont know if the rest of our family should be punished for the act of one of our children 12 years ago... we are fine whether they film us or not... we're going to go on and live life and serve god and make a difference in the world

Michelle - enjoy our children and enjoy our grandchildren and continue on with life. Either way we are at peace.

Megyn - do you think the show will be cancelled has TLC given you any indication?

Boob - at this point our family is just trying to regroup from these attacks and when you are in every newspaper thoughout the world, its an unprecedented attack on our family and it was actually this informatio was released illegally... so I'm wondering why all these press is not going after these system for releasing the juvenile records. That is a huge story. What our son did 12 years ago is a major story to them too, but hopefully justice will be served on the ones that released juvenile records to protect other juvenile to prevent their records from being released.

Megyn - it must have been terrible. I'm sure youre going through hell right now.

Michelle - I think whats so devestating as a momma, for me. We took our children to the safety center, the children's safety center. We trusted them, the police department. Our children poured out their hearts, they shared everything and then to have their trust betrayed, for all their informatio to be turned over to a TABLOID! Shared in a slanderous way... as a mom that breaks my heart because this... they've ben victimized more than they WERE 12 YEARS AGO because they didn tknow then. In our hearts we havent been keeping secrets, we were protecting them and now, for people with an AGENDA in a for whatever profit they're going to get... god will use all of this for good...

As Buzzard noted: "I thought they didn know anything..."--doesn't correlate with previous statements about the kids not knowing what happened.

Boob - thank you for telling our story.

Preview of friday - Jill and Jessa

1 in 5 girls and 1 in 20 boys is a victim of child sexual abuse

3 out of 4 of those abused were victimized by someone they know

Researchers say that most young offenders are male and between the ages of 12 and 14. A 2009 analysis showed taht 85-90 % never are arrested for a sex crime again.

This does not line up with JB's statement that treatment programs are highly unsuccessful.

If you know a victim in need of help call 18004224453

In a stunning follow up... we sat down with 2 sisters, jill and jessa.

Jill - crying - we're victims, they cant do this to us

Jessa - a system that was set up to protect kids... its greatly failed.

Friday at 9 PM

[gustava]

THANK YOU :worship:

[16strong]

This is awesome. Thanks FundieFarmer!

Wow. It's amazing seeing it laid out how much the Duggars lie. If they lied this much in a single hour yesterday, how much have they lied in the past? Sounds like lying is a crutch for them. Remind me how people thought they were so Godly and biblical? Because they said so?

[FundieFarmer]

This is awesome. Thanks FundieFarmer!

Wow. It's amazing seeing it laid out how much the Duggars lie. If they lied this much in a single hour yesterday, how much have they lied in the past? Sounds like lying is a crutch for them. Remind me how people thought they were so Godly and biblical? Because they said so?

Yeah hey wait...JB/M, wasn't that one of the Ten Commandments?? :think:

[cornetto]

Boob - I think you actually said pedophile. A pedophile is an adult that preys on children. Joshua was 14 and had just tuned 15. The legal definition is 16 preying on a child. He was a child preying on a child. We do not view josh as a pedophile.

Well, at least he admits Josh was a predator.

[Fascinated]

FundieFarmer, your dedication and time investment is so appreciated. Excellent work!!! :clap:

[FundieFarmer]

Tonight's episodes, from TheInvisibleGirl:

Since Buzzard isn't going to be recapping, here's the last new bit of JB&M material we saw tonight. I didn't see the first bit, as I was only aware that they were talking about new stuff after I saw someone say it here.

They're going to preview Jill and Jessa's interview after the break. I'll recap the preview but let Buzzard take over from here tomorrow, obviously. Recapping is hard!

----

All the people in the community knew they sent Josh away. Confided in several close friends, and that's probably how it leaked. Someone was "kind of out to get us". (More agenda bullshit.)

Should be noted that these "friends" are also elders of their church.

They got the call from the state police; they told the state trooper that they had dealt with it 3 years prior, but they went for the interview. Josh didn't go to the child safety center because he was 18 at the time and wasn't a juvenile. "And the authorities said that all this would be confidential. They told the girls this and, "You just share everything."

Additionally, the family was scheduled for an interview and canceled last minute with the announcement that Josh had gotten a lawyer. This is the case from when they actually did finally go in.

Family services supervised. Said "You know, this was a bad situation back in '02, '03 ... but you guys handled it better than most families." A lot of people, according to Jim Bob, said this to them. :angry-banghead:

Josh went to court with the Duggars at this 3 years later time; the judge talked to him about what he had done and that he should never do it again. Jim Bob says they didn't know the statute of limitations was run out.

Sued DHS - in Arkansas, they had records; Josh wanted to make sure they were sealed. J'Megyn: "And it didn't work out so well."

The teaser video as they went to commercial had this from Jim Bob: "I'm not sure how that In Touch magazine knew to contact that particular law firm."

Law firm doesn't make sense here. Also, most likely the letter was shared as through the Oprah staff, as previously mentioned the night before.

[LilahBelle]

Fundie Farmer - thanks so much for those synopsis - what an awesome job you did.

I am thinking about JB's suggestion that the chief of police did something illegal in releasing the police report and/or was bribed. I wonder if has a defamation suit or he phrased it just vaguely enough so that he can get away with it.

Christ, I hope she sues the crap out of him!

[FundieFarmer]

Fundie Farmer - thanks so much for those synopsis - what an awesome job you did.

I am thinking about JB's suggestion that the chief of police did something illegal in releasing the police report and/or was bribed. I wonder if has a defamation suit or he phrased it just vaguely enough so that he can get away with it.

Christ, I hope she sues the crap out of him!

Thanks so much!! I didn't mind--I was pretty turned around so it helped me get everything straight. I was surprised to find less lies than I anticipated, though.

I don't know. He spun a nice yarn about being worried for other minors whose records might be released, but I think the Springdale statement is pretty damning for his drivel. I'm glad to see he's being hung in the court of public opinion. That interview did much for our cause, and much more damage to theirs.

[Mitz_]

Boob completely evades this question. Nothing in the whole paragraph is an answer it's just blabbering and leading the interview in a different direction.

Megyn - do you think the show will be cancelled has TLC given you any indication?

Boob - at this point our family is just trying to regroup from these attacks and when you are in every newspaper thoughout the world, its an unprecedented attack on our family and it was actually this informatio was released illegally... so I'm wondering why all these press is not going after these system for releasing the juvenile records. That is a huge story. What our son did 12 years ago is a major story to them too, but hopefully justice will be served on the ones that released juvenile records to protect other juvenile to prevent their records from being released.

[FundieFarmer]

Boob completely evades this question. Nothing in the whole paragraph is an answer it's just blabbering and leading the interview in a different direction.

Pretty much the tone of the whole interview, unfortunately :?

[Evenkeel]

He and MEEchelle totally dodged a question regarding what they thought about sponsors pulling out in another segment of today's show.

[Hikernana]

KELLY: And prior to him leaving, were you concerned for the safety of your daughters?

M. DUGGAR: Well, we definitely put safeguards in our home.

I cringed. Apparently they weren't that concerned.... :pink-shock:

[FloraKitty35]

Jim Bob and Michelle were given rope and they hung themselves with it. Pressure needs to be kept on the shows sponsors, because that is what will end the gravy train.

[MalteseBaby]

I thought this was a very good analysis of the Duggar innocence project on Fox.

( I realize the DM is not well- thought of, but this is absolutely true, IMO).

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... nting.html

[FundieFarmer]

This part was my favorite:

They made this assertion: ‘Similar things happen in other families’. Really? I’m struggling to think of a single other family where a serial child molester has not only got away with his crimes thanks to his parents’ deceit, but has then been made a TV star by the same parents in a show extolling the virtues of family values.

[Tree Frog]

As I watched the train wreck (that is, the interview) unfold, I channeled my inner Letterman to create my "Top Ten" list of questions I would love to ask the Duggar parents (but not necessarily questions the Duggar parents would love to answer).

Q 01. You said that your son said that he was "curious" about females. Here are some ways that parents typically respond to such an interest of their children: clarification of what exactly a child wanted to know, discussion of basic facts re. human sexuality, overview of typical differences between males and females, review (and subsequent discussion) of child-friendly human sexuality books, Biblical-based devotions on respect between males and females, celebration of the worth of both males and females in the eyes of God. How specifically did you respond to his statement of curiosity?

Q 02. You said that, once you became aware of what your son had done, you took steps to ensure the safety of your daughters. Here are some ways that parents typically prevent intrusions into the rooms of their children who are asleep: installation of inside locks on the doors of potential victims, installation of outside locks on the doors of potential molesters, installation of motion detectors that alert children when someone moves around their room, installation of silent alarms that potential victims can use to alert parents of concerns. Which of these methods did you specifically use for safety?

Q 03. Given that many of the staff members associated with your TV show - particularly those camera operators who spent considerable time in your home as they filmed your family - were male, you certainly would want to know that they would not violate the safety of your children, particularly your daughters. What kind of background checks did you insist upon for them, and what kind of safeguards did you have in place to protect your children while these TV personnel were in your home?

Q 04. While I am asleep in my home in the wee hours of the a.m., an intruder enters my home and steals some of my possessions. I sleep through the entire ordeal and do not realize that I have been robbed until someone else tells me so. Does that mean I am not a victim of a crime? Should I not file police and insurance reports? And, if my robber is caught, prosecuted, convicted, and sentenced, yet cries and said he/she is sorry as he/she is about to be sent to jail, should I ask the judge to remove all consequences from the perpetrator? Do tears and words of remorse mean a crime did not happen, after all? And what if someone spikes my ginger ale with drugs, then has his/her way with me while I am unconscious? Does that mean I am not a victim of a crime because I do not know I was raped until a medical rape kit examination the next day reveals such? Why is it so hard for you to realize that it is about the fact of the crime itself, not about the duration of the incident or the level of consciousness of the victim or the other aspects of the situation in which the crime occurs?

Q 05. You have clearly and repeatedly stated to the men who enter into courtship and engagement with your daughters that physical contact during courtship stops before hand holding and physical contact during engagement stops before kissing, as well as that any violation of these boundaries is a violation of the purity of your daughters. If Derek or Ben had touched the breasts and/or pelvic area of Jill or Jessa before marriage, without a doubt you would have kicked him to the curb and told him never to show his sorry face on your property ever again. Why then do you protect your son - who did touch these intimate places in a clandestine fashion while not in a leads-to-marriage relationship - from the consequences of such behavior?

Q 06. What contact have you had with the Keller family? Their daughter, Anna, knowingly married a child molester and even now asserts that she is not concerned about the safety of their children. What assurances can you provide the Keller family that your son will indeed not molest their three (soon to be four) grandchildren in the same fashion (or worse) that he molested your daughters?

Q 07. Teenagers murder people. Teenagers assault people. Teenagers rob people. Teenagers commit arson. Teenagers commit extortion. Teenagers commit slander. Some teenagers are even tried as adults for their crimes. Do you not realize that a crime is still a crime even if the person who commits the crime is a teen? Why do you continue to assert that society should look the other way at your son because of his age when he did what he did?

Q 08. What steps have you taken to ensure that his younger brothers learn from the crimes (yes, crimes, not mistakes) that Josh committed as a way to prevent their descent into the same patterns of very serious criminal behavior?

Q 09. I am a born again, evangelical Christian who tries every day to live a faith-based life. I am sorry to have to confess that I am embarrassed to be your sister in Christ. You have squandered a tremendous opportunity to live the faith-based life in the midst of very difficult circumstances, both at the time of the crimes and in the present aftermath of the revelation of the crimes. God has provided you with such an opportunity to be a witness of our faith to the world, and with the attitudes and actions you displayed in the interview you have injured the cause of Christ very seriously. What do you say to people of faith whose own testimonies have been compromised because of their (at least in the minds of many others) connection to your faith? And what do you plan to say to Christ Himself about this mess when this subject arises?

Q 10. Jim Bob, did one of your public relations people advise you to sound as stupid as you sounded . . . or are you really just this stupid? I was raised in the south, and I know the battle southerners have fought to help the rest of the country realize we are not a bunch of backwaters hicks. You have just reversed the last century of progress in that battle. What do you have to say for yourself?

It is a truly sad day when I think that watching the Kardashians would be more rewarding than watching the Duggars. At least the Kardashians are unashamedly tacky and trashy. Thank you for reading my rambling . . .

[DaisyD]

Answer to question 3. They had the gay guy fired.

[Alexa]

Interesting, thanks for posting! I don't think the Duggars came off very well in this interview at all, even when I am trying to be impartial about it. They looked like they were lying their butts off and in serious denial. And where was the big molester himself? Hiding behind mommy and daddy and his poor sisters again as usual.

[Helena]

The part where JB interjects and says that he thought Megyn said pedophile and then goes on to say blah, blah, blah.. Well, Megyn actually said child molester. Twice. I believe that he had memorized what to say ahead of time and heard what he wanted to hear, even though she didn't say it in the conversation leading up to his interjection.

[Loveday]

As I watched the train wreck (that is, the interview) unfold, I channeled my inner Letterman to create my "Top Ten" list of questions I would love to ask the Duggar parents (but not necessarily questions the Duggar parents would love to answer).

Q 01. You said that your son said that he was "curious" about females. Here are some ways that parents typically respond to such an interest of their children: clarification of what exactly a child wanted to know, discussion of basic facts re. human sexuality, overview of typical differences between males and females, review (and subsequent discussion) of child-friendly human sexuality books, Biblical-based devotions on respect between males and females, celebration of the worth of both males and females in the eyes of God. How specifically did you respond to his statement of curiosity?

Q 02. You said that, once you became aware of what your son had done, you took steps to ensure the safety of your daughters. Here are some ways that parents typically prevent intrusions into the rooms of their children who are asleep: installation of inside locks on the doors of potential victims, installation of outside locks on the doors of potential molesters, installation of motion detectors that alert children when someone moves around their room, installation of silent alarms that potential victims can use to alert parents of concerns. Which of these methods did you specifically use for safety?

Q 03. Given that many of the staff members associated with your TV show - particularly those camera operators who spent considerable time in your home as they filmed your family - were male, you certainly would want to know that they would not violate the safety of your children, particularly your daughters. What kind of background checks did you insist upon for them, and what kind of safeguards did you have in place to protect your children while these TV personnel were in your home?

Q 04. While I am asleep in my home in the wee hours of the a.m., an intruder enters my home and steals some of my possessions. I sleep through the entire ordeal and do not realize that I have been robbed until someone else tells me so. Does that mean I am not a victim of a crime? Should I not file police and insurance reports? And, if my robber is caught, prosecuted, convicted, and sentenced, yet cries and said he/she is sorry as he/she is about to be sent to jail, should I ask the judge to remove all consequences from the perpetrator? Do tears and words of remorse mean a crime did not happen, after all? And what if someone spikes my ginger ale with drugs, then has his/her way with me while I am unconscious? Does that mean I am not a victim of a crime because I do not know I was raped until a medical rape kit examination the next day reveals such? Why is it so hard for you to realize that it is about the fact of the crime itself, not about the duration of the incident or the level of consciousness of the victim or the other aspects of the situation in which the crime occurs?

Q 05. You have clearly and repeatedly stated to the men who enter into courtship and engagement with your daughters that physical contact during courtship stops before hand holding and physical contact during engagement stops before kissing, as well as that any violation of these boundaries is a violation of the purity of your daughters. If Derek or Ben had touched the breasts and/or pelvic area of Jill or Jessa before marriage, without a doubt you would have kicked him to the curb and told him never to show his sorry face on your property ever again. Why then do you protect your son - who did touch these intimate places in a clandestine fashion while not in a leads-to-marriage relationship - from the consequences of such behavior?

Q 06. What contact have you had with the Keller family? Their daughter, Anna, knowingly married a child molester and even now asserts that she is not concerned about the safety of their children. What assurances can you provide the Keller family that your son will indeed not molest their three (soon to be four) grandchildren in the same fashion (or worse) that he molested your daughters?

Q 07. Teenagers murder people. Teenagers assault people. Teenagers rob people. Teenagers commit arson. Teenagers commit extortion. Teenagers commit slander. Some teenagers are even tried as adults for their crimes. Do you not realize that a crime is still a crime even if the person who commits the crime is a teen? Why do you continue to assert that society should look the other way at your son because of his age when he did what he did?

Q 08. What steps have you taken to ensure that his younger brothers learn from the crimes (yes, crimes, not mistakes) that Josh committed as a way to prevent their descent into the same patterns of very serious criminal behavior?

Q 09. I am a born again, evangelical Christian who tries every day to live a faith-based life. I am sorry to have to confess that I am embarrassed to be your sister in Christ. You have squandered a tremendous opportunity to live the faith-based life in the midst of very difficult circumstances, both at the time of the crimes and in the present aftermath of the revelation of the crimes. God has provided you with such an opportunity to be a witness of our faith to the world, and with the attitudes and actions you displayed in the interview you have injured the cause of Christ very seriously. What do you say to people of faith whose own testimonies have been compromised because of their (at least in the minds of many others) connection to your faith? And what do you plan to say to Christ Himself about this mess when this subject arises?

Q 10. Jim Bob, did one of your public relations people advise you to sound as stupid as you sounded . . . or are you really just this stupid? I was raised in the south, and I know the battle southerners have fought to help the rest of the country realize we are not a bunch of backwaters hicks. You have just reversed the last century of progress in that battle. What do you have to say for yourself?

It is a truly sad day when I think that watching the Kardashians would be more rewarding than watching the Duggars. At least the Kardashians are unashamedly tacky and trashy. Thank you for reading my rambling . . .

One hell of a first post, Tree Frog. :clap:

And question number 7 for the win.

[SnazzyNazzy]

The reason they seemed so sketchy, was because they were saying what they thought people wanted to hear, without having an iota of a clue, about what people wanted to hear.