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Source: FBI seeks to interview Democratic lawmakers over video

admin - Latest News - November 26, 2025
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The FBI is seeking to interview six Democratic lawmakers who posted a video telling troops to disobey illegal orders, according to a person familiar with the plans. The White House said President Trump has not issued illegal orders. NBC News’ Kelly O’Donnell reports.



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Nov. 25, 2025, 8:34 PM ESTBy Dan De Luce, Courtney Kube and Abigail WilliamsIn a meeting with Ukrainian officials in Kyiv last week, U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll delivered a grim assessment. Driscoll told his counterparts their troops faced a dire situation on the battlefield and would suffer an imminent defeat against Russian forces, two sources with knowledge of the matter told NBC News.The Russians were ramping up the scale and pace of their aerial attacks, and they had the ability to fight on indefinitely, Driscoll told them, according to the sources. The situation for Ukraine would only get worse over time, he continued, and it was better to negotiate a peace settlement now rather than end up in an even weaker position in the future.And there was more bad news. The U.S. delegation also said America’s defense industry could not keep supplying Ukraine with the weapons and air defenses at the rate needed to protect the country’s infrastructure and population, the sources said.Driscoll’s message came after he had presented a U.S.-backed peace plan that Kyiv officials viewed as a capitulation to Moscow, according to the two sources.“The message was basically — you are losing,” one of the sources said, “and you need to accept the deal.”The meeting between Driscoll and the Ukrainians was part of an effort by some Trump administration officials to press the Ukrainians to accept the new U.S.-backed peace proposal without delay, even though it embraced Russia’s maximalist demands and required painful concessions from Kyiv’s government, multiple current and former Western officials said. Ukraine politely declined to sign on to the peace plan as it was presented, and the proposal has been heavily revised since the discussions between Driscoll and Ukrainian officials last week.The meeting was just the latest example of a long-running rift inside the Trump administration over how to end the war in Ukraine. The split features a looming potential political rivalry between two former senators and potential presidential hopefuls positioning themselves for 2028: Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.One camp, including Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff and other officials, views Ukraine as the primary obstacle to peace and favors using U.S. leverage to force Kyiv to make major compromises, according to multiple current and former officials. The other camp, represented by Rubio and other officials, sees Russia as the culprit for having launched an unprovoked invasion of its neighbor and says Moscow will relent only if it pays a price for its aggression through sanctions and other pressure.With his deputies vying for his attention along with Republican lawmakers and European leaders, President Donald Trump has veered back and forth on how to resolve the conflict. “It was clear for some time that there was a divide, but we’ve never seen it in action publicly quite the way we have in the last few days,” said a former senior U.S. diplomat with experience in Eastern Europe. Ukrainian servicemen fire a Caesar self-propelled howitzer toward Russian troops near the front-line town of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region of Ukraine on Sunday. Anatolii Stepanov / ReutersReached for comment Tuesday, the White House referred to a social media post in which Trump said the original peace plan has been “fine-tuned, with additional input from both sides, and there are only a few remaining points of disagreement.”“I look forward to hopefully meeting with President Zelenskyy and President Putin soon, but ONLY when the deal to end this War is FINAL or, in its final stages,” Trump added in the post. A State Department spokesperson said, “President Trump’s entire team, including Secretary Rubio, Special Envoy Witkoff, Secretary Driscoll, and many others, are working in lockstep, as they have been for 10 months, to bring an end to the senseless and destructive war.”The Ukrainian Embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment.Grave doubtsThe frenetic diplomacy began last week after a purported 28-point U.S. peace plan leaked to the media. The plan was the product of discussions in Miami between Russian President Vladimir Putin’s envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, and his U.S. counterpart, Witkoff, according to two sources with knowledge of the meeting. White House officials told reporters it was an American proposal, even though the document embraced Russia’s repeated demands to force Ukraine to cede territory it controls, scale back its military and give up ever joining the NATO alliance. Some elements of the plan contradicted the Trump administration’s previously stated positions, including language that implied U.S. military forces would be barred from Poland. Republican and Democratic senators said Rubio had told them it was a plan drafted by the Russians. But Rubio later said their account was false, and he and the White House later insisted it was a U.S. proposal with Russian and Ukrainian “input.” In an unusual move, the White House chose Driscoll, the Army secretary, to brief the Ukrainians on the proposal, instead of a senior diplomat. Driscoll, an old Yale Law School classmate of Vance’s, was headed to Ukraine on a previously scheduled visit to discuss drone technology, NBC News previously reported. Taken aback by the peace proposal’s terms, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed grave doubts but stopped short of vetoing the plan, saying his government was ready to hold diplomatic discussions. Rubio used cautious language about the plan after it leaked, posting on X that peace would “require both sides to agree to difficult but necessary concessions” and that the United States would “continue to develop a list of potential ideas for ending this war.”Trump, meanwhile, ramped up pressure on Ukraine, telling reporters that Zelenskyy’s choice was to accept a peace deal or “continue to fight his little heart out.”Andriy Yermak, chief of staff the Ukrainian presidential office, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio at a news conference after their closed-door talks at the U.S. Mission in Geneva on Sunday.Fabrice Coffrini / AFP via Getty ImagesRubio flew to Geneva over the weekend, and after talks with the Ukrainians and appeals from European diplomats, the most problematic provisions for Ukraine were removed or revised, according to multiple Western officials and sources with knowledge of the matter. Instead of the take-it-or-leave-it tone White House officials used about the peace plan earlier, Rubio portrayed the discussions as fluid and said the plan was rapidly evolving. “This is a living, breathing document. Every day with input it changes,” he told reporters in Geneva.By Tuesday, the Ukrainians had struck a positive note, expressing optimism about what was now a 19-point plan under discussion. “Our delegations reached a common understanding on the core terms of the agreement discussed in Geneva,” Rustem Umerov, secretary of Ukraine’s national security and defense council, wrote on social media. And he raised the prospect of a possible visit to Washington by Zelenskyy to seal the deal.Driscoll traveled on to Abu Dhabi, where he held talks with a Russian delegation Monday and Tuesday, officials said.With the peace plan revised from its original form, it resembled previous proposals that Russia has rebuffed. Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, who had “welcomed” the initial draft from last week, suggested Tuesday that the Kremlin might reject what was now on the table. Lavrov cited discussions in August between Trump and Putin at a summit in Anchorage, Alaska, saying the latest draft proposal appeared to contradict the understanding reached in those talks.“Some forces want to jeopardize efforts by Donald Trump and to change the peace plan,” Lavrov said, adding, “If the ‘spirit’ of Anchorage will be wiped out from this plan, then it’s going to be a whole other story.”As in previous U.S. diplomatic efforts, one faction in the administration had tried to champion a proposal that favored Russia and other officials had pushed back, with the backing of European governments and senior Republicans in Congress, according to Western officials, former U.S. diplomats and experts.“If the split lasts, it’s going to be very difficult to pursue a coherent policy,” said William Taylor, a former ambassador to Ukraine who is now a fellow at the Atlantic Council think tank. Dan De LuceDan De Luce is a reporter for the NBC News Investigative Unit. Courtney KubeCourtney Kube is a correspondent covering national security and the military for the NBC News Investigative Unit.Abigail WilliamsAbigail Williams is a producer and reporter for NBC News covering the State Department.Gordon Lubold and Peter Nicholas contributed.
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Nov. 13, 2025, 5:00 AM ESTBy Bridget Bowman, Ben Kamisar, Alexandra Marquez, Juhi Doshi, Owen Auston-Babcock and Maya RosenbergBilly Edmonson voted for President Donald Trump in 2024 because of his stances on border security, gun rights and the economy. One year after casting his ballot, Edmonson is finding it difficult to make ends meet. “Everything’s already so expensive. … That’s the worst thing about his presidency so far, is he promised things coming down and prices are not coming down. I make more money than I’ve ever made in my life right now, and it has, financially, been a struggle,” said Edmonson, a 35-year-old construction worker from Missouri. Edmonson recalled that Trump promised to start lowering prices on his first day in office. “It just doesn’t seem like there’s been a whole lot of focus on, ‘Hey, let’s get these prices down.’ It’s just been like, ‘Hey, prices are high because Biden did this.’ It’s like, well, Biden’s not in office anymore,” said Edmonson, a self-described independent, later adding, “It’s personally frustrating.” Edmonson is not alone. Nearly two-thirds (63%) of registered voters, including 30% of Republicans, said in the recent national NBC News poll that Trump has fallen short of their expectations on the cost of living and the economy. After being one of the big reasons why Trump won a return to the White House in 2024, Trump’s performance on the economy has become one of the big drags on his second term. While a number of Trump voters told NBC News in January that they’d give Trump a relatively long leash to improve the economy, the new interviews suggest that for some he’s running out of slack.“It just doesn’t seem like there’s been a whole lot of focus on, ‘Hey, let’s get these prices down.’ It’s just been like, ‘Hey, prices are high because Biden did this.’ It’s like, well, Biden’s not in office anymore.”Billy EdmonsonTrump himself has cast doubt on surveys showing Americans are anxious about the economy, telling Fox News this week, “I think polls are fake. We have the greatest economy we’ve ever had.” NBC News spoke to 18 Trump voters who participated in the most recent NBC News poll and said Trump had not met their expectations on the economy to explore how this group was thinking about Trump and experiencing the economy — and whether they were still committed to supporting his party. None regretted their vote for Trump last year, in many cases because of a deep frustration with Democrats. A handful said they’d be open to voting for Democrats in the future, though most planned to keep voting Republican. When it comes to the economy, many said the pain they’re feeling is real.“He and his advisers claim the country is going well, prices are going down, the tariffs are doing wonderfully,” Susan, a 66-year-old retiree from Nevada, said of Trump. (Several interviewees declined to share their last name when discussing politics, with some citing the nation’s polarized political atmosphere.) “But when you go to the store, the prices are up,” she added. Navigating high pricesDuring and after his 2024 campaign, Trump not only promised to halt inflation but to bring prices lower after several years of post-Covid growth. That promise, made even though overall consumer prices essentially never decrease over time, cuts to the core of some of his voters’ complaints. “It’s always hard to bring down prices when somebody else has screwed something up like [President Joe Biden] did,” Trump said during a news conference in January, weeks before being sworn in. “We’re going to have prices down. I think you’re going to see some pretty drastic price reductions.” Jeremiah, a 48-year-old Republican from Utah who works in the aerospace industry, has voted for Trump each time he ran for president and backed him last year because he saw Trump as a change agent. But he said Trump’s handling of the economy so far has been “mediocre.” “I was definitely hoping to see a lot of prices come back down, like gas for your car, diesel, utilities, groceries. I was hoping to see it all come back down and level out at least, but it’s not. It just keeps getting worse,” Jeremiah said. “I have a 20-year-old son and a 17-year-old daughter, and they can’t live on their own,” he later added. “My son’s a welder, and he makes $28 an hour, and he’s still not out on his own. Everything is just so overpriced. It’s ridiculous. When I graduated high school, I moved out and had a $300 a month apartment, piece of cake, 10 bucks an hour.” Edmonson, the Missouri construction worker, noted that he travels often for work. But motel and grocery prices have jumped, even for items like a can of soup, he said. And the high costs have him reconsidering his work on the road. “It’s almost getting to the point where it’s time for me to find something at home,” Edmonson said, later adding, “Because if I’m gonna sink, I might as well sink at home.” “I was surprised that the groceries haven’t went down. In fact, they keep going up.”Roxanne NovitPatty, a 70-year-old Republican retiree from Pennsylvania, blamed Trump for the country’s economic woes. Trump, she said, “has always been a very rich man. He’s never had to do anything his whole life. He’s never had to go shop. So, he has no idea what a true working person in their daily life has to do.” “I was surprised that the groceries haven’t went down. In fact, they keep going up. So that would be my biggest disappointment,” said Roxanne Novit, a 69-year-old retiree from Colorado and a self-described Republican. Susan, the Nevada retiree who is not registered with any party, said Trump’s handling of the economy “is not at all what I expected,” noting she was hopeful Trump would focus on “opening up mining and gasoline exploration.” “It seems like they’re moving a little slow on that because they’re spending all the time on the tariffs or making nice to the Chinese president or something like that,” Susan said. Giving him timeBut some voters were willing to give Trump some more time to turn things around, even among the subset who said they believe he’s fallen short. Overall, most Republicans still back Trump on the economy and other issues, according to the NBC News poll and other surveys.“I would like to see the economy turn up a little quicker, but everything takes time. You can’t expect it overnight,” said independent Robert Duran, 68, a retired law enforcement officer from Massachusetts. William Scheuer, a 68-year-old New Yorker, who said he voted for Trump in 2024 because he’s “old-fashioned” on things like social issues, agreed that Trump has been “falling a little short” on the economy, specifically noting prices. “Everything’s going up, it’s going up more than what the government is telling you,” he said, before adding he’s “confident [Trump] will” turn it around. “I would like to see the economy turn up a little quicker, but everything takes time. You can’t expect it overnight.”Robert DuranCraig Lovejoy, a 32-year-old Florida independent who works in pest control, said Trump is doing “better than many” presidents on addressing the economy. “I don’t think that one president will be all it takes to get things back on track, but I think we’re headed in the right direction,” Lovejoy said. Some voters were sympathetic to Trump’s tariff policies in particular, even as they were navigating higher prices. “The steak I used to buy that used to be like 40 bucks is now 80. I get it,” said Jason Olson, a 50-year-old small-business owner from South Carolina who typically backs Republicans. “And I know tariffs have raised prices on a lot of things as well. But I also understand the reason behind the tariffs are they want to bring industry back to the U.S.” Tim Fleming, a 42-year-old self-described libertarian who works in injection molding at a factory in Tennessee, agreed that Trump’s presidency has been “a little disappointing.” He raised frustrations about how Trump’s pledge not to tax overtime and tips was implemented as a tax deduction, so he and others won’t see the fruits of that until they file their taxes next year. “My overtime is still getting taxed; my bonuses are still getting taxed,” he said. “It was not what it was made out to be.” But he noted he believes he’s seen the direct fruits of Trump’s tariff push: the return of jobs in his county that had been offshored to Mexico. “The tariffs helped create a lot of jobs where I live,” Fleming said. Those comments come as the White House has tried to argue the administration is making important strides on affordability. “The president has done a lot that has already paid off in lower interest rates and lower inflation, but we inherited a disaster from Joe Biden and Rome wasn’t built in a day. We’re going to keep on working to make a decent life affordable in this country, and that’s the metric by which we’ll ultimately be judged in 2026 and beyond,” Vice President JD Vance wrote on X the day after Election Day.Down on DemocratsWhile several Trump voters raised concerns about the economy and high prices, none of the voters, who are largely Republicans or independents, said they regretted their choice last year. “I wouldn’t change my vote, but I’m not happy,” said Elliot Muegge, a 32-year-old farmer from Oklahoma. Amanda, a 48-year-old postal worker from Missouri, said she still finds it difficult to make a budget because of high food prices. But, she said, she thinks former Vice President Kamala Harris “would have been worse.” “I wouldn’t change my vote, but I’m not happy.”Elliot MueggeA self-described conservative, Amanda said she would be open to supporting a Democratic candidate in a future election, but “not a progressive, more like an old-school Democrat.” A handful of Trump voters also said they would be open to supporting Democrats in the future, depending on the candidate. But others said backing a Democrat was off the table. “I think that they pander to friend groups and minorities and they look silly doing it. It’s fake,” Fleming, of Tennessee, said. “I haven’t found a single Democrat” that inspires trust, said Lovejoy, of Florida. Edmonson, the Missouri construction worker, said it could be years before he considers supporting a Democratic candidate, noting his strong support for gun rights. “They just don’t care about people in general. They want to say they care about people, but that — to me, all they want is, is votes,” Edmonson said, noting he is still frustrated with Trump. “I don’t feel like I can vote for a Democrat candidate,” Edmonson said. “I feel like I don’t have a candidate really.”Still, others who are open to backing Democrats warn that the economic angst coursing through the country — which Trump used to his advantage amid anger at the Biden administration in 2024 — could translate to political losses for Republicans. “Did he not promise the American people — Day 1 — that prices were going to go down? We are now in Month 11 and things continue to rise,” said Patty, the 70-year-old Pennsylvanian. While she said she regularly votes Republican, she’s split her ticket in the past, and she said she likes her state’s Democratic governor, Josh Shapiro. “The Republican Party is in for a rude awakening, and I think it’s not a bad thing,” she added. Muegge, from Oklahoma, shared a similar sentiment about the economy hurting Trump’s political standing. While he doesn’t blame Trump specifically for the cost of living, he expressed frustration about how he “unfairly manipulates the markets with his social media presence.” He pointed to a recent conversation he had with his father, also a Republican. “He and I were having a conversation, and he said, ‘I hate Trump.’ And I was like, ‘Oh, you do, too? I thought I was alone on this island,’” he said. “I don’t know if other people are saying that quietly behind their own closed doors and then pounding their chest in public,” he said. “I just don’t know.”Bridget BowmanBridget Bowman is a national political reporter for NBC News.Ben KamisarBen Kamisar is a national political reporter for NBC NewsAlexandra MarquezAlexandra Marquez is a politics reporter for NBC News.Juhi DoshiJuhi Doshi is an associate producer with NBC News’ “Meet the Press.”Owen Auston-BabcockOwen Auston-Babcock is an intern at NBC News.Maya RosenbergMaya Rosenberg is a Desk Assistant based in Washington, D.C.
November 7, 2025
Nov. 7, 2025, 5:00 AM ESTBy Mike HixenbaughThis article is part of “Pastors and Prey,” a series investigating sex abuse allegations in the Assemblies of God.The Assemblies of God is facing calls for reform and repentance after an NBC News investigation revealed decades of sexual abuse allegations and alleged cover-ups within the world’s largest Pentecostal denomination.The report last week identified nearly 200 ministers, church employees and volunteer leaders accused of sexually abusing more than 475 people, most of them children, over the past half-century. In dozens of cases, the investigation found, Assemblies of God churches returned accused offenders to ministry — freeing them to abuse again.In response, several Assemblies of God pastors said they were praying for a reckoning within their ranks. One urged the denomination to enter a season of repentance; another announced he was leaving in protest.“I cannot in good conscience remain credentialed with the Assemblies of God,” the minister, Trevor Walker, wrote in an email Wednesday to denomination leaders. “I pray that greater light and humility will one day prevail in addressing abuse within the church.”Walker was one of 10 current and former Assemblies of God ministers who shared their views with NBC News. Reporters also heard from several alleged victims and longtime congregants. Their reactions ranged from outrage and grief to deep disappointment. Some said they hoped the reporting would prompt change.The Children’s Pastor: The 40-year mission to stop a preacher accused of raping children42:24“Maybe this will be the thing that turns the corner,” said Krystopher Scroggins, an Assemblies of God minister who leads a college ministry in San Angelo, Texas. “You can’t have this amount of light shining in your dark corners and not want to clean your house.”The General Council of the Assemblies of God, the denomination’s U.S. governing body, released a video statement last week taking issue with the NBC News report and asserting its commitment to child protection.“The Assemblies of God grieves with anyone who has been hurt by the actions of an abuser,” said General Superintendent Doug Clay, the denomination’s top national leader. “The General Council of the Assemblies of God is committed to child safety and has an established track record of leadership in this area.”Standing beside him, General Secretary Donna Barrett defended the denomination’s policies, reiterating that it requires background checks of credentialed ministers and screens out any found to have sexually abused children.‘Pastors and Prey’: NBC News investigates sex abuse in Assemblies of God churchesAssemblies of God churches shielded accused predators — and allowed them to keep abusing children.A revered missionary who was also a convicted sex offender urged generations of Chi Alpha members to get naked in his Houston sauna.Assemblies of God church leaders allowed a children’s pastor to continue preaching for years after he was accused of sexually abusing girls.An NBC News documentary traces the 40-year fight to stop a preacher accused of raping children.Some pastors praised the Assemblies of God for vetting credentialed ministers but were troubled by a significant gap noted in NBC News’ report: Under denominational policy, only a church’s lead pastor is required to hold ministerial credentials — meaning other staff, such as youth pastors or music ministers, can be hired without national oversight or background checks.Jim Line, who leads a small church in St. Marys, Pennsylvania, said he’s concerned that this lack of supervision can allow individuals with troubling histories to return to ministry roles.“If you bring in somebody who’s a minister of music or youth pastor and they’re not credentialed, I don’t know what your background is,” said Line, who added that he otherwise thought the Assemblies of God’s policies are strong. “I do have a problem with that.”NBC News contacted each elected member of the denomination’s Executive Presbytery, which serves as a national board of directors, but none agreed to comment.At least a few of the Assemblies of God’s 66 district councils, which oversee church affairs on a state or regional level, sent emails to ministers responding to the reporting. One district office implored every pastor in the region to voluntarily adopt child safety policies; another called the reporting “heartbreaking” and encouraged ministers to watch the General Council’s response.For some inside the denomination, the video statement fell short, confirming fears that leadership is unwilling to confront what they see as systemic failures.California pastor Anthony Scoma called on Assemblies of God leaders to repent for failures that allowed alleged abusers to remain in ministry.Courtesy Anthony ScomaAnthony Scoma, an Assemblies of God pastor in San Francisco who previously served as a district leader in north Texas, said failures that allowed sex offenders to return to ministry can’t be fixed with policy changes alone. He called for “churchwide, denominationalwide repentance” in response to the NBC News report.“As long as the Assemblies of God, led by our leaders, refuses to repent over a culture of abuse, the media, the courts, public opinion will continue to expose all these things,” Scoma said. “Because it’s not actually them that’s exposing it — it’s God. It’s the spirit of truth that is bringing these things to light.”Among the most forceful reactions came from Walker, the minister who resigned his credentials after two decades in the Assemblies of God. Walker said he had already left his church in Midlothian, Virginia, in 2023 over its handling of a family member’s abuse allegations but had maintained his credentials and hoped to one day return to ministry.The NBC News report and the denomination’s response — which Walker described as “sterile,” “impersonal” and “devoid of accountability or compassion” — finally convinced him to step away for good.“If they would have said, ‘Many people have been hurt over the years under our watch, and we regret that, but we’re working toward making it better,’ that would have been enough for me,” Walker said.Other ministers criticized a 2021 decision by the General Council to reject a resolution that would have added language to the bylaws stating that a credentialed minister or church could be expelled or disciplined for failing to enforce safeguards like background checks and mandatory reporting of abuse. Ministers declined to adopt the policy after lawyers for the denomination warned that it could expose the General Council to costly lawsuits.One senior official said at the time that the legal risk “outweighed the benefit.”That remark brought to mind a passage from the Book of Matthew, said Scroggins, in which Jesus warned that a person cannot serve both God and mammon — or money.“When your guiding thought is, ‘We don’t want to implement this policy that will protect children because we don’t want to lose a lot of money in potential lawsuits,’ that to me is, you’re worshipping money,” Scroggins said. “And that’s heartbreaking.”Barrett, the Assemblies of God’s general secretary, defended the 2021 decision in the video response last week. She said the denomination’s structure gives churches broad autonomy to govern themselves, which she said “makes it impossible” for the General Council to “give oversight” to local congregations. “It is absurd to think that anyone at 2021 General Council was opposed to child safety,” Barrett said.Former Assemblies of God pastor Dan Matlock called that explanation hypocritical and “frankly, pardon me, bulls—.”Former pastor Dan Matlock criticized the Assemblies of God for saying it can’t force local churches to adopt policies to protect children.Courtesy Dan MatlockIn 2020, Matlock’s church in Kyle, Texas, announced it would affirm LGBTQ members and perform same-sex weddings. Within days, Assemblies of God district officials moved to revoke his ministerial credential and expel the church for adopting views “contradictory to historical Christian beliefs and our AG doctrinal positions,” according to a letter reviewed by NBC News.Matlock said the episode showed that the Assemblies of God can exercise control over local church policies — when it’s important to them.“I am not convinced in the least that what they are most concerned about is congregants’ safety,” he said.Among rank-and-file Assemblies of God congregants, reactions to the NBC News report ranged from heartbreak to hope.Charity True, a longtime Assemblies of God member in Illinois, said “Jesus would be flipping tables” at the Assemblies of God’s national office.“If my local church didn’t have their act already together, then last Sunday would have been my last Sunday inside of an Assemblies of God church,” True said in an email, referring to her congregation’s stringent child safety policies. “I just pray this will bring change at a national level.”For survivors, the revelations were deeply personal, reviving painful memories and exposing a pattern of abuse, silence and cover-ups.Cheryl Almond, who says her pastor molested her in the late 1970s, said she was “shocked” by NBC News’ report.September Dawn Bottoms for NBC NewsCheryl Almond spent decades attending Assemblies of God churches in Oklahoma — even after she says her pastor, Joe Campbell, sexually abused her as a teen in the late 1970s. After other children came forward in the 1980s to allege abuse, Campbell was allowed to keep preaching for years before the denomination finally removed him in 1989, NBC News reported in May.Almond said she was devastated by the latest report, which she said confirmed a long-held fear: What happened at her childhood church wasn’t isolated. “This has been allowed to happen to far too many kids, and for far too long,” she said.In calling for change at the national level, Almond pointed to Jesus’ parable of the shepherd who leaves 99 sheep to rescue one that has gone astray — a lesson about valuing every life.“The Assemblies of God isn’t doing that,” she said. “They’re saying that safeguarding the 99 is more important than protecting the one. ‘That vulnerable child can fend for themselves. We’ve got a church to protect from lawsuits.’”“It’s wrong,” she added. “It’s not biblical, and it’s disgusting.”Mike HixenbaughMike Hixenbaugh is a senior investigative reporter for NBC News, based in Maryland, and author of “They Came for the Schools.” Elizabeth Chuck contributed.
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