When it was revealed that Tennessee Senator Paul Stanley was having an affair with his 22-year-old intern, it started a chain of events that ended with his reputation and career being destroyed. The fact that he was known for vocally citing his belief in abstinence outside marriage, as well as a multitude of other conservative views, only set him up for a harder fall when it became clear he was not “walking the walk.” An AP article published today has details on the senator’s ham-handed crisis management efforts.
As news of the affair broke last month, the 47-year-old Stanley dodged reporters and issued a statement calling himself a victim. The suburban Memphis lawmaker, a married father of two who taught Sunday school, said he wanted to set the record straight. But, he insisted, prosecutors had told him not to talk.
The prosecutors in the case did not take Stanley’s public lying lightly, and made sure to issue a statement insisting that he was not restricted from discussing the case in the slightest.
The first rule of crisis response is to tell the truth, and tell it first. As is plain to see from the trouble the senator’s twisted stories have landed him in, it’s for a good reason.
JB
Jonathan Bernstein
https://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/