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Bart Barber Guidepost Solutions

DOJ Closes Investigation On Southern Baptist Convention. No Arrests!

The Southern Baptist Convention sighed a major sigh of relief at the news that the Department of Justice was closing an investigation into the convention and its leadership. For the past three years, the Southern Baptist Convention has labeled itself a hive of sex abuse and sex abuse coverups without an example to point to. The SBC paid for the Guidepost Report to investigate these matters and was not able to uncover previously unreported instances of sex abuse and coverup thereof. Yet the accusations against Johnny Hunt and David Sills, neither one of them alleged to have committed sexual abuse, have led to major lawsuits facing the Southern Baptist Convention.

But Bart Barber admitted on CBS 60 Minutes that he was made president of the SBC over this issue, but in court documents and in recent comments, Barber would admit that the Guidepost Report found nothing. Evidently, the Department of Justice also found nothing. The Tennessean broke the story:

Federal investigators closed the books on a year-and-a-half-long investigation into the Southern Baptist Convention’s top administrative body that sought to determine whether leaders were criminally responsible for mishandling an abuse crisis in the nation’s largest Protestant denomination.

The U.S. Department of Justice concluded its probe last week without charging any SBC leaders, a decision that will come as a pleasant surprise to some and a disappointment to others pushing for change. Abuse survivors and their allies celebrated news of the DOJ’s investigation in August 2022 for its potential to hold denomination leaders accountable.

The DOJ opened its investigation following an inquiry and May 2022 report from Guidepost Solutions, a third-party firm, about SBC leaders’ inadequate response to the abuse crisis. Unlike Guidepost, the DOJ has the power to subpoena records and criminally charge people.

Similarly the Baptist Press, the outlet under the control of the SBC Executive Committee (the subject of investigation) reported:

The U.S. Department of Justice has concluded its investigation of the SBC Executive Committee, Southern Baptist leaders learned Feb. 29.

In a statement today, Jonathan Howe, interim SBC EC president/CEO, said the DOJ has told the EC’s legal counsel there is “no further action to be taken.”

Coping and Seething

While multiple SBC presidential candidates (Moore and Pressley) touted this as good news, the Abuse Grift could not even.

Rachael DenHollander claimed her sources told her otherwise and insinuated that the DOJ was involved in covering up the SBC abuse scandal. This is illogical as Jonathan Howe’s statements, though indirect, are sourced from the DOJ. Moreover, Liam Adams, the liberal Tennessean reporter wrote about the DOJ concluding the investigation as though he was told by them himself, as the story would have been much different if he had reported what Howe had told him without verifying the details. Nevertheless, Liam Adams put out an effacing thread kowtowing to the Me Too Narrative.

Abuse Inc. is scrambling to find a narrative to respond with cohesively.

Much of this narrative started because Russell Moore penned a letter that maligned the Southern Baptist Convention, showcasing his status as a wolf in wolf’s clothing. Moreover, the ousting of Paige Patterson for not “believing all women” hard enough, after he reported an incident to the police showed that this was about power the entire time.

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