Jasmine Crockett's Pastor Who's Seeking Her House Seat Wired $2,000 to Woman Who Mailed Him Topless Photo, Lawsuit Claimed

Rep. Jasmine Crockett's (D., Texas) pastor, now running with her endorsement to replace her in Congress, wired thousands of dollars to a female "mentee" who had sent him topless photos in the mail at his church, according to a lawsuit.

Frederick Haynes, the senior pastor of Dallas's Friendship-West Baptist Church, was named in a 2009 racial discrimination lawsuit filed against the church by his former executive assistant Elizabeth Payne. Haynes jumped into the race for Texas's 30th Congressional District last year after Crockett launched her ill-fated campaign for Senate.

In her lawsuit, Payne said she saw emails "going back and forth" between Haynes and other women and "witnessed communication of an inappropriate sexual relationship."

"My supervisor, who was Dr. Haynes, was having these sexual affairs," Payne said in a December 2009 deposition. Payne alleged that while handling Haynes's mail at Friendship-West, she opened a card that contained a topless photo of a woman named Lisa Harrod to whom Haynes had sent money for travel expenses.

"When Dr. Haynes hands me over $2,000 in cash and asks me to take it down to Western Union and wire it to an individual for travel arrangements … and this is the same person who was sending the card, I would think it was an affair," said Payne, who acknowledged that she did not witness any sexual contact between Haynes and other women.

Payne filed the lawsuit in March 2009, alleging that she was fired in August 2008 after Haynes learned of an affair she was having with Jeremiah Wright, a mentor to Haynes and the infamous pastor to Barack Obama. Wright's "God Damn America" speech led to a major crisis for Obama's 2008 presidential campaign.

Emails from the lawsuit show Payne and Wright exchanging flirtatious banter, and Payne said in her testimony that Wright "wanted me to sit on top of his face."

Haynes did not confirm or deny having an affair with Harrod during his deposition. He said he did not see the topless card in question. He acknowledged meeting Harrod for lunch in Miami in 2008 and described himself as her "spiritual mentor," according to court filings.

And Haynes, who called Wright an "adopted father" figure, said he did not review emails between Wright and Payne because he was "just not interested." He denied firing Payne over the relationship with Wright and claimed instead that she was fired for poor workplace performance. Payne and Friendship-West settled the lawsuit in September 2010 but did not disclose details of the settlement.

The revelations from the embarrassing lawsuit are unlikely to hurt Haynes in November in his deep-blue Dallas district. But they could place a dark cloud over the left-wing Democrat, who is poised to help expand the "Squad" in the upcoming Congress. Haynes is part of a group of far-left Democratic candidates, including New Jersey's Adam Hamawy, Pennsylvania's Chris Rabb, and New York's Darializa Avila Chevalier, who have embraced socialist policies and made opposition to Israel a centerpiece of their campaigns.

Haynes, who has hailed antisemitic preacher Louis Farrakhan as a "great man," has lashed out at Israel in sermons at Friendship-West, including one on Oct. 8, 2023, the day after Hamas's terrorist attack on the Jewish state.

"I recognize that we gotta be pro-Israel, yeah we got to do that, or we get in trouble," Haynes said mockingly. "Well, I'm coming to get in trouble." Haynes then delivered a fiery diatribe accusing the United States of standing with Israel "on the side of apartheid because that's its track record."

Haynes acknowledged Crockett in the church audience after those remarks.

"I hope they don't use this against you in the future, though with what you be saying, they going to use what you say against you," said Haynes.

Haynes's campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

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