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Haggard’s escort

In a gay press exclusive, Mike Jones, a male escort from Denver, tells The Advocate he revealed his “sexual business relationship” with evangelical leader Ted Haggard to expose the hypocrisy in Haggard’s support for a proposed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage. But he says he doesn’t wish the prominent pastor, who resigned on November 2, any ill will.
An Advocate.com exclusive posted November 3, 2006
Haggard’s escort

Mike Jones, a male escort from Denver, says he revealed his “sexual business relationship” with evangelical leader Ted Haggard (pictured) to expose the hypocrisy in Haggard’s support for a proposed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage. But he says he doesn’t wish the prominent pastor any ill will.

Haggard, a married father of five and a close personal advisor to President Bush, resigned his post as president of the 30-million member National Association of Evangelicals on November 2 and has taken a leave from his job as pastor of the 14,000-member New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colo. He has since admitted to some “indiscretions,” including going to Jones for a massage and later purchasing crystal meth from him, but has denied a sexual relationship. Haggard put himself on leave from his church “to allow a panel of four senior pastors, ‘wise ones,’ and spiritual men to oversee the circumstances,” his attorney, Martin Nussbaum, told The Advocate.

Jones alleges Haggard has been paying for sex with him and doing drugs for the last three years. He spoke with The Advocate about his contact with Haggard, the first time he learned of Haggard’s real identity, and why he came forward.

Why now, just days before the midterm election?
I really agonized over it for quite a while and finally decided I needed to say something. People have accused me of trying to get money out of [Haggard]. I will tell you that if I wanted to get money out of him, I could have blackmailed him. I chose not to do that, but to do this on principle, for the gay community. We have two initiatives coming up on [the Colorado] ballot, one to amend the constitution [to ban same-sex marriage] and one for domestic-partnership rights. People have accused me of being a puppet, but I have had no contact with any political organization whatsoever on this. I just did it myself.

Did the scandal surrounding former congressman Mark Foley influence your decision?
No.

When did you first meet Ted Haggard?
Roughly three years ago. I never asked him how he found my number, but I guess it was from a Web site or a newspaper somewhere, because I was advertising at the time as a male escort. When I answered the phone, he indicated he was visiting from Kansas City and that his name was Art. For the first year, he called from a blocked number, then mostly from pay phones from the Colorado Springs area.

When did you first realize who he was?
In the spring of 2006. I was lying on the couch, relaxing, watching the History Channel—a show on the DaVinci Code and the antichrist. All of a sudden, his face came up. They were interviewing him. It was Art. I didn’t get his name, so in my mind I was thinking, I’m going to order a copy of this show, just so I can see who this guy is. To me it was a coincidence. The very next morning at 5 a.m., I was at the gym working out on the treadmill. Somebody the night before had turned the TV to the religious channel and there he was. When I got home and looked him up on the computer, I was like, “Ted Haggard…oh, crap…this guy’s huge.”

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