Duggars hired Huckabee’s political guru to manage PR for Josh's sexual molestation scandal

Mike Huckabee, a 2016 Republican presidential candidate and former Arkansas governor, speaks during the third session of the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida August 29, 2012. JASON REED/REUTERS

Why are the Duggar family’s salacious tales worth following? Their ties to political power. Out this week, news that shows just how deep the connections between the Duggars and 2016 Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee really are.

CNN’s Brian Stelter reports that the Christian cult family’s current scandal surrounding Josh Duggar’s admitted serial sexual molestation of girls is being managed by longtime Huckabee adviser Chad Gallagher. Gallagher runs the Arkansas firm known as Legacy Consulting, and manages Huckabee’s HUCKPAC political action committee. You may recall the news earlier this year about how that PAC awarded nearly half a million bucks to Huckabee’s own family.

Gallagher declined to comment on his work for the Duggars when contacted by CNN. And Newsweek says “Specific questions were sent to Legacy Consulting and Gallagher by email and via phone call, but they did not respond to Newsweek’s repeated requests for comment.”

Chad Gallagher, Legacy Consulting principal and longtime adviser to 2016 presidential candidate and former governor Mike Huckabee.

From Iva Dixit at Newsweek:

The connection between Huckabee and the Duggars, both Christian conservative icons, seems to run deep, as the Duggars rushed to endorse Huckabee when he announced his 2016 bid for president, dropping their support for Rick Santorum.

However, on June 4, reports emerged that the Duggars’ vociferous statements of support had been scrubbed clean from the “I Like Mike” sidebar of Huckabee’s campaign website, leading to speculation the latter’s camp was trying to distance him from the molestation scandal.

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