Nashville News Blog

McKensie Morrison and Joel Watts

Sen. Paul Stanley's accused blackmailer has just made a few accusations of his own tonight on NewsChannel5. Joel Watts says Stanley used his position of authority to seduce his 22-year-old legislative intern, McKensie Morrison. Watts also contends it was Stanley who first suggested that he might buy sexually explicit pictures of Morrison from Watts.

Also from Phil Williams' report: The smoking gun? A TBI agent swears in court records that Stanley admitted his sexual relationship with Morrison and that he took pictures of her in his apartment.

Watts, Morrison's boyfriend, says:

"Republican Sen. Paul Stanley has disgraced the conservative Republican Party. He has disrespected his family, fellow Tennesseans and Americans by abusing his power and going against the moral values he himself under oath swore to preserve and protect.

"He was supposed to be a leader and had responsibilities as a leader to guide and direct his young interns in a correct manner. He did not. Instead, he abused his power and let us all down. I never wanted to jeopardize my friend McKensie's or my own integrity. All I wanted was an apology.

"Senator Stanley, if you're listening, I think you own your family, McKensie Morrison and America an apology."

Update II: And from Shelby County GOP chair Lang Wiseman: "I hope the whole thing is a big misunderstanding. In fact, I pray that it is. Particularly for Paul's wife and young children. But having said that, I'm also realistic enough to know that it'd have to be one whopper of a misunderstanding for there to be this much smoke without some kind of fire."

Update III: More on the jealous boyfriend. "We can sympathize with her poor boyfriend, the schlub. Rambling though it may be, the messages he left on her MySpace page are just rough. In May, shortly after his arrest, he wrote, 'you should have taken a stand in my behalf. good luck cause i was going to lie and stand up for you' He goes on to write over the next few days about a possible reconciliation, eventually writing about building her a 'flower altar,' "lol." Whose lol-ing now, dude? He has since moved to New Mexico."

Update IV: "I just never anticipated something like this happening with one of our interns," said David Kanervo, Austin Peay's intern coordinator and political science chair. "I was just very surprised by the news last night."