Summary

EVANGELIST JIMMY SWAGGART DENIED TODAY THAT HE SUPPLIED OFFICIALS OF RIVAL MINISTER MARVIN GORMAN'S CHURCH WITH A LIST OF 15 WOMEN WHO ALLEGEDLY WENT TO BED WITH GORMAN. TELEVANGELIST JIMMY SWAGGART TOOK THE STAND TODAY IN A NEW ORLEANS COURTHOUSE TO DEFEND HIMSELF AGAINST A $90 MILLION DEFAMATION LAWSUIT. GORMAN'S ATTORNEY, SWAGGART TESTIFIED THAT HE DECIDED GORMAN HAD NOT REPENTED OF ADULTERY AFTER AN AFFAIR WITH ANOTHER MINISTER'S WIFE. HE ACKNOWLEDGED HAVING WRITTEN A HIGH-RANKING OFFICIAL OF THE ASSEMBLIES OF GOD TO TELL HIM GORMAN HAD NOT REPENTED. THE TRIAL, IN NEW ORLEANS PARISH CIVIL DISTRICT COURT, STEMS FROM A LAWSUIT FILED IN 1987 BY RIVAL EVANGELIST MARVIN GORMAN. GORMAN, 58, CLAIMS THAT IN 1986 SWAGGART, 56, CONSPIRED TO RUIN HIS NEW ORLEANS TELEVISION MINISTRY BY FALSELY ACCUSING HIM OF HAVING ADULTEROUS AFFAIRS. GORMAN ADMITTED TO A SINGLE ``IMMORAL ACT'' WITH A WOMAN.GORMAN HELPED BRING DOWN SWAGGART TWO YEARS LATER BY PROVIDING PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE BATON ROUGE-BASED EVANGELIST WITH A PROSTITUTE.THE LAWSUIT ALSO CLAIMS THAT THE REV. TOM MILLER, AN ASSEMBLIES OF GOD MINISTER, SMEARED GORMAN BY TELLING FELLOW MINISTERS THAT DURING AN EXORCISM HE HEARD THE DEVIL SPEAK IN GORMAN'S VOICE.