Davis’ refusal to adhere to federal law could ultimately remove her from office. If she is deemed a public relations embarrassment, too it may be enough to begin the impeachment process sooner.

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The Kim Davis saga has taken an unexpected and possible game-changing direction, and the fallout could be the beginning of the end for the Kentucky clerk whose refusal to issue marriage licenses to gay couples has made her the poster child of religious persecution.

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Amid the flurry of commentary by the mainstream and LGBT media on the “meaning” of Davis’ disputed meeting with Pope Francis during his trip to the United States, the Vatican issued a statement describing Davis’ so-called private audience with the pope to be nothing but a handshake in a reception line. That version deviates sharply from claims by Davis and her attorneys from the right wing Liberty Counsel that the pope, in a 15-minute private audience with Davis on September 24th, urged her to “stay strong” and keep up “the good fight.”

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Within hours of the Vatican statement, Davis’ law firm fired back accusing the Vatican of misrepresenting the nature and extent of the meeting and wholly denied that Davis met the Pontiff as one of many people in a reception line. According to a Vatican spokesman, Pope Francis “did not enter into the details of the situation of Mrs. Davis, and his meeting with her should not be considered a form of support of her position …” The spokesman added that the pontiff met with “several dozen” people who had been invited to greet him as he prepared to leave Washington for New York City and “such brief greetings occur on all papal visits.” Davis was in Washington by coincidence to receive an award from the right wing and anti-gay Family Research Council for sticking to her religious beliefs “at great personal cost.”

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None of the photos has Davis and the pope in the same frame.

To dispute the Vatican’s version of the meeting, Davis’ law firm posted pics that purport to show Davis and her fourth husband in the Vatican embassy in Washington where the meeting purportedly occurred. None of the photos has Davis and the pope in the same frame.

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The New York Times. Grassi, unlike Davis, seems to have photographic evidence of his meeting with the pope in the form of a video. The only private audience Pope Francis granted the night Davis claimed she met with him was with a former student, according to the Vatican. That claim is apparently substantiated by the ex-student, Yayo Grassi , in an interview withGrassi, unlike Davis, seems to have photographic evidence of his meeting with the pope in the form of a video.

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A footnote to that meeting is that Grassi is gay and was accompanied by his partner of 19 years. Since disclosure of Davis’ disputed meeting with the pope—spilled by Davis herself—Pope Francis has been scathed by the mainstream and gay media, perhaps, now, unjustly.

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Even if Davis had pictures of her meeting with Pope Francis, however, she and the Liberty Counsel have provided reason to question their authenticity. This isn’t the first time Davis’ law firm has been caught exaggerating and even fabricating claims of international support for Davis. The firm was forced to admit that a photo it claimed as evidence of 10,000 people praying for Davis in Peru was a fake and was actually taken in May 2014 at a Peruvian religious rally. The fraud was exposed by a blogger for ThinkProgress, an online publication. One of Davis’ attorneys admitted further that there had never been any “prayer rallies” specifically for Davis as he had claimed previously.

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The focus of this sordid affair has shifted from the refusal of an elected government official to obey the law and is now on the official herself and claims of widespread support that may well not exist.

Readers and TV news viewers, whether or not they have an opinion or are even interested in Davis’ case, undoubtedly can expect a flurry of “she said, he said” follow-ups to what has disintegrated into a shameful Davis vs. Vatican chapter of this ever-evolving saga. But does it even matter anymore? The focus of this sordid affair has shifted from the refusal of an elected government official to obey the law and is now on the official herself and claims of widespread support that may well not exist.

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And that’s the tragedy—and disgrace—of Kim Davis, the Liberty Counsel and their apparent promotion of “religious freedom” or, at worst, promotion of themselves for whatever private gain. Fate, or maybe an issue ripe for exploitation, has brought them together to advance an agenda of discrimination in the name of religion and they have posed as victims while victimizing people who the Supreme Court has ruled are entitled to equal protection of the law. That law says nothing about religious beliefs trumping the legal rights of others, even if those others happen to be gay.

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But the latest in the Davis case takes it to the gutter. The mere hint that a meeting with the pope is fabricated or even exaggerated in the same week Davis’ attorney admitted fraud brings disrepute to the very religious ideology that Davis & Co. peddle and to their individual and collective credibility.

But the latest in the Davis case takes it to the gutter. The mere hint that a meeting with the pope is fabricated or even exaggerated in the same week Davis’ attorney admitted fraud brings disrepute to the very religious ideology that Davis & Co. peddle and to their individual and collective credibility. To that end, Davis’ supporters should seriously ask if their martyred diva has done more damage than good for religious “rights” and, more likely, if her agenda is private rather than divine.

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If Davis and her attorneys are trying to hoodwink the public again, it would be prudent for them to fold the cards they’re playing, cut their losses and try to fade into oblivion for a while. Davis’ refusal to adhere to federal law could be enough for Kentucky lawmakers to try to remove her from office when the state’s legislature convenes in January.

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Already caught in one lie that 10,000 Peruvians were praying for her in an altered photograph and now essentially calling the spiritual leader of the world’s largest church a liar, Davis may be deemed a public relations embarrassment to the Bluegrass State. That alone may be enough for Kentucky lawmakers to call for impeachment.

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Some of us can only pray.

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Source: 30dB.com – Kim Davis