At the time, Hinn issued a video in which he denied the allegations, and blamed Satan, other preachers and the media for his troubles.

And, he ended his "friendship" with White, claiming it was too costly for his ministry.

"Hinn hasn't been much on our radar screen because he hasn't been very political," Rob Boston, Senior Policy Analyst for Americans United, told me in an email. "In 2007, he hired a public-relations firm and made a foray into Capitol Hill. Some of us thought this might signal that Hinn was interested in getting more involved in politics, but nothing ever came of it."

His "main interest," Boston pointed out, "is making money, jet setting around the globe, buying mansions and living the good life. Getting involved in politics would probably only be an impediment to that."

Now, nearly eight months after the scandal broke, Hinn, who was also the target of a recently completed investigation into his and five other televangelists' finances launched by Sen. Charles Grassley, is being sued by the Lake Mary, Florida-based Strang Communications, an evangelical Christian publishing outfit. Strang, now known as Charisma Media, is accusing Hinn of violating the "moral turpitude" clause of its three-book contract with him, and it wants its $250,0000 back.

According to the Orlando Sentinel, "Hinn acknowledged to his publisher 'his inappropriate relationship' with White in August, according to the suit, and agreed that the publisher should get back its money, but he has yet to pay up."

The Enquirer's story, headlined "TV Evangelist Benny Hinn Caught In Torrid Affair: Fling with fellow preacher rocks Christian community," claimed that Hinn was having an affair with Paula White, the pastor of the Tampa, Florida-based Without Walls International Church. The two-page spread featured a picture of Hinn and White holding hands.

The Hinnster

Let's back up a moment: Hinn is a colorful and big money-making preacher who runs Benny Hinn Ministries (http://www.bennyhinn.org/default.cfm). He is also pastor of the World Healing Center Church. He is probably best known for his television program This Is Your Day, and for the healing he claims to render on that program and at events that are often called "Miracle Crusade[s]," which are performed at venues in the U.S. and around the world.

Hinn's full-service ministry includes offering courses at the "Benny Hinn School of Ministry." While the inventory in his online shopping mall may not be as expansive as your typical Wal-Mart, he nevertheless offers up an impressive assortment of products, including art prints, health and healing books, Bibles, videos and cds, greeting cards, an angel keychain, a "Benny Hinn Ministries Dove & Globe Lapel Pin," and an "Ark of the Covenant" prayer shawl.

There's also Max One, a product that "provides the most advanced glutathione support you can find-anywhere. Glutathione helps to strengthen the immune system, detoxify the body, fight intracellular inflammation, and neutralize many different types of free radicals." And there's lots more stuff.

According to Christianity Today, earlier this year, Hinn's wife filed for divorce. Paula White and her fellow pastor/husband Randy divorced in 2007.

The Hinn 'Defends Himself ...' video

In a ten-minute video issued last year titled "Benny Hinn Defends Himself Against National Enquirer" (http://vodpod.com/watch/4179313-benny-hinn-defends-himself-agains t-national-enquirer), the preacher went on the offensive. He opened by telling his supporters that he is "hated by Satan," and "hated by preachers."

There's no Jimmy Swaggart tears, no Ted Haggard deer-caught-in-the-headlights interview from his car. Hinn is all about feeling sorry for himself, and telling a story centered on how he is the subject of abuse by others.

"Be glad you are not me," he told his audience.

"If I knew before I started the ministry that I'd be attacked like this, I would have said 'No. Lord thank you.'  This is not the first time they do that to me."

On being faced with his wife filing for a divorce, Hinn said that he was "shocked": "To be in this kind of work and ministry is very tough on a family, very tough and we had challenges, we had troubles for a long time." Hinn talked about how his wife told him that she would never divorce him, but "one day she did it, to my shock."

Hinn said, "It's a very difficult situation, very difficult, very difficult, more than you know. That we've lived quietly. We had to be very quiet to protect the ministry, the work of the Lord."

With Hinn's 800 number flashing occasionally on the screen, he went on to complain about being scrutinized by the media at every turn. And he talked about being alone: "It's very, very difficult to talk about this, but I have to, otherwise people make up their own stories." He kept saying that there "are things we cannot talk about, but she [his wife] and I kept a clean life, that's a fact [he uses "that's a fact" a lot in this video]. She and I kept a very pure life before God. We kept our marriage vows; there was nothing immoral ever, on her part or my part and I want you to know that to this minute, I am clean and so is she."

Hinn explained the presence of Paula White in his life. He started by saying that she was a member, along with her husband, of his church for nine years. "We got to talk. She went through a painful divorce, I went through a painful divorce. We found common ground to talk about stuff we could help each other in. And a friendship did develop. But hear this: no immorality ever whatsoever.

"These people out there are making it sound like we had an affair. That's a lie. That's a total lie."

Hinn told how the Vatican had made him a Patron of the Arts, and he went to Rome. He was asked if he knew any other potential donors. "Here's where I made my mistake. I let her come with me to Rome, so she can donate money. That was stupid on my part. And for that I do ask forgiveness, but that was an innocent mistake, nothing to do with stupid stuff. And then they have a picture of a bed, implying sex. That is terrible they done that."

In August of last year, Chrystal Whitt, writing at the Slaughter of the Sheep website, pointed out a contradiction in the stories Hinn and White were telling: "Hinn says that the Vatican truly did invite him to Rome, and he let White come with him so she could donate money. ...White said in her official statement that she was in Rome on ministry duties and that she and Hinn traveled to Rome separately. But, Benny Hinn says in the ... video that she went with him.  This is a different story than they both told in their official statements (which, by the way, quickly disappeared from their sites)."

Recognizing a scandal in the making Hinn closed his video by saying that he had pulled back from his friendship with White.

The Grassley Investigation

Hinn's ministry, along with Paula White's and four other televangelists, was subject to an investigation into the ministries finances launched three years by Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa). According to Religion Dispatches' Sarah Posner, the investigation, which screeched to a crashing halt in early January, "was initially launched to examine whether the ministries had abused their tax-exempt status by using tax-exempt funds for personal enrichment, [but] Grassley is not recommending any changes to the tax law to prevent such abuse, but rather a review by the Evangelical Council on Financial Accountability, which was formed in the 1970s."

A statement issued by Hinn's ministry cites the fact that the committee "recognized Benny Hinn Ministries for being responsive, transparent, and for demonstrating a high degree of integrity. " (Four of the six under investigation refused to co-operate with Grassley.) The Hinn statement said: "Throughout the inquiry process, ... Hinn personally led the effort to encourage greater transparency and more aggressive self-governance in his own ministry and encouraged others to follow that example. Detailed in the findings is the fact that Benny Hinn Ministries has consistently undertaken rigorous internal controls while utilizing exceptional outside sources to govern salaries. Pastor Hinn is not involved in setting or directing his own salary but has directed the ministry's board of directors to hire outside executive compensation firms to provide professional guidance. Further, he has instructed that such salary recommendations follow the most conservative recommendations of those compensation firms."

The Strang suit

Now Hinn is being sued by Christian publisher, Strang Communications (recently renamed Charisma Media). According to Religion News Service, the publisher is "claiming he violated a moral clause in a book agreement and owes the company more than $250,000."

According to the suit, "The Moral Turpitude Provision provides as follows: In the event the Author is publicly accused and there is substantial evidence of an act of moral turpitude, or any other conduct which subjects the Author or the Publisher to public ridicule, contempt or censure or could diminish the potential sale of the Works, the Publisher shall have the right at its sole discretion, if it deems necessary, to terminate this Agreement upon written notice. In the event the Publisher shall terminate the terms of this Agreement, the Author shall pay the Publisher any advances that have not been earned back by the sale of the Works."

RNS reported that "'Strang discovered that Mr. Hinn was engaged in a public, romantic and otherwise inappropriate relationship with another high-profile minister, who was divorced,' according to the suit, filed Feb. 15 in a Seminole County, Fla., circuit court."

"Hinn's current legal problems with Strang are interesting, but I expect him to emerge unscathed," Rob Boston said. "Like a lot of TV preachers, Hinn seems to be coated in Teflon. Several media outlets have come after him over the years, including NBC's 'Dateline.' Reporters have tracked down people Hinn claims to have healed, pointing out that many are still sick and some have even died. It hasn't slowed Hinn down a bit. He simply goes on television, asserts that Satan is attacking his ministry and asks for more money."

Boston added: "Strang, of course, comes out of the charismatic community as well, so Hinn can hardly claim they are satanic. But if comes to a smack down between the two, my money's on Hinn."

The money that Hinn appears to owe Charisma Media is really just a drop in the bucket. In a recent article titled "Benny Hinn's Buckets 'O' Cash," Bud Press maintained that, "Over the years, ... Hinn has mastered the art of rescuing his followers from their money. The mega-million dollar monster he created is greedy and voracious, and begs to be fed on a daily basis."

On his website, Press, Director of the Christian Research Service, had more to say about Hinn: "Since the early 1990's, Benny Hinn has established an incredible and unimaginable track-record of false prophecies, false teachings, false healings, and controversies, which is reason enough for him to be considered as the most prolific heretic of our day."

Boston summed it up by pointing out that despite the serial shenanigans of a number of televangelists, people are still tuning in and sending their money. "Consider Pat Robertson. Robertson has said so many extreme and bizarre things over the years that it's impossible to even keep a list anymore. Yet Robertson's audience has remained more or less stable, and like the Energizer Bunny, he just keeps going and going and going."