US evangelical leader admits to buying drugs

Washington: The Rev Ted Haggard, the Colorado minister who resigned on Thursday as president of the National Association of Evangelicals, admitted on Friday that he bought methamphetamine and received a massage from a male prostitute.

But Haggard said that the massage was arranged by a Denver hotel and was not sexual. He also said he threw the drugs away. "I never kept it very long, because it's - it was wrong. I was tempted. I bought it, but I never used it," he said.

The 11-member executive committee of the NAE said on Friday that it had accepted his resignation. Given "the seriousness of Rev Haggard's misconduct while in the leadership roles he held, we anticipate an extended period of recovery will be appropriate", the board said.

Haggard's admissions came as the White House and some conservative Christians sought to play down his political influence in Washington and predicted that the scandal would have no impact on the midterm elections.

White House spokesman Tony Fratto denied that Haggard was a regular participant in weekly conference calls between White House officials and evangelical leaders that began when President Bush took office in 2001 and have continued since. "He had been on a couple of calls, but was not a weekly participant in those calls. I believe he's been to the White House one or two times. ... But there have been a lot of people who come to the White House," Fratto said.

As head of the NAE since 2003, Haggard has been a leading moderate voice among evangelicals.

Some fellow conservative Christian leaders got in their digs on Friday. "We're sad to see any evangelical leader fall," the Rev Pat Robertson said.

James Dobson, chairman and founder of Focus on the Family, which is headquartered near Haggard's megachurch, called Haggard a "close friend".

"Nevertheless, sexual sin, whether homosexual or heterosexual, has serious consequences, and we are extremely concerned for Ted, his family and his church," Dobson said.