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RICHMOND, Va. ? Virginia has had one of the craziest weeks in
state politics. First, the Democratic governor had to explain
why there was a photo of two person, one dressed in Ku Klux Klan
garb and the other in blackface, on his medical school yearbook
page. Now the lieutenant governor is trying to get rid of an
allegation that he sexually assaulted a woman in 2004.
Democrats in the state quickly condemned Gov. Ralph Northam for
the racist image from 1984. The Virginia Legislative Black
Caucus, in particular, was a catalyst in the state party’s
abandonment of the governor.
But so far, Democratic members of the state legislature, known
as the General Assembly, have been far more reluctant to discuss
the allegation against Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax.
“We’re going to wait to see how that information evolves,” said
Virginia state Sen. Louise Lucas, a black senior Democrat who
spoke to reporters in the Capitol rotunda in Richmond on Tuesday
to reiterate her calls for Northam to resign.
“I have lots of thoughts ? but not for you,” said state Del.
Chris Hurst (D), before abruptly walking through a side door off
the House of Delegates floor.
State Sen. Chap Petersen, vice chair of the Senate Democratic
Caucus, declined to comment on the matter altogether.
The Virginia Legislative Black Caucus, a bloc of African-
American state delegates and senators, issued a statement on
Monday ? but it was just to say that it didn’t have anything to
say about the allegation against Fairfax, who is Virginia’s
second-ever statewide black elected official.
“The Virginia Legislative Black Caucus takes all allegations of
sexual assault or misconduct with the utmost seriousness,” the
group wrote. “Given the recent allegations regarding Lieutenant
Gov. Justin Fairfax, the VLBC will continue to assess this
developing situation as more details become available.”
Asked about the matter on the state House floor, Dels. Lamont
Bagby and Jeff Bourne, both Democrats, deferred to their
caucus’s statement, declining to provide additional comment.
The Democratic Party of Virginia issued a remarkably similar
statement about the allegation on Tuesday afternoon.
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Virginia Democrats
?
@vademocrats
DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF VIRGINIA STATEMENT: "All allegations of
sexual assault deserve to be taken with profound gravity. We
will continue to evaluate the situation regarding Lieutenant
Governor Fairfax."
12:44 PM - Feb 5, 2019
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Later in the day, the House and Senate Democratic caucuses
released a joint statement with a comparable message.
“The facts here are still being determined,” the caucuses said.
“Every individual deserves the opportunity to be heard, and we
respect anyone who comes forward to share their story.”
The nature of the claim against Fairfax has indeed complicated
the way lawmakers and media outlets discuss the allegation.
On Sunday night, a far-right website, Big League Politics,
published a screenshot of a social media post in which the
accuser lamented that Fairfax, who she said had assaulted her,
was now poised to ascend to the highest post in the state. It is
not clear that the accuser wanted the post to be publicized.
Fairfax’s staff subsequently denied the accusation, arguing that
The Washington Post had already been alerted to the claim but
found “significant red flags and inconsistencies” in the
accuser’s story. His team threatened to take legal action
“against those attempting to spread this defamatory and false
allegation.”
The Post responded by publishing its own version of events in
which it acknowledged that it had looked into the claim in
November 2017 and revealed that the accuser alleged that Fairfax
had physically coerced her into performing oral sex in 2004. The
newspaper declined to publish the story because it felt it could
not corroborate the charge, but it also denied finding “red
flags.”
Fairfax’s accuser has now hired the same law firm that
represented Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s accuser
Christine Blasey Ford.
State Democrats are waiting for Fairfax’s accuser to speak
publicly about the incident, according to a Democratic activist
familiar with their thinking.
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) gave a similar explanation for his
reticence in an interview with CBS News on Tuesday. “Every
person who has a claim that they have been sexually assaulted
deserves to tell their own story in their time and that’s not
yet happened,” Kaine said.
Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) offered a more laconic comment,
referring HuffPost back to Fairfax’s public denial.
Igor Bobic
?
@igorbobic
“I’m going to make no further comment than referring you back
to the lieutenant governor’s statement,” Warner tells me when
asked about the sexual harassment allegation against Fairfax
9:17 AM - Feb 5, 2019
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But the Fairfax accusation comes mere months after national
Democrats demanded a Senate hearing for Blasey Ford, the accuser
of then-Supreme Court nominee Kavanaugh.
To be sure, Blasey Ford had already agreed to reveal her
identity when Democrats called for her to testify. It is not yet
clear if Fairfax’s accuser wants to do the same, even though Big
League Politics chose to publish her name.
Busy with bills and focused on matters at hand right now.
Eileen Filler-Corn, Virginia’s House Democratic leader, when
asked about the Justin Fairfax allegation
Still, it is notable that so far there is no push by Virginia
Democrats to provide a forum for Fairfax’s accuser or to
encourage her to come forward in the interest of shedding light
on the matter.
State Sen. John Edwards (D) flatly rejected offering Fairfax’s
accuser a forum, arguing that the allegation was less credible
than the one against Kavanaugh.
“We believe [Fairfax],” he said. “The Washington Post indicated
they can’t corroborate anything from [his accuser].”
Del. Karrie Delaney (D) did not reply to a question about
whether Fairfax’s accuser deserved a hearing in the General
Assembly.
When asked about providing an opportunity for the accuser to
testify, Del. Hala Ayala (D) appeared to remember something she
urgently needed to attend to and walked away.
Many lawmakers cited their focus on the flood of bills they had
to vote on before the end of Tuesday, which is crossover day.
Each chamber of the state legislature has until the end of the
work day to finish passing its own bills for the session;
tomorrow they must start looking at the other chamber’s bills.
Asked for her reaction to the allegation against Fairfax, House
Democratic Leader Eileen Filler-Corn (D) said, “Busy with bills
and focused on matters at hand right now.” She then briskly
walked away.
“We’re so busy with session crossover that we really don’t have
time” to react to the Fairfax allegation, said Del. Kelly
Convirs-Fowler (D), who was unaware that the lieutenant
governor’s accuser had hired an attorney.
“We’ve got so many bills ahead of us now,” said Delaney. “The
people have sent us here to deliver results so that’s what we’re
focused on right now.”
Other lawmakers professed ignorance about the matter.
Had Del. Vivian Watts (D) had a moment to read up on the Fairfax
allegation?
“I haven’t read anything!” Watts replied.
“I don’t know anything about it,” said Del. Mark Levine (D),
when asked for his opinion.
Asked how the situation differed from the allegation against
Kavanaugh, Levine again said, “I don’t know anything about it,”
before exiting the House floor through a side door.
Another reporter asked Delaney what kind of message it sent for
Democrats to press for transparency in the Kavanaugh case, but
remain relatively silent about Fairfax. Delaney did not respond.
But Levine, having returned to the floor, interjected, “It sends
a message that we’re working hard!”
Igor Bobic contributed reporting.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/virginia-democrats-justin- fairfax-sexual-assault-allegation_us_5c59eec1e4b00187b555c4b2
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