Virginia Lt. Gov. Fairfax Suggests Northam or Allies Behind ‘Smear’ Assault Allegation: Timing No ‘Coincidence’
Virginia Governor Ralph Northam is still resisting calls to resign amid mounting pressure from Democrats for him to step down.
Today Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax––who would be sworn in as governor if Northam resigned––denied an allegation of sexual assault against him that came out.
The woman and Fairfax first met in Boston at the 2004 Democratic national convention.
During a conversation, the two realized they had a mutual friend. It was that commonality, she recalled, that put her at ease enough that on the afternoon Fairfax asked her to walk with him to his hotel room to pick up some papers, she thought nothing of joining him.
Fairfax and the woman told different versions of what happened in the hotel room with no one else present. The Washington Post could not find anyone who could corroborate either version. The Post did not find “significant red flags and inconsistencies within the allegations,” as the Fairfax statement incorrectly said.
The woman had approached the Post months ago, but the article says they “found no similar complaints of sexual misconduct against him” and “without that, or the ability to corroborate the woman’s account — in part because she had not told anyone what happened — The Washington Post did not run a story.”
Fairfax denied the allegations to reporters this afternoon, and one asked him about Collective PAC saying Northam’s people “have now decided to start attacking Lt. Governor Justin Fairfax by spreading lies to reporters and state leaders in an attempt to quell support for the Lt. Governor as Governor Northam’s impending successor should he resign.”
When asked directly if he believes it, Fairfax said he doesn’t know “precisely where this is coming from,” but then asked, “Does anybody think it’s any coincidence that on the eve of potentially my being elevated that that’s when this uncorroborated smear comes out?”
The New York Times, in covering Fairfax’s denial, reported that a Northam advisor “denied any responsibility and said the Northam camp did not have the capacity to plot such a move at a moment he is struggling to retain his job.”
[image via screengrab]
