What’s happening in Democrat politics in the Old Dominion state seems to be giving a new definition to the slogan “Virginia is for lovers.” Gov. Ralph Northam is immersed in scandal over a racist yearbook page. Justin Fairfax, the state’s lieutenant governor, who this weekend seemed headed for the top job as a result, is now denying a sexual assault allegation. The Big League Politics website broke both of these stories. The Washington Post, which unhesitatingly published uncorroborated allegations about Brett Kavanaugh, previously looked into but declined to run the Fairfax story, however. The Post and Fairfax seem partially at odds over an analysis of the incident, however.
The alleged encounter occurred during the 2004 Democratic National Convention.
UPDATE: On her attorneys’ letterhead, Fairfax accuser Prof. Vanessa Tyson — who describes herself as a “proud Democrat” — released a detailed statement on what allegedly happened in the hotel room on July 28, 2004. “What began as consensual kissing quickly turned into a sexual assault.” National Democrats, who usually follow the accuser must be believed #MeToo mantra, have ducked making any comments about this allegation.
Not #MeToo, Fairfax Declares
In an early morning statement, Fairfax denied the accusation, adding the Post found “significant red flags and inconsistencies” with it. He also threatened legal action against those spreading “this false and defamatory allegation.”
The Post, however, has a slightly different take:
“The woman approached The Post after Fairfax won election in November 2017 and before he was inaugurated in January 2018, saying she felt like she had an obligation to speak out….
“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
“Fairfax (D), who was not married at the time, has denied her account through his attorneys and described the encounter as consensual.
“The woman described a sexual encounter that began with consensual kissing and ended with a forced act that left her crying and shaken. She said Fairfax guided her to the bed, where they continued kissing, and then at one point she realized she could not move her neck. She said Fairfax used his strength to force her to perform oral sex.”
Justin Fairfax met the media today to react to what he is calling a suspiciously timed, uncorroborated fabrication and a smear:
It’s all speculation, but it is certainly not outside the realm of possibility that political operatives backing Gov. Ralph Northam — who obviously is, so far, resisting intense pressure to step down — leaked this story. Another Democrat rival could also be involved.
The Washington Examiner addressed the obvious double standard in play at the Washington Post:
“It’s good to see that the newspaper has found a renewed interest in the standard of proof it abandoned entirely when it broke the story of similar allegations of sexual misconduct leveled last year against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Recall that it was the Post that first got Christine Blasey Ford to go on the record with her allegations…What’s the paper’s excuse for running multiple stories repeating totally uncorroborated allegations of sexual abuse aimed at Kavanaugh? When the Post got Ford on the record amid the fight over Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court nomination, the paper didn’t seem to be so concerned by the fact that she couldn’t provide a single piece of evidence to verify her claim that the judge tried to rape her when they were both in high school — or even that they’d ever met…the paper’s first original coverage of the allegation against the lieutenant governor came only after Fairfax had issued a statement defending himself. Kavanaugh was afforded no similar benefit.
“It’s fine if the Post passed on the Fairfax story because of a genuine lack of evidence. And there definitely doesn’t appear to be that much to go on, other than the word of a single accuser. But it’s hard to see the Post’s decision to spike her story as anything but politically biased considering how the paper gorged itself on nearly every flimsy and fantastic allegation hurled in Kavanaugh’s direction, no matter how ridiculous, again with no evidence to back any of it up.”
