Well, it’s official. The sexual assault allegation against Virginia Democratic Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax has become a total dumpster fire for Democrats. The allegation has zero corroboration, but allegedly Fairfax sexually assaulted a woman during the Democratic National Convention back in 2004. The Washington Post, WUSA9, and other Virginia news outlet shave known about this allegation but didn’t run with it because they couldn’t verify the story. Fairfax has strongly denied the allegation and said the encounter was consensual.
Gee—was there someone cough* Kavanaugh cough* who faced similar shoddy allegations, but was smeared as a sexual predator in an attempt to block his Supreme Court nomination? Yes, there was, which makes this whole story all the more satisfying. The Left’s own rules have ensnared one of them and the irony is thick. I don’t like seeing people’s lives destroyed over baseless allegations, but as I said, these aren’t my rules. Now, they’re getting punched in the mouth with them.
Regardless of the allegation, who leaked it? Well, Fairfax has a primary suspect: embattled Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam, who is facing a political crisis of his own after his yearbook page from his days at Eastern Virginia Medical School back in 1984, featured a racist photo showing two men, one of them wearing blackface and the other in full Ku Klux Klan regalia. He apologized and admitted he was in the photo, but then retracted the apology, and said that wasn’t him, BUT he did engage in blackface while participating in a dance competition; he dressed as Michael Jackson.
Video: Here's the clip of Justin Fairfax being asked point blank if he thinks @RalphNortham and/or his allies are behind the allegation of sexual assault annnnnd Fairfax seems to think that's the case pic.twitter.com/XZZtkWrt7C
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) February 4, 2019
As calls for his resignation increased, this Fairfax story dropped. On top of that, we have a mini-media war going on. Fairfax said in a statement denying the allegation that The Washington Post found red flags in the accuser’s story. Not the case; the publication noted that they just couldn’t verify the story because it was grounded in 'he said/she said'. There was no other evidence. This prompted another statement from Fairfax accusing the Post of spreading a smear against him (via The Hill):
Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax (D) slammed the Washington Post on Monday after the news outlet published sexual assault allegations against him that it said it was unable to corroborate.
Fairfax, who earlier on Monday denied the allegations, accused the Post of "smearing" him after it published details of its reporting on the claim that contradicted his assertion that the news outlet found "significant red flags" with the accuser's story.
“The Washington Post, acknowledging that it had no corroboration, just smeared an elected official," Farifax's office said in a statement.
And now, Fairfax’s accuser has hired the firm that helped Christine Blasey Ford, the woman who initially came forward with a sexual assault allegation against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, which also couldn’t be corroborated (via NPR):
A California woman who has accused Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax of sexually assaulting her 15 years ago has hired the same law firm that represented Christine Blasey Ford in her allegations against then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
Fairfax has denied the allegation, which first surfaced on a conservative blog and was later described in a report by The Washington Post.
The allegation has come to light just as Fairfax could be on the verge of becoming the state's chief executive in the wake of a scandal involving Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam and a blackface yearbook photo.
The woman making the accusation against Fairfax has retained Katz, Marshall and Banks, a Washington, D.C.-based firm, and is consulting with her attorneys about next steps, according to a source close to the legal team. The law firm assisted Blasey Ford as she came forward during Kavanaugh's confirmation process with allegations that he assaulted her when the two were in high school.
The Virginia Black Legislative Caucus has called on Northam to resign, as most of the Democratic Party, but now say they will have to reassess their position of Mr. Fairfax, who would take over for Northam should he resign (via Richmond Times-Dispatch):
The allegation that Fairfax sexually assaulted a woman in a hotel room during the 2004 Democratic National Convention stunned Democratic lawmakers, several of whom declined to comment Monday. A request for comment to the Senate Democratic Caucus went unreturned.
The Virginia Legislative Black Caucus issued a statement saying it takes “all allegations of sexual assault or misconduct with the utmost seriousness. Given the recent allegations regarding Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, the VLBC will continue to assess this developing situation as more details become available.”
The VA GOP looked like they were on life support, but this collapse by Virginia Democrats could possibly yield some dividends for the upcoming legislative elections. It’s an off year, and the top of the ticket is now marred in controversy. The anti-racist candidate turned out to engage in racist antics regarding blackface. I could see Democrats being depressed, but the obvious caveat is that the next election is months away. A lot can happen. Still, with Northam digging in, he’s gumming up the works for his party, while allegedly knifing those who he thinks could take his spot. In one weekend, the Virginia Democratic Party ate itself. And unless Northam caves, I suspect this circus will continue a little while longer.