Today’s Headlines The most important news stories of the day, curated by Post editors and delivered every morning. By signing up you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy<doc-sep>Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax (D) has been placed on leave by his law firm as the company looks into allegations of sexual assault. The law firm, San Francisco-based Morrison & Foerster, said it had retained outside attorneys to investigate the allegations against Fairfax. Fairfax had agreed to cooperate with the investigation, the firm said. “We take the allegations against Justin very seriously. As a firm, we believe that it is important to seriously listen to any allegation of sexual assault or harassment, and to treat all persons making such allegations with respect and sensitivity,” the chairman of the firm, Larren Nashelsky, said in a statement. ADVERTISEMENT Fairfax, who has a law degree from Columbia, joined the firm in 2018. Prior to entering office, Fairfax had served as an assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. Last week, two women accused Fairfax of sexual assault in separate incidents that allegedly happened years ago. One woman, Scripps College Professor Vanessa Tyson, said Fairfax had forced her to perform oral sex during the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston. A second woman, Meredith Watson, said Friday that Fairfax had raped her in 2000, when they both attended Duke University. Fairfax has denied both allegations. Democrats in Virginia, reeling from scandals enveloping Gov. Ralph Northam (D) and Attorney General Mark Herring (D) that were taking place at the same time the new allegations came out against Fairfax, had initially treaded lightly around Tyson’s allegations. But the dam broke Friday when Watson came forward. Over the weekend, the Virginia Democratic Party, the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus and most party officials said Fairfax should resign<doc-sep>RICHMOND, Va. — Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax of Virginia emphatically denied on Monday a woman’s claim that he sexually assaulted her in 2004, suggesting at one point that Gov. Ralph Northam’s supporters were trying to block his ascent to the governorship at a moment when Mr. Northam is besieged by demands that he resign over charges of racism. “Does anybody think it’s any coincidence that on the eve of potentially my being elevated that that’s when this smear comes out?” Mr. Fairfax told reporters surrounding him in the rotunda of the state Capitol about whether he believes Mr. Northam, a fellow Democrat, was behind the accusation’s coming to light. He softened his suggestion as he left the Capitol Monday night, telling reporters he had “no indication” that Mr. Northam was responsible. [Make sense of the people, issues and ideas shaping American politics with our newsletter.] But in the same conversation, Mr. Fairfax hinted that Levar Stoney, the mayor of Richmond and a potential rival to Mr. Fairfax for the 2021 Democratic nomination for governor, may have played a role — praising the acumen of a reporter who inquired whether Mr. Stoney might have been responsible.<doc-sep>Virginia Democratic Congressman Bobby Scott was made aware of allegations of sexual assault against now-Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax over a year ago by the alleged victim herself, ABC News has learned. Scott learned of the allegations directly from Vanessa Tyson, an associate professor of politics at Scripps College in California, who on Wednesday released a statement detailing the alleged 2004 assault, which took place at the Democratic National Convention in Boston. Fairfax vehemently denies the assault claim. In a statement given to ABC News on Wednesday, Scott wrote, "Allegations of sexual assault need to be taken seriously. I have known Professor Tyson for approximately a decade and she is a friend. She deserves the opportunity to have her story heard.” Aides to Scott confirm to ABC News that Tyson first reached out to him in an email on October 20, 2017, expressing that she was "not a fan" of then-candidate for Virginia Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax. In a Nov. 29 email, Tyson expressed her dislike for Fairfax and wrote that she would like to "talk about it," with Congressman Scott. Aides to Scott maintain that he was not made aware at that point about an alleged sexual assault in 2004 involving Fairfax. In a text message exchange between Scott and Tyson in December 2017, she informed him that the now-lieutenant governor-elect had a "MeToo allegation," but at the time the congressman did not know that she was the accuser, according to aides. In late December 2017 and early January 2018, aides to Scott said he learned that it was Tyson herself who was involved in a "MeToo allegation," concerning Fairfax. She also informed him that she had already told the Washington Post about an alleged incident involving Fairfax and that she had given the Post Scott's name as a character witness. When pressed by ABC News, aides said they did not know what the congressman did with that information, but that he told Tyson that he agreed to speak with the Washington Post. Scott himself was previously accused of sexual harassment by a former aide, who said he touched her inappropriately when she was working in his Washington office in 2013. He denied the claim. Aides said Scott maintains that Tyson never brought up the allegations in the many years that they have known each other prior to the time period between December 2017 and January 2018. In a lengthy statement released on earlier on Wednesday, Tyson recounted the alleged incident with Fairfax in detail. "On the night of Friday, February 1, 2019, I read multiple news accounts indicating that Virginia Lt. Governor Justin Fairfax would likely be elevated to Governor as an immediate result of a scandal involving Governor Ralph Northam. This news flooded me with painful memories, bringing back feelings of grief, shame, and anger that stemmed from an incident with Mr. Fairfax that occurred in July 2004 during the Democratic National Convention in Boston," Tyson wrote in a statement released through her legal team. In her statement, she detailed what she said began as a consensual encounter and "quickly turned into a sexual assault." Tyson went on to write that "After the assault, I suffered from both deep humiliation and shame. I did not speak about it for years, and I (like most survivors) suppressed those memories and emotions as a necessary means to continue my studies, and to pursue my goal of building a successful career as an academic." ABC News has also obtained a statement of support from a friend of Tyson. This person spoke with Tyson in October 2017 and does not wish to be identified for fear of harassment and threats. "Vanessa has always been forthright and matter of fact with me about all things and was no different in regards to this incident," the friend's statement read, "I trust her beyond measure and know how this incident haunted and traumatized her because she told me so and because I know her well and could hear the anguish in her voice. She sounded resigned, yet disgusted, frustrated, and infuriated in a way that I can sadly recognize from personal experience." ABC News has also reviewed text messages that support this friend's claim that she spoke with Tyson about the incident in October of 2017. Tyson has hired the legal services of Katz, Marshall and Banks, the same law firm that was retained by Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, a California psychology professor who accused Brett Kavanaugh, then-President Trump's nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court, of sexual misconduct. Kavanaugh denied the claims and was later confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Fairfax in a statement said that he takes the situation "very seriously." "Regarding the allegation that has been made against me – while this allegation has been both surprising and hurtful, I also recognize that no one makes charges of this kind lightly, and I take it and this situation very seriously," Fairfax wrote in a statement on Wednesday. "This has been an emotional couple of days for me and my family. And in my remarks on Monday, I think you could hear how emotional dealing with an allegation that I know is not true has been for me."<doc-sep>
Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax is denying allegations of sexual assault. Fairfax spoke to reporters on Monday calling the accusations a "totally fabricated story out of the blue" and called the encounter with the woman "100% consensual." Fairfax would become governor if embattled Gov. Ralph Northam resigns following the resurfacing of a racist photo in Northam's medical school yearbook, where he is allegedly either dressed in blackface or a Ku Klux Klan hood. The Washington Post was initially looking into the allegations in 2017, but they could not find witnesses to corroborate either side of the story, so the paper did not run the story. Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax is denying allegations of sexual assault. "Lt. Governor Fairfax has an outstanding and well-earned reputation for treating people with dignity and respect," his communications director said a statement published to Twitter early Monday morning. "He has never assaulted anyone — ever — in any way, shape or form." Fairfax later spoke to reporters calling the accusations a "totally fabricated story out of the blue" and called the encounter with the woman "100% consensual." "We reiterate that this allegation is false," a spokeswoman said in a statement to INSIDER. "At no time has the Lt. Governor assaulted anyone at any time or at any place. "As a father, husband, and public servant, he knows that sexual assault is a very serious matter and survivors of assault deserve to be heard," the statement continued. Fairfax would become governor if embattled Gov. Ralph Northam resigns following the resurfacing of a racist photo in Northam's medical school yearbook, where he is allegedly either dressed in blackface or a Ku Klux Klan-style costume. Northam initially said in a statement on Friday that he was in the photo, though he could not recall which one he was. However, at a press conference on Saturday he claimed he was not in the photo, though he did acknowledge that he wore blackface while dressed up as Michael Jackson for a dance contest in 1984. Fairfax, 39, would become the youngest governor and the only current African-American governor. The allegations against Fairfax were published by the conservative website Big League Politics — the same site that first published the photo from Northam's medical school yearbook. The Washington Post was initially looking into the allegations in 2017, but the newspaper could not find sources to corroborate either side of the story, so the paper did not run the piece. The woman's account, which Fairfax denies, resurfaced in a private Facebook post, and one of her friends gave it to Big League Politics. The woman, who Big League Politics identifies but The Post and CNN do not, does not directly name Fairfax in her Facebook post. An email to the woman was not answered, as she is on sabbatical, and the woman via her lawyer had not yet responded to The Post's request for comment. She claims that the encounter happened in a hotel room in Boston during the 2004 Democratic convention, The Post reported. However, The Post could not verify either account, and in phone calls with Fairfax associates from college, law school, and elsewhere found no other accounts, so the paper did not run the piece. Fairfax's team seized on the fact that The Post could not corroborate the woman's allegation, initially saying that the paper found "significant red flags and inconsistencies within the allegations." The Post responded calling that categorization inaccurate. "Lt. Gov. Fairfax is a public official who may well rise to the position of governor," Washington Post Executive Editor Marty Baron said in a statement published by The Post. "He began the morning by issuing a statement regarding allegations against him, making specific representations about Post reporting that had not resulted in publication. We then had an obligation to clarify the nature of both the allegations and our reporting." During his press conference on Monday Fairfax said, "I have lived my life in a way that I am proud of," continuing that he has "never had anything like this said about me."