In the dizzying hours since the yearbook photo surfaced on Friday, Mr. Fairfax, who would be the state’s second black governor, has treaded cautiously in the public eye. Mr. Northam, who at first apologized for the yearbook photo, changed course on Saturday in a strange, lengthy news conference, insisting that he was not either of the people depicted. But even as Mr. Northam resisted calls to resign, he acknowledged having once applied shoe polish to his face to imitate Michael Jackson in a dance contest. After the governor spoke, Mr. Fairfax issued a statement saying that Mr. Northam’s actions “at the very least” indicated “a comfort with Virginia’s darker history of white supremacy, racial stereotyping and intimidation.” “At this critical and defining moment in the history of Virginia and this nation, we need leaders with the ability to unite and help us rise to the better angels of our nature,” Mr. Fairfax said in the statement, which did not call for Mr. Northam’s resignation. A spokeswoman for the lieutenant governor did not respond to a request to interview him. Mr. Fairfax, a married father of two, grew up in Washington, D.C., in a neighborhood that he described on his campaign website as having shifted “from a close-knit middle-class community to one ravaged by a growing drug epidemic, increasing violence, and dwindling economic opportunities.” He attended Duke University on a scholarship, graduated with a degree in public policy and got a low-level job on Al Gore’s 2000 presidential campaign, compiling briefing books for Mr. Gore’s wife, Tipper. “There was just sort of a dynamism and kind of an ebullience to him,” said Bruce Jentleson, a Duke professor who worked in the State Department during Bill Clinton’s presidency and who helped Mr. Fairfax get the job on the Gore campaign. From there, Mr. Fairfax’s career moved fast. He graduated in 2005 from Columbia Law School, where he worked on the Law Review, and served as an intern and clerk for a federal judge in Virginia, Gerald Bruce Lee.<doc-sep>Justin Fairfax Photo : Getty Images Justin Fairfax, Virginia’s embattled Lieutenant Governor—though, let’s be real, ‘embattled’ applies to damn near half the state’s politicians at the moment—had some choice parting words for the state Senate as the 2019 legislative session drew to a close. Advertisement In a six minute speech on Sunday, Fairfax, who has been accused by two women of sexual assault, compared himself to victims of “terror lynchings” in the state, placing himself in some dubious company, to say the least. From The Washington Post: “I’ve heard much about anti-lynching on the floor of this very Senate, where people were not given any due process whatsoever, and we rue that,” Fairfax said, referring to a measure approved this month by the General Assembly that expressed “profound regret” for the record of lynchings in the state. “And we talk about hundreds, at least 100 terror lynchings that have happened in the Commonwealth of Virginia under those very same auspices. And yet we stand here in a rush to judgment with nothing but accusations and no facts and we decide that we are willing to do the same thing.” As the Post article notes, Fairfax’s comments effectively “[pitted] racial progress against the call of the #MeToo movement to ‘believe women,’” a construction all the more remarkable given that both Fairfax’s accusers are black women. The comments place Fairfax in the company of disgraced comedian Bill Cosby, convicted of sexual assault last year, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, accused of sexual harassment by a former employee, Anita Hill, and R. Kelly, recently arrested on 10 counts of aggravated sexual abuse. Each has attempted to refute allegations of sexual misconduct and abuse by invoking the history of lynching in the U.S., particularly as it regarded black men, who were frequently falsely accused of sexual assaults on white women. Lauren Burke, a spokeswoman for Fairfax, denied the lieutenant governor’s comments were “all that close” to Justice Thomas’ infamous “high-tech lynching” remarks during the Hill case. Advertisement Burke told the Post Fairfax’s remarks were meant to draw attention to the importance of due process. “If we go backwards and we rush to judgment, and we allow for political lynchings without any due process, any facts, any evidence being heard, then I think we do a disservice to this very body in which we all serve,” Fairfax said on the floor of the Virginia Senate. Advertisement Fairfax, the second-highest ranking Democrat in the state, has been facing calls to resign in light of the accusations, but so far has been defiant. While his remarks drew condemnation from Republicans, as several outlets have noted, black and Democratic lawmakers have publicly supported Fairfax. Advertisement “He said what he needed to say,” said Sen. Mamie Locke (D.-Hampton), according to the Associated Press. Del. Lamont Bagby, chairman of the state’s Legislative Black Caucus, also backed Fairfax up, telling the AP he’s heard constituents express concerns that Fairfax is being treated unfairly because he’s black. Fairfax was accused by two women earlier this month of sexual assault and rape. Vanessa Tyson, an associate professor of politics at Scripps College, was the first woman to come forward, accusing Fairfax of forcing her to perform oral sex while in his hotel room during the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston. Later that same week, Meredith Watson, who attended Duke University with Fairfax, said he raped her in 2000. She said she’s willing to testify against Fairfax, writing in an op-ed for the Post the Virginia Assembly had yet to organize “the thorough public hearing” she and Tyson have sought. Advertisement Fairfax denies the allegations, maintaining that his encounters with Watson and Tyson were consensual.<doc-sep>Virginia's lieutenant governor called on the FBI to investigate two claims by women who say he sexually assaulted them, defying pressure to resign from most leading state and national Democrats. In a statement issued Saturday night Justin Fairfax restated that he would not resign and again denied both allegations. On Friday, a woman named Meredith Watson claimed Fairfax had raped her. Days earlier another woman, Vanessa Tyson, said Fairfax had sexually assaulted her. Fairfax said the claims -- separate incidents in the early 2000s -- should be investigated. "I am asking that no one rush to judgment and I am asking for there to be space in this moment for due process," Fairfax said in the statement. "Consequently, I call on all appropriate and impartial investigatory authorities, including the FBI, to investigate fully and thoroughly the allegations against me by Ms. Watson and Dr. Tyson. "I say again without reservation: I did not sexually assault or rape Meredith Watson, Vanessa Tyson or anyone else," Fairfax said. "The one thing I want to make abundantly clear is that in both situations I knew at the time, and I know today, that the interactions were consensual. I heard from Dr. Tyson after the 2004 Convention, and she never said or otherwise indicated that our interaction was not consensual or caused her any discomfort." "Regarding Ms. Watson, I knew Ms. Watson in college both before and after the encounter, and she never said to me that our interaction was not consensual or caused her any discomfort." By Saturday evening, Watson's attorney, Nancy Erika Smith, issued a new statement saying there was "nothing consensual" about her client's interactions with Fairfax. Watson said Fairfax raped her while the two were students at Duke University, Smith said, adding that Watson would be willing to testify at any future impeachment hearing. “My client may contact North Carolina authorities about a possible criminal prosecution,” Smith added. Smith volunteered to produce two witnesses whom she said Watson “told of the assault the day after Fairfax raped her” as well as "documentary evidence of Ms. Watson revealing to others the fact that Fairfax raped her.” Fairfax, 39, has experienced a dizzying reversal of fortune in his career in the last week -- from rising star and potential governor-in-waiting to fighting for his political survival after the accusations of rape and of sexual assault. Last weekend, Fairfax seemed poised to be the next governor of Virginia after photos of Gov. Ralph Northam's medical school yearbook page emerged showing two men in a racist photo: one in blackface, one in a Ku Klux Klan robe. After initially apologizing for appearing in the photo, Northam then said it was not him in the yearbook photo but admitted he had worn blackface in the past. With Fairfax poised to lead Virginia, Vanessa Tyson, a political science professor came forward to claim that Fairfax had forced her to perform oral sex in his hotel room at the Democratic National Convention in Boston in 2004. Fairfax denied the allegation. U.S. Rep. Robert C. “Bobby” Scott, a revered elder statesman in Virginia Democratic politics, weighed in to say Fairfax should resign if guilty. “The recent allegations against Lieutenant Governor Fairfax are disturbing and extremely serious. Both allegations must be investigated immediately. If either is found to be true – and there appears to be significant corroborating evidence – then the Lieutenant Governor should resign immediately,” Scott said in a statement. Aides to Congressman Scott confirmed to ABC News that he knew of Tyson's allegations against Fairfax a year ago. The staffers 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. Tyson had already given her account to The Post. Early Saturday, the Virginia Democratic party issued a statement calling for Fairfax to resign, echoing the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus' call on Friday to step down. "Given the credible nature of the sexual assault claims against Lieutenant Governor Fairfax, it has become clear he can no longer fulfill the duties and responsibilities of his post," the state party said in a statement. "It is in the best interest of the Commonwealth that he goes through this process as a private citizen.” On Friday, Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, a Democrat, had also urged Fairfax to step down. “The allegations against him detail atrocious crimes, and he can no longer effectively serve the Commonwealth. We cannot ever ignore or tolerate sexual assault,” Kaine said in a statement. By Saturday, most of the presumptive Democratic nominees for president in 2020 had issued strongly-worded statements calling for Fairfax to resign, including Kirsten Gillibrand, Elizabeth Warren, Amy Klobuchar, Kamala Harris, Bernie Sanders, and Cory Booker. Former Vice President Joe Biden, who last week called for Northam's resignation and for Fairfax to lead Virginia, has not weighed in publicly. Virginia House Delegate Patrick Hope said he will introduce articles of impeachment on Monday if Fairfax does not resign over the weekend. “I believe these women,” Hope said. “He needs to resign immediately.” ABC News' Desiree Adib, Justin Weaver and Katherine Faulders contributed to this report.<doc-sep>
Justin Fairfax was Virginia's way out of controversy. Now he's part of it. As calls grew louder for Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam to resign over racist photos on his medical school yearbook page, waiting in the wings to succeed him if need be was Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, a descendant of slaves who has protested the state's honoring of Confederate leaders. But in the coming days, Fairfax would be buffeted by calls for his resignation as well. Two women have come forward alleging that he sexually assaulted them. Vanessa Tyson, an associate professor of politics at Scripps College in California, claimed that the then 25-year-old Fairfax sexually assaulted her in a hotel room during the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston. Fairfax vehemently denied the claim. Through a statement released by her attorney days later, a second woman, Meredith Watson, claimed that Fairfax raped her while the two were students at Duke University in 2000. Shortly afterward, Fairfax issued a statement denying what he called the “latest unsubstantiated allegation." "It is demonstrably false," he said in the statement. "I have never forced myself on anyone ever.” By the following weekend, most of the presumptive Democratic nominees for president in 2020 had issued strongly-worded statements calling for Fairfax to resign, including Kirsten Gillibrand, Elizabeth Warren, Amy Klobuchar, Kamala Harris, Bernie Sanders, and Cory Booker. Former Vice President Joe Biden, who had earlier called for Northam's resignation and for Fairfax to lead Virginia, has not weighed in publicly. Virginia House Delegate Patrick Hope made efforts to introduce articles of impeachment if Fairfax did not resign over the weekend after the claims were made – though he later backed down after conversations with others in the House, he said. Fairfax continues to defy the pressure to resign from most leading state and national Democrats, instead calling on the FBI to investigate the claims and vindicate him. Fairfax, 39, an Ivy League-educated lawyer and former federal prosecutor, was elected lieutenant governor in 2017, becoming the first African-American in nearly 30 years to win a statewide office. The controversy in the Commonwealth began in early February when a photo of a man wearing blackface and posing next to someone in a Ku Klux Klan garb surfaced in a 1984 yearbook from Eastern Virginia Medical School, under a page emblazoned with the name "Ralph Shearer Northam" at the top and including other pictures of the future governor. By Friday evening, Northam apologized and confirmed he was one of the two men in the racist photo on his page. But on Saturday, the governor retracted his statement, saying he was actually neither man in the photo. Northam also compounded his problems by revealing that in the 1980s he participated in a dance contest dressed as Michael Jackson and even wore black shoe polish on his face and learned to "moonwalk" like the late King of Pop. Northam, 59, a physician, has so far rejected calls from Democratic leaders, including former Vice President Joe Biden, to resign. State Attorney General Mark Herring also dropped another political bombshell in the midst of chaos in the state, revealing in a statement that in 1980 he dressed up as rapper Kurtis Blow and wore "brown makeup," to a college party. In a statement about the controversy, Fairfax said he was "shocked and saddened by the images" on Northam's yearbook page. "They are an example of a painful scourge that continues to haunt us today and holds us back from the progress we need to make," Fairfax said in his statement. "As we commemorate 400 years since the first enslaved Africans were brought to Virginia, it is painful to experience such a searing reminder of the modern legacy of our nation's original sin," Fairfax said. "And, as someone whose great-great-great grandfather was enslaved in Virginia, this episode strikes particularly close to home." Days later, the allegations of assault against Fairfax surfaced. Fairfax, a married father of two young children, grew up in Washington, D.C., and attended Duke University on a scholarship. After graduating in 2000 with a degree in public policy, according to his bio on the lieutenant governor's website, he began working in politics. Fairfax worked on Al Gore's presidential campaign before enrolling at Columbia University School of Law. Upon receiving his law degree, Fairfax served as a law clerk to Judge Gerald Bruce Lee of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.