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."<doc-sep>Virginia Democratic Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax on Monday, when asked by a reporter, did not rule out the possibility that embattled Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam could be secretly pushing a newly revealed sexual assault allegation against Fairfax to derail his possible ascension to the governorship. And in a separate, fiery statement late Sunday, Fairfax accused The Washington Post of "smearing an elected official," reiterated that the sexual assault allegation against him is "false," and seemingly threatened to sue the paper for rebuking his earlier characterization of the evidence surrounding the episode. "This is what we meant when we said that people who continue to spread these false allegations will be sued," Fairfax said. Fairfax's extraordinary comments came as Northam faces a torrent of pressure from both Democrats and Republicans to resign, after a now-infamous yearbook photo surfaced showing someone in blackface and someone in a KKK costume on Northam's 1984 medical school yearbook page. In a post published on the right-wing website Big League Politics on Sunday night, a woman accused a politician fitting Fairfax's description of sexually assaulting her in a hotel room during the Democratic National Convention in Boston in 2004. In a statement Monday, Fairfax denied assaulting anyone, but acknowledged having a consensual encounter with the woman. The Collective Political Action Committee (PAC), which says on its website that it "working to fix the challenge of African American underrepresentation in elected seats of power throughout our nation," issued a statement on Monday charging it had "learned through various sources that Governor Northam's team and advisors 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." Asked about the statement by the political action committee, which has supported Fairfax in the past, Fairfax did not dispute that Northam's team could be responsible. "Collective PAC has made its statement -- you know, I don't know precisely where this is coming from, you know, we've heard different things," Fairfax said. "But here's the thing: Does anybody think it's any coincidence that on the eve of my potentially being elevated, that that's when this uncorroborated smear comes out - does anybody believe that's a coincidence? I don't think anybody believes that's a coincidence." He continued: "This is not the first time this was brought up. It was a year ago this was brought up. And The Post investigated three months, dropped the story, did not do it, and they did not do it because it was uncorroborated, and it was uncorroborated because it was not true." But on Monday, The Washington Post pushed back against Fairfax’s claim that the newspaper found serious problems with the original sexual misconduct accusation when it initially opted not to publish the account. The Post said Monday that it was approached by the woman in 2017 and carefully investigated. “The Post did not find ‘significant red flags and inconsistencies within the allegations,’ as the Fairfax statement incorrectly said,” the Washington Post said in a story published Monday, sharply disputing a separate statement by the lieutenant governor. Fairfax had said that the accuser, a woman, “first approached the Washington Post” over a year ago, prior to Fairfax’s inauguration in 2018. WASHINGTON POST PUSHES BACK ON FAIRFAX DENIAL, AFTER HE SAYS PAPER DROPPED SEX ASSAULT STORY “The Post carefully investigated the claim for several months,” Fairfax’s office said in the statement. “After being presented with facts consistent with the Lt. Governor’s denial of the allegation, the absence of any evidence corroborating the allegation, and significant red flags and inconsistencies within the allegation, the Post made the considered decision not to publish the story.” In its Monday story, the Washington Post acknowledged investigating the claims and deciding not to publish. But it said the Fairfax statement “incorrectly” claimed the paper found “significant red flags and inconsistencies within the allegations.” “Fairfax and the woman told different versions of what happened in the hotel room with no one else present,” the paper said. “The Washington Post could not find anyone who could corroborate either version.” The Washington Post didn’t name the accuser. But the paper said Fairfax and the woman first met in Boston at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. “The woman described a sexual encounter that began with consensual kissing and ended with a forced act that left her crying and shaken,” The Washington Post reported. “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.” The statement from Fairfax said that before Big League Politics posted about it, “not one other reputable media outlet has seen fit to air this false claim. Only now, at a time of intense media attention surrounding Virginia politics, has this false claim been raised again.” “The Lt. Governor will take appropriate legal action against those attempting to spread this defamatory and false allegation,” the statement read. Speaking to reporters in Richmond Monday, Fairfax discussed his relationship with the accuser, saying he was 25 and unmarried when they met at the convention. He denied any wrongdoing, calling it a “consensual encounter.” Fairfax called it a “totally fabricated story” and questioned the timing. “Such a shame this is weaponized and used as a smear because this is a very real issue,” Fairfax said. CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The Big League Politics post that prompted Fairfax's denial published a purported Facebook post from the woman that read, “Imagine you were sexually assaulted during the DNC Convention in Boston in 2004 by a campaign staffer. You spend the next 13 years trying to forget it ever happened. Until one day you find out he’s the Democratic candidate for statewide office in a state some 3000 miles away, and he wins that election in November 2017. Then, by strange, horrible luck, it seems increasingly likely that he’ll get a VERY BIG promotion.”<doc-sep>Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax issued a forceful pre-dawn denial on Monday to an allegation of sexual assault that surfaced after 15 years, in the latest political bombshell to rock Richmond where Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam is battling resignation calls over a racist photo from his medical school yearbook. Fairfax, who would be next in line for governor should Northam bow to pressure and resign, called the allegation “defamatory” and “false.” NORTHAM HAS UNSCHEDULED STAFF MEETING AMID CALLS FOR RESIGNATION: REPORT “Lt. Governor Fairfax has an outstanding and well-earned reputation for treating people with dignity and respect,” the statement from his office read. “He has never assaulted anyone—ever—in any way, shape, or form.” The allegation was first posted by Big League Politics, the same political blog that published the now-infamous yearbook photo showing someone in blackface and someone in a KKK costume, from Northam's 1984 yearbook page. Despite initially apologizing for appearing in the photo, he now denies either of the individuals is him. The blog, in the post that prompted Fairfax's denial, claimed that a fellow at Stanford University said a man sexually assaulted her at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston, Mass. “Imagine you were sexually assaulted during the DNC Convention in Boston in 2004 by a campaign staffer. You spend the next 13 years trying to forget it ever happened. Until one day you find out he’s the Democratic candidate for statewide office in a state some 3000 miles away, and he wins that election in November 2017,” a post from the reported accuser said, according to the blog. “Then, by strange, horrible luck, it seems increasingly likely that he’ll get a VERY BIG promotion.” She did not name Fairfax, but the report implied she was referring to the lieutenant governor, who then responded to it. VIRGINIA GOV. NORTHAM SAYS HE WILL NOT RESIGN DESPITE LOSING SUPPORT FROM BOTH DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS But in his denial, Fairfax explained that the accuser “first approached the Washington Post” over a year ago, prior to his inauguration in 2018. “The Post carefully investigated the claim for several months,” Fairfax’s office said in a statement. “After being presented with facts consistent with the Lt. Governor’s denial of the allegation, the absence of any evidence corroborating the allegation, and significant red flags and inconsistencies within the allegation, the Post made the considered decision not to publish the story.” Fairfax’s office added: “Tellingly, not one other reputable media outlet has seen fit to air this false claim. Only now, at a time of intense media attention surrounding Virginia politics, has this false claim been raised again.” “The Lt. Governor will take appropriate legal action against those attempting to spread this defamatory and false allegation,” the statement read. The denial comes amid a political firestorm in Virginia, as a photo of the governor emerged showing a man in blackface and another in Ku Klux Klan garb in his 1984 medical school yearbook. Northam, on Saturday, denied being in the photo, despite admitting to being in the picture a day earlier, and instead acknowledged darkening his face for another occasion that same year, when he dressed as singer Michel Jackson as part of a talent contest. He explained that he initially admitted to being in the photo, but “in the hours since I made my statement, I reflected with family and classmates from that time and it affirmed my conclusion that I am not the person in that photograph.” Northam called the image “offensive” and “racist,” but said he had nothing to do with the preparation of the yearbook and did not purchase it. Northam asserted repeatedly over the weekend that he would not resign from his post, despite a wave of criticism from 2020 Democratic presidential hopefuls, Democratic lawmakers and Republicans demanding he leave office. If Northam did agree to resign from his post, Fairfax would assume the governorship. Over the weekend, Fairfax condemned the racist photo and said he "cannot condone the actions from his past." TRUMP SLAMS RALPH NORTHAM YEARBOOK CONTROVERSY AS BEING 'UNFORGIVEABLE' The photo resurfaced after Northam sparked outrage last week with comments about a controversial abortion bill that one sponsor had said could allow women to terminate a pregnancy up until the moment before birth. Northam, a former pediatric neurologist, was asked about those comments and said that third-trimester abortions are done with “the consent of obviously the mother, with consent of the physician, multiple physicians by the way, and it’s done in cases where there may be severe deformities or there may be a fetus that is not viable.” “So in this particular example, if a mother is in labor, I can tell you exactly what would happen, the infant would be delivered. The infant would be kept comfortable. The infant would be resuscitated if that’s what the mother and family desired, and then a discussion would ensue between the physicians and the mother,” Northam said last week. Conservative commentators and Republican lawmakers took the remarks to mean that Northam was discussing the possibility of letting a newborn die—or even "infanticide." Northam defended his comments, saying they were limited to actions physicians may take in the case of “tragic or difficult circumstances” such as a non-viable pregnancy or “severe fetal abnormalities.” He later tweeted that he had “devoted his life to caring for children and any insinuation otherwise is shameful and disgusting.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP On Sunday night, Northam had an unscheduled meeting with key staff members, and The Washington Post reported that resignation is an active consideration. The paper reported that there is another meeting set for Monday. Northam reportedly spent much of Sunday inside his home meeting with close advisers who—to at least some degree—have differing opinions on how to proceed. Some want the governor to fight through and work to rebuild his image. Pam Northam, the state’s first lady, wants her husband to continue to fight, the paper reported, citing two sources. Fox News' Adam Shaw, Eddie DeMarche and The Associated Press contributed to this report.<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>
Graphic new details are emerging about a newly revealed allegation of sexual assault against Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, as The Washington Post pushes back against Fairfax’s claim that the newspaper found serious problems with the original accusation when it initially opted not to publish the account. “The Post did not find ‘significant red flags and inconsistencies within the allegations,’ as the Fairfax statement incorrectly said,” the Washington Post said in a story published Monday, sharply disputing the lieutenant governor's statement. VIRGINIA LT. GOV. JUSTIN FAIRFAX DENIES SEXUAL ASSAULT CLAIM, AMID POLITICAL STORM The allegation against Fairfax, a Democrat, first surfaced on the website Big League Politics, the same right-wing political blog that published the now-infamous yearbook photo showing someone in blackface and someone in a KKK costume on Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam's 1984 yearbook page. Fairfax has vehemently denied the accusation. In a pre-dawn denial on Monday, Fairfax tweeted a statement saying he “has never assaulted anyone—ever—in any way, shape, or form.” Fairfax said that the accuser, a woman, “first approached the Washington Post” over a year ago, prior to Fairfax’s inauguration in 2018. “The Post carefully investigated the claim for several months,” Fairfax’s office said in the statement. “After being presented with facts consistent with the Lt. Governor’s denial of the allegation, the absence of any evidence corroborating the allegation, and significant red flags and inconsistencies within the allegation, the Post made the considered decision not to publish the story.” In its Monday story, the Washington Post acknowledged investigating the claims and deciding not to publish. But it said the Fairfax statement “incorrectly” claimed the paper found “significant red flags and inconsistencies within the allegations.” “Fairfax and the woman told different versions of what happened in the hotel room with no one else present,” the paper said. “The Washington Post could not find anyone who could corroborate either version.” RALPH NORTHAM APOLOGIZES FOR MEDICAL SCHOOL YEARBOOK PHOTO WITH BLACKFACE, KKK ROBE The Washington Post didn’t name the accuser. But the paper said Fairfax and the woman met first met in Boston at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. “The woman described a sexual encounter that began with consensual kissing and ended with a forced act that left her crying and shaken,” The Washington Post reported. “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.” The statement from Fairfax said that before Big League Politics posted about it, “not one other reputable media outlet has seen fit to air this false claim. Only now, at a time of intense media attention surrounding Virginia politics, has this false claim been raised again.” “The Lt. Governor will take appropriate legal action against those attempting to spread this defamatory and false allegation,” the statement read. Speaking to reporters in Richmond Monday, Fairfax discussed his relationship with the accuser, saying he was 25 and unmarried when they met at the convention. He denied any wrongdoing, calling it a “consensual encounter.” Fairfax called it a “totally fabricated story” and questioned the timing. “Such a shame this is weaponized and used as a smear because this is a very real issue,” Fairfax said. The Big League Politics post that prompted Fairfax's denial published a purported Facebook post from the woman that read, “Imagine you were sexually assaulted during the DNC Convention in Boston in 2004 by a campaign staffer. You spend the next 13 years trying to forget it ever happened. Until one day you find out he’s the Democratic candidate for statewide office in a state some 3000 miles away, and he wins that election in November 2017. Then, by strange, horrible luck, it seems increasingly likely that he’ll get a VERY BIG promotion.” She did not name Fairfax, but the report implied she was referring to the lieutenant governor. The denial comes amid a political firestorm in Virginia, as a photo of the governor emerged showing a man in blackface and another in Ku Klux Klan garb in his 1984 medical school yearbook. On Monday, the president of The College of William & Mary said Northam will no longer attend events on campus Friday because of the controversy.