Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax (D) filed a $400 million defamation suit against CBS News on Thursday, claiming broadcast interviews with two women accusing him of sexual assault caused him “emotional distress,” WTKR reports.
Fairfax Calls for Criminal Investigation Into Allegations
“A lawyer for Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax (D) is calling on prosecutors in Massachusetts and North Carolina to open criminal investigations into sexual assault allegations made against Fairfax earlier this year,” CBS News reports.
Fairfax Compares Himself to Lynching Victims
“Embattled Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax (D) compared himself to Jim Crow-era lynching victims in a surprise speech Sunday, as he resists widespread calls to resign prompted by allegations of sexual assault,” the AP reports.
Said Fairfax: “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. 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.”
“When he finished his five-minute impromptu speech, stunned senators sat in awkward silence.”
Fairfax Staffers Quit After Sexual Assault Allegations
Two of the three government staffers to Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax (D) and two employees of his political action committee resigned following news Friday of a second sexual assault allegation against him, the Richmond Times Dispatch reports.
Meanwhile, the job of lieutenant governor is part time. Fairfax is a lawyer at the firm Morrison & Foerster, which has placed him on paid leave.
Fairfax Accuser Details What She Says Happened
Vanessa Tyson, the professor who accused Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax (D) of sexually assaulting her in 2004, issued a detailed statement:
“With tremendous anguish, I am now sharing this information about my experience and setting the record straight. It has been extremely difficult to relive that traumatic experience from 2004. Mr. Fairfax has tried to brand me as a liar to a national audience, in service to his political ambitions, and has threatened litigation. Given his false assertions, I’m compelled to make clear what happened.”
