In Va., top 3 Dems tainted
Lieutenant governor’s accuser goes public
RICHMOND, Va. — The political crisis in Virginia spun out of control Wednesday when the state’s attorney general confessed to putting on blackface in the 1980s and a woman went public with detailed allegations of sexual assault against the lieutenant governor.
With Gov. Ralph Northam’s career already hanging by a thread over a racist photo in his 1984 medical school yearbook, the day’s developments threatened to take down all three of Virginia’s top elected officials, all of them Democrats.
The twin blows began with Attorney General Mark Herring issuing a statement admitting he wore brown makeup and a wig in 1980 to look like a rapper during a party when he was a 19-year-old student at the University of Virginia.
Mr. Herring — who had previously called on Mr. Northam to resign and was planning to run for governor himself in 2021 — apologized for his “callous” behavior and said the days ahead “will make it clear whether I can or should continue to serve.”
The 57-year-old Mr. Herring came clean after rumors about the existence of a blackface photo of him began circulating at the Capitol.
Then, within hours, Vanessa Tyson, the California woman whose sexual assault allegations against Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax surfaced earlier this week, put out a detailed statement saying Mr. Fairfax forced her to perform oral sex on
him in a hotel room in 2004 during the Democratic National Convention in Boston.
The Associated Press typically does not identify those who say they were sexually assaulted, but Ms. Tyson issued the statement in her name.
Ms. Tyson, a 42-year-old political scientist who is on a fellowship at Stanford University and specializes in the political discourse of sexual assault, said, “I have no political motive. I am a proud Democrat.”
“Mr. Fairfax has tried to brand me as a liar to a national audience, in service to his political ambitions, and has threatened litigation,” she said. “Given his false assertions, I’m compelled to make clear what happened.”
Mr. Fairfax — who is in line to become governor if Mr. Northam resigns — has repeatedly denied her allegations, saying that the encounter was consensual.
“At no time did she express to me any discomfort or concern about our interactions, neither during that encounter, nor during the months following it, when she stayed in touch with me, nor the past 15 years,” he said in a statement.
Ms. Tyson said she suffered “deep humiliation and shame” and stayed quiet about the allegations as she pursued her career, but by late 2017, as the #MeToo movement took shape and after she saw a news article about Mr. Fairfax’s campaign, she took her story to The Washington Post, which decided months later not to publish a story.
The string of scandals could have a domino effect on Virginia state government: If Mr. Northam and Mr. Fairfax fall, Mr. Herring would be next in line to become governor. After Mr. Herring comes House Speaker Kirk Cox, a conservative Republican.
Virginia lawmakers were dumbstruck over the day’s developments, with Democratic Sen. Barbara Favola saying, “I have to take a breath and think about this. This is moving way too quickly.” GOP House Majority Leader Todd Gilbert said it would be “reckless” to comment. “There’s just too much flying around,” he said.
Mr. Herring came down hard on Mr. Northam when the yearbook photo surfaced, condemning it as “indefensible,” ‘’profoundly offensive” and “shocking and deeply disappointing.” He said it was no longer possible for Mr. Northam to lead the state.
But then Mr. Herring confessed Wednesday that he and two friends dressed up to look like rappers they listened to, including Kurtis Blow, admitting: “It sounds ridiculous even now writing it.” He said he was “deeply, deeply sorry.”
“That conduct clearly shows that, as a young man, I had a callous and inexcusable lack of awareness and insensitivity to the pain my behavior could inflict on others,” he said. “This conduct is in no way reflective of the man I have become in the nearly 40 years since.”