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Virginia Democrat Backs Off Effort to Open Impeachment Inquiry Against Fairfax Virginia Democrat Backs Off Effort to Open Impeachment Inquiry Against Fairfax
(about 7 hours later)
RICHMOND, Va. — A Virginia state legislator who intended to begin impeachment proceedings against Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax backed off on Monday after African-American lawmakers demanded there not be a rush to oust Mr. Fairfax, who is black, over accusations of sexual assault while the state’s white governor and attorney general are refusing to resign after they admitted wearing blackface in their youth. RICHMOND, Va. — The crisis gripping Virginia’s government spilled into the legislative branch Monday when a rift emerged between African-American lawmakers and a white state legislator attempting to begin impeachment proceedings against Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, who is facing demands he resign over two accusations of sexual assault.
The failed attempt by Delegate Patrick A. Hope, the white lawmaker who was to file the impeachment legislation, demonstrated that as the scandal engulfing Virginia’s government enters its second week, it is only growing more painful for Democrats, who are having to confront three statewide officials of their own party. Shortly after a second woman emerged Friday night to claim she had been raped by Mr. Fairfax, who is the highest ranking black official in the state government, Delegate Patrick A. Hope, a northern Virginia Democrat, said that he would file legislation to impeach the lieutenant governor if he did not resign by Monday. And on Sunday, with Mr. Fairfax refusing to quit, Mr. Hope circulated a resolution that would have directed a House committee to determine whether allegations of sexual assault against Mr. Fairfax by two women, Meredith Watson and Vanessa C. Tyson, were grounds for impeachment.
Mr. Hope circulated a resolution on Sunday that would have directed a House committee to determine whether allegations of sexual assault against Mr. Fairfax by two women, Meredith Watson and Vanessa C. Tyson, “constitute conduct sufficient to provide grounds for impeachment.” But on Monday, Mr. Hope backed off after black lawmakers demanded on a conference call of House Democrats that there not be a rush to oust Mr. Fairfax at a moment when the state’s white governor and attorney general are refusing to resign after they admitted wearing blackface in their youth.
He had said on Friday evening that he would introduce articles of impeachment on Monday if Mr. Fairfax, a fellow Democrat who denies the allegations, had not resigned by then. “Sometimes we have disagreements in the family, but we always are close-knit and we always come together,” Mr. Hope said, acknowledging he was pressured to abort his effort to impeach Mr. Fairfax. “Everyone wants the same outcome here.”
But Mr. Hope backed down after a Sunday night conference call among House Democrats turned heated, according to two Democrats directly familiar with the call who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss party matters. Mr. Hope said on Twitter on Monday that discussions with his colleagues had “led to additional conversations that need to take place before anything is filed.” As the scandal engulfing Virginia’s three state elected officials entered its second week, it was clear that Mr. Fairfax, who denies both allegations, is in the gravest jeopardy. Four of his employees — two in his state office and two of his political aides — have quit, and he rushed out of the Capitol here with state police Monday at the end of the State Senate’s session to avoid answering questions about the resignations.
[Here’s a look at what would happen next if Mr. Fairfax was forced out.] In an interview, Mr. Hope called for “a public hearing and a Virginia investigation” into Mr. Fairfax.
Members of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus, who have been agonizing over what to do regarding all three of the state’s executives for over a week now, believe the claims against Mr. Fairfax should be litigated in a legal setting, not a political venue. But his colleagues in the legislative black caucus, who have been agonizing over what to do about all three of the state’s executives since racist images from Gov. Ralph Northam’s medical school yearbook surfaced on Feb. 1, believe the claims against Mr. Fairfax should be litigated in a legal setting.
And they are furious at Mr. Hope over what they see as his haste and his making an already excruciating dilemma even more painful by trying to force them to take a public position on impeachment this week, according to a Virginia Democrat directly familiar with the call. Delegate Lamont Bagby, the chairman of the black caucus, said Monday that it was important for Democrats to find “the proper avenue” to investigate the claims against Mr. Fairfax, and he made clear he did not think that was in the state Legislature.
Delegate Lamont Bagby, the chairman of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus, said in an interview Monday that it was important for Democrats to find “the proper avenue” to investigate the claims against Mr. Fairfax. “I think that’s what the accusers want, and the accused wants,” said Mr. Bagby, adding, “I think that’s what everyone needs, that’s what the commonwealth deserves and that’s what the accusers deserve.”
“I think that’s what the accusers want, and the accused wants,” said Mr. Bagby, adding: “I think that’s what everyone needs, that’s what the commonwealth deserves and that’s what the accusers deserve.” And Delegate Charniele L. Herring, who is the chairwoman of the House Democratic Caucus and a former state party chairwoman, said she did not want any legislative inquiry to have an effect on a potential criminal investigation.
For his part, Mr. Hope was not abandoning his plans to pursue impeachment entirely, but said in a statement that he “was open to other avenues” to investigating the allegations. “I’m concerned about how it could impact a prosecution,” Ms. Herring said.
Yet the lawyer for Ms. Watson, who claims Mr. Fairfax raped her in 2000 while they were students at Duke University, indicated otherwise and ratcheted up the pressure on the state’s lawmakers to open an inquiry into the lieutenant governor.
“Meredith Watson asks the Virginia Legislature to hold hearings, regardless of what they are called, and to reject a secret and delayed proceeding,” said Nancy Erika Smith, the lawyer. “Both victims of his sexual assault have agreed to testify and they will produce witnesses and documents to show their honesty and good character. Please do not allow these women to be further victimized by delay and defamation.”
The tensions among Democrats here reached a simmer late Sunday night when the party’s House caucus dialed into a conference call.
One after another, a handful of black lawmakers spoke up to express their anger at Mr. Hope over what they see as his haste and making an already excruciating dilemma even more painful by trying to force them to take a public position on impeachment this week, according to three Virginia Democrats directly familiar with the call who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss party matters.
“Due process is important, which is exactly why I have called for resignation so Justin can take the time to do that versus the impeachment,” Delegate Lashrecse Aird, who was one of the lawmakers urging Mr. Hope to slow his push to impeachment, said in an interview Monday.
The black caucus has collectively called on Mr. Fairfax to resign. But there were unmistakable differences across racial lines in how the legislators viewed the matter.
“I believe both of these women,” Mr. Hope said of Mr. Fairfax’s accusers.
But some of the African-American lawmakers would not go that far: “I’m sensitive to anyone who has publicly had the bravery to come forward with these type of allegations,” Ms. Aird said.
Making an already delicate moment that much more awkward, a major tax measure working its way through the Legislature would not make a credit refundable for low-income Virginians. This prompted black caucus members to take to the floor Monday to denounce what one called “a bad deal” for black families in Virginia.
The state Capitol was still filled with local and out-of-town cameras and the building was a hive of activity as lawmakers sought to continue with the business of their legislative session.
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Around 11:30 a.m., Mr. Fairfax entered the legislative building and, making his way up the stairs to the Senate chambers through a raucous scrum of TV cameras, he simply repeated that he had “called for an independent investigation,” adding: “I am still very confident in the truth.” And then he went back to work. When Mr. Fairfax arrived in the morning he simply repeated that he had “called for an independent investigation,” adding that he was “still very confident in the truth.”
Mr. Fairfax, who last week dismissed the first allegation against him as a “smear,” said in an interview published Monday that he wanted Americans to know him as someone who had “stood up for women and survivors to be heard.” But the lieutenant governor, who last week dismissed the first allegation against him as a “smear,” said in an interview published Monday that he wanted Americans to know him as someone who had “stood up for women and survivors to be heard.”
“They should be heard in every case,” he told The Root, a news website aimed at black readers, adding that that should not come at the expense of due process for the accused. “They should be heard in every case,” he told The Root, a news website aimed at black readers, adding that it should not come at the expense of due process for the accused.
“I believe that what is happening now should be a model going forward in how we deal with survivors and their stories,” he said.“I believe that what is happening now should be a model going forward in how we deal with survivors and their stories,” he said.