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.
Hope circulated a resolution Sunday that would have directed a House committee to determine whether allegations of sexual assault against Fairfax by two women, Meredith Watson and Vanessa C. Tyson, “constitute conduct sufficient to provide grounds for impeachment.”
He had said Friday evening that he would introduce articles of impeachment Monday if Fairfax, a fellow Democrat who denies the allegations, had not resigned by then.
But 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. 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.”
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 Fairfax should be litigated in a legal setting, not a political venue.
And they are furious at 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, 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 Fairfax.
“I think that’s what the accusers want, and the accused wants,” said Bagby, adding: “I think that’s what everyone needs, that’s what the commonwealth deserves and that’s what the accusers deserve.”
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.
Around 11:30 a.m., 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.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.