Jonathan Martin and Campbell Robertson

Shortly after a second woman emerged Friday night to claim she had been raped by Fairfax, who is the highest ranking black official in the state government, Delegate Patrick 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 Fairfax refusing to quit, Hope circulated a resolution that would have directed a House committee to determine whether allegations of sexual assault against Fairfax by two women, Meredith Watson and Vanessa Tyson, were grounds for impeachment.

But on Monday, Hope backed off after black lawmakers demanded on a conference call of House Democrats that there not be a rush to oust Fairfax when the state’s white governor and attorney general are refusing to resign after they admitted wearing blackface in their youth.

“Sometimes we have disagreements in the family, but we always are close-knit and we always come together,” Hope said, acknowledging he was pressured to abort his effort to impeach Fairfax. “Everyone wants the same outcome here.”

As the scandal engulfing Virginia’s three state elected officials entered its second week, it was clear that 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 with state police Monday at the end of the state Senate’s session to avoid answering questions about the resignations.

In an interview, Hope called for “a public hearing and a Virginia investigation” into Fairfax.

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, believe the claims against Fairfax should be litigated in a legal setting.

This article originally appeared in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/11/us/impeaching-justin-fairfax.html" id="03bf4d77-5033-35c0-a093-fccae9326a24">The New York Times</a>.

Virginia Democrat Backs Off Effort to Open Impeachment Inquiry Against Fairfax

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.

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.

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 a 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.

“I believe that what is happening now should be a model going forward in how we deal with survivors and their stories,” he said.

RICHMOND, Va. — A Virginia state legislator who intended to begin impeachment proceedings against Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax backed off Monday after African-American lawmakers demanded there not be a rush to oust 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.

<h1>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.</h1>

But on Monday, Hope backed off after black lawmakers demanded on a conference call of House Democrats that there not be a rush to oust 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.

As the scandal engulfing Virginia’s three state elected officials entered its second week, it was clear that 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.

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 Feb. 1, believe the claims against Fairfax should be litigated in a legal setting.

Delegate Lamont Bagby, chairman of the black caucus, said Monday that it was important for Democrats to find “the proper avenue” to investigate the claims against Fairfax, and he made clear he did not think that was in the state Legislature.

“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.”

And Delegate Charniele Herring, who is 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.

“I’m concerned about how it could impact a prosecution,” Herring said.

Yet the lawyer for Watson, who claims 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 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 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 Hope to slow his push to impeachment, said Monday.

The black caucus has collectively called on Fairfax to resign. But there were unmistakable differences across racial lines in how the legislators viewed the matter.

“I believe both of these women,” Hope said of 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,” 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.

When 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.”

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 it should not come at the expense of due process for the accused.

This article originally appeared in <a id="324bcdcd-aa89-42c1-acfe-61deb82a9666" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/11/us/impeaching-justin-fairfax.html">The New York Times</a>.

Shortly after a second woman emerged Friday night to claim she had been raped by Fairfax, Delegate Patrick Hope, a northern Virginia Democrat, said that he would file legislation to impeach the lieutenant governor if he did not resign by Monday.

Virginia Democrat backs off effort to open impeachment inquiry against Fairfax

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Jonathan Martin and Campbell Robertson

Articles written by the author

Virginia Democrat Backs Off Effort to Open Impeachment Inquiry Against Fairfax

Virginia Democrat Backs Off Effort to Open Impeachment Inquiry Against Fairfax

Virginia Democrat Backs Off Effort to Open Impeachment Inquiry Against Fairfax

Virginia Democrat Backs Off Effort to Open Impeachment Inquiry Against Fairfax

Virginia Democrat backs off effort to open impeachment inquiry against Fairfax