Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax claims encounters with the two women accusing him of sexual assault were consensual — and called on the Federal Bureau of Investigation to look into their allegations.
“The one thing I want to make abundantly clear is that in both situations I knew at the time, and I know today, that the interactions were consensual,” The 39-year-old Democrat said in a statement late Saturday night.
“I say again without reservation: I did not sexually assault or rape Meredith Watson, Vanessa Tyson or anyone else. Our American values don’t just work when it’s convenient — they must be applied at the most difficult of times,” the statement read, according to The Washington Post.
Watson on Friday accused Fairfax of sexually assaulting her in 2000, when they were both attending Duke University. Last week, Tyson, a California politics professors, said Fairfax attacked her in his hotel room at the 2004 at the Democratic National Convention in Boston.
Fairfax said he knew both women at the time and that they never told him the interactions weren’t consensual or caused “any discomfort.”
He insists that an investigation will clear him of any wrongdoing.
“As an officer of the court and a former federal prosecutor, I have dedicated my life to the law and due process,” Fairfax said. “Consequently, I call on all appropriate and impartial investigatory authorities, including the FBI, to investigate fully and thoroughly the allegations against me by Ms. Watson and Dr. Tyson.”
“I ask that all three of us be respected during this process.”
State lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have called on him to step down or face impeachment.
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