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RICHMOND, Va. -- House Republicans announced on the floor Friday that they plan to invite the two women accusing Lt. Governor Justin Fairfax of sexual assault to speak with them. Del. Rob Bell (R-District 58) said on the floor that the Court of Justice Committee will be scheduling a meeting and plan to invite Dr. Vanessa Tyson and Meredith Watson to testify. Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax will also be invited to speak. It didn't take long for one of the accusers to respond and accept the invitation. Meredith Watson is gratified that the Virginia General Assembly has announced their intention...

RICHMOND, Va. — A group of people gathered at Monroe Park in Richmond on Monday to participate in the "March of Reckoning," a protest that demanded the resignation of Virginia Governor Ralph Northam. Marchers carried signs -- advocating a variety of topics -- from the VCU Campus to Capitol Square. Northam has insisted he had no plans to resign following his blackface yearbook photo scandal which made international headlines earlier this month. "March of Reckoning" participants said they would not take no for an answer. "As we know nationwide many folks have been pushing for Northam's resignation as well," organizer...

Nearly 70 percent of black kids are born to unwed mothers - but let's talk about 35-year-old blackface pictures. The "blackface scandal" proved beneficial for two things. It displaced the frenzy over Democratic Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam's support for a law lifting many restrictions on late-term abortion. It also took away headlines and news print space from the commonwealth's Democratic lieutenant governor, who faces two sexual assault allegations. But the blackface controversy has legs. Northam's 1984 medical school yearbook page depicted a photograph of someone in blackface and someone in a KKK outfit, both apparently holding cans of beer. At...

The woman who accused Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax of sexually assaulting her in Boston 15 years ago says she will now share her allegations with the local district attorney — after the politician threatened to pursue her for filing a “false criminal complaint.” Suffolk DA Rachael Rollins said earlier Wednesday that she’d reached out to lawyers representing accuser Vanessa Tyson about her allegation that Fairfax forced her to perform oral sex on him during the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston. In a response to the Boston Globe, Fairfax’s spokeswoman reiterated his denial and said he’d cooperate with an...

Four staffers to Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax have quit in the wake of allegations of sexual assault and rape made against him days ago. Two of the three employees on Fairfax's state payroll and two employees working for his political action committee (PAC) have departed. As a part-time lieutenant governor, Fairfax keeps a small team of aides working on his behalf in Richmond. "The Lt. Governor appreciates the amazing service of his former staff members. Their work and dedication was incredible. He certainly wishes them well and appreciates their service to the Commonwealth of Virginia," said his political spokeswoman,...

<p>7 a.m.</p> <p>A Virginia lawmaker is now suggesting he won’t move forward Monday with plans to introduce an impeachment bill seeking the ouster of Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax.</p> <p>Democratic Del. Patrick Hope had said he wanted to introduce articles of impeachment Monday against Fairfax after two women recently accused the Democrat of sexual assault in the 2000s. Fairfax has vehemently denied the claims and called for authorities, including the FBI, to investigate.</p>

Virginia delegate Patrick Hope has outlined his plans to offer up articles of impeachment against Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax. In an email to his House Democratic colleagues, Hope says he plans to file a resolution first thing Monday morning that lists the reasons he believes that Fairfax's conduct warrants removal from office. The embattled lieutenant governor of Virginia was accused by two women of sexual assault, including rape by one of the women. Fairfax released a statement on Saturday acknowledging both interactions with the women, but said both instances were consensual. The resolution introduced by Hope would be the first...

RICHMOND, Va. — Explaining that he had no idea he was even in the line of succession to become the leader of the Commonwealth, Frank Donahue, the State Capitol’s head janitor, arrived at work to discover that he was now Virginia’s governor, sources confirmed Thursday. “This is all a shock to me,” Donahue remarked. Despite having spent the past seven years making sure the bathrooms outside of the Senate Chamber are clean, he is now poised to become the state’s governor due to his noticeably clean background. “I had overheard about the stuff Northam, Fairfax, and Herring were going through,...

Virginia's embattled lieutenant governor has urged authorities to investigate sexual assault allegations made against him, but hasn't heeded calls to resign and it is unclear what comes next for the once-rising star of the state Democratic Party. Two women have made allegations against Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax. But on Saturday Fairfax issued a statement repeating his strong denials that he had ever sexually assaulted anyone and made clear he does not intend to immediately resign. Democratic Del. Patrick Hope said he wants to introduce articles of impeachment against Fairfax on Monday, but Hope is not a powerful figure in the...

The two women who have accused Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax of sexual assault said late Saturday that they are willing to testify if the state General Assembly launches impeachment proceedings against him. Nancy Erika Smith, an attorney for Meredith Watson, called for "real due process, not hidden from the public," according to a statement. Watson claims she was raped by Fairfax while they were students at Duke University in 2000, and Virginia Tyson has accused Fairfax of forcing her to perform oral sex in 2004 while they were both at the Democratic Convention in Boston. Fairfax denies the accusations...

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — The head of Virginia’s House of Delegates is calling for the resignation of Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax. House of Delegates Speaker Kirk Cox said in a statement Saturday that Fairfax’s ability to govern has been “permanently impaired” by “multiple, serious credible allegations” of sexual assault made recently by two women.

A New York Congresswoman claimed that she has not heard anything about the sexual assault allegations against Virginia Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax. “I look forward to looking into the scenario, but I haven’t heard anything about this,” said Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez when confronted by cameras in the halls of Congress. Earlier in the video, she contradicted herself, saying that she had “not looked at all into the situation,” implying that she knew about the allegations. That might make sense, given that she’s been busy trying to shove her “Green New Deal” down the throats of unwilling Americans, but the Fairfax...

The Virginia Legislative Black Caucus (VLBC) called on Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax (D) to resign Friday after a second woman came forward to accuse him of sexual assault. The group of state legislators had initially refrained from calling for the lieutenant governor to step aside this week, but issued the statement Friday night amid mounting calls for him to resign after a woman accused him of rape. “In light of the most recent sexual assault allegations against Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax, the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus believes it is best for Lt. Governor Fairfax to step down from his position,"...

**SNIP** Sen. Kamala Harris of California told reporters Thursday that Tyson's statement "reads as a credible account" and called for an investigation into the incident. Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, another 2020 candidate, told CNN the allegation was "deeply, deeply disturbing" and praised Tyson for coming forward. He, too called for an investigation. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York praised Tyson's courage Wednesday night on podcast "Lovett or Leave It," saying that her account is credible and disturbing and warrants investigation. She repeated her comments on Twitter Thursday, adding, "Institutions – colleges, the military, the NFL – don't believe...

Moments after the embattled Virginia Governor tells staff he will remain in office, a second victim/accuser, Ms. Meredith Watson, comes forward against the embattled Lieutenant Governor with claims he raped her in 2000.

Meredith Watson claims Fairfax raped her in 2000, when they were both students at Duke University. A second woman has come forward accusing Virginia Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax of sexual assault. In a letter from her lawyer, Meredith Watson claims she was raped by Fairfax in 2000, when they were both students at Duke University. The letter characterizes the alleged attack as “premeditated and aggressive.” “The two were friends but never dated or had any romantic relationship,” the letter says.

A woman said Friday that Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, who was recently accused of sexual assault, had raped her nearly two decades earlier. A lawyer for the woman, Meredith Watson, made the accusation in a statement that also called upon Fairfax to resign from office. This is breaking news. Please check back for updates.

The slew of scandals rocking Virginia state government expanded to the Republican Party on Thursday as a local newspaper confirmed that State Senate Majority Leader Tommy Norment was one of the editors of a 1968 Virginia Military Institute (VMI) yearbook that contained numerous racial slurs and at least one blackface picture. In response, Norment, 72, suggested he was the victim of a smear campaign intended to distract from the multiple allegations of past racism and sexual assault surrounding the state's highest-ranking Democratic officials. The Virginian-Pilot reported first reported that Norment was the managing editor of The Bomb, which included a...

With Virginia’s top three elected officials engulfed in scandal, fellow Democrats were rendered practically speechless, uncertain of how to thread their way through the racial and sexual allegations and the tangled political implications. […] Everyone in Richmond, it seemed, was waiting Thursday for Virginia’s Legislative Black Caucus to respond. The caucus has been calling for Northam’s resignation over the past week but was silent about the latest developments. “We’ve got a lot to digest,” the group’s chairman, Del. Lamont Bagby, said Wednesday. …

We have still more news to bring you from that chaotic developing nation formerly known as the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of Wednesday night, Virginia's three highest ranking public officials, all of them Democrats, are embroiled in potentially career-ending scandals, and it seemed to come out of nowhere just last week. First, you'll remember, Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam casually endorsed infanticide while defending a Democratic bill to legalize abortion right up to the minute of birth. Then just hours after he said that, a little over a day, I think, Northam was found to have a picture of man wearing...