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RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — The FBI recently conducted interviews about the origins of sexual assault allegations made in 2019 against then-Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfaxaccording to Fairfax and several others who said they were interviewed.
Fairfax, who said he met for several hours with the FBI in early June, welcomed the investigation.
The 43-year-old Democratic attorney, who left public office in January, has consistently denied it assault allegations against him that have not resulted in criminal charges and has long called for law enforcement to investigate them. He claimed he had consensual meetings with the women who accused him of assault and insisted their complaints against him were part of a politically motivated smear campaign.
Three other people confirmed to The Associated Press that they had been interviewed, requesting anonymity to discuss what they and Fairfax believe is an ongoing investigation. A fourth person familiar with the matter, who also requested anonymity, confirmed that Fairfax had been interviewed. This person was not one of the interviewees.
Dee Rybisky, a Richmond-based FBI spokeswoman, declined to comment. The FBI does not usually confirm or deny the existence of investigations.
The allegations against Fairfax became public in February 2019, when he appeared set to become governor of Virginia amid a scandal that erupted over a racist photo of the then-governor. A page from Ralph Northam’s yearbook. With Northam facing near-unanimous calls for him to resign, Fairfax would be elevated to the post. But then two women days apart accused him of assault in 2004 and rape in 2000, leading to calls for Fairfax to resign and a dampening of the pressure of Northam. Both men eventually completed their terms.
Fairfax, a former federal prosecutor and civil plaintiff, said he has been in contact with the FBI on an “ongoing basis” since February 2019, providing evidence of what he has long argued was a coordinated effort to prevent him from becoming governor. News of his and other interviews was first reported by The Intercept.
Fairfax has claimed for years — without evidence — that former Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe and his close ally, Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney, played a role in bringing the allegations to the surface, something McAuliffe and Stoney called absurd. Fairfax cited, in part, links between a former adviser to Stoney and one of his accusers. Fairfax was once considered a rising star in the Democratic Party, and he ran with McAuliffe and three others for last year’s Democratic nomination for governor; Stoney is also widely seen as a contender for a higher post.
Fairfax said the FBI has not disclosed the full scope of its apparent investigation, but has asked him questions about his concerns.
Stoney said at a news conference Wednesday that the FBI had not contacted him or anyone in his “operation.” Stoney said he believed the women’s allegations, called the idea that he was involved in a smear campaign “ridiculous” and added that the only one talking about the FBI was Fairfax.
“These are the allegations of a person accused of rape, after all,” he said.
Jake Rubenstein, a spokesman for McAuliffe, said McAuliffe “knows nothing about this. Period.”
The women’s attorneys, Vanessa Tyson and Meredith Watson, defended their clients and criticized the idea that the FBI could investigate.
Nancy Erica Smith, an attorney for Watson, said in a statement: “If it is true that the FBI is in fact investigating two victims of Justin Fairfax, shame on the FBI. This latest abuse is apparently at the behest of Fairfax and its political benefactors and PR team.
Debra Katz, an attorney for Vanessa Tyson, said neither she nor Tyson had been contacted by the FBI. She said she would be “shocked” if there was a “real FBI investigation” and suggested Fairfax was trying to use the suggestion of one as a weapon.
The Associated Press does not typically name people who say they are victims of sexual assault, but both women have gone public with their allegations against Fairfax.
Tyson said Fairfax – at the time a Columbia Law student serving as an aide to Democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards – forced her to perform oral sex in his hotel room during the Democratic National Convention in Boston in 2004. Two days after Tyson’s statement, Watson issued her own, accusing Fairfax of raping her in 2000 when they were students at Duke University.
Fairfax said that in the case of his encounter with Watson, an eyewitness was present in the room. That person did not respond to repeated requests for an interview from the AP and has not spoken publicly to confirm or deny Fairfax’s claim.
Watson and her attorney declined to say whether there was a third person in the room.
One person who described being interviewed by the FBI in early July was asked if he had ever heard anything about money being exchanged in connection with the charges, the person said.
The person had heard of something similar and reported it in time to a Fairfax spokesperson. The person, who is not close to Fairfax, has no first-hand knowledge of any payments and doubts the person who made the comment made it, the person said.
The second person interviewed was asked if he knew of any connections between City Hall and the women or any payments to the women, the person said.
The third person who was interviewed described being asked similar questions and provided the AP with a copy of an apparent email exchange with the FBI.
Separately, Tommy Bennett, president of the Danville branch of the NAACP, told The Post that the FBI had contacted him to ask about the allegations.
Fairfax ended his term as lieutenant governor — a largely ceremonial role that includes presiding over the state Senate — in January. He received about 4% of the vote in last year’s Democratic primary. McAuliffe won that race, then lost the general election to Republican Glenn Youngkin.
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Associated Press reporter Eric Tucker reported from Washington.
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