ABC News is reporting this morning that a Democratic member of the Virginia state legislature was made aware of allegations of sexual assault against now-Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax over a year ago but never went public with the information. According to his own aides, Rep. Bobby Scott “learned of the allegations directly from Dr. Vanessa Tyson, who on Wednesday released a statement detailing the alleged 2004 assault.”
Aides to Scott confirm to ABC News that Tyson first reached out to him in an email on October 20, 2017, expressing that she was “not a fan” of then-candidate for Virginia Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax.
In a Nov. 29 email, Tyson expressed her dislike for Fairfax and wrote that she would like to “talk about it,” with Congressman Scott.
In ensuing weeks, Tyson told Scott in a text that a “MeToo allegation” had been leveled against Fairfax and in late December identified herself as the victim and accuser.
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One question that looms is why Scott never blew the whistle on Fairfax after learning that the identity of his accuser was Scott’s friend Tyson? In a statement she released yesterday, Tyson describes in graphic detail the nightmarish ordeal she suffered at Fairfax’s hand in a hotel in 2004. As I cried and gagged,” she reports, “Mr. Fairfax forced me to perform oral sex on him.” Why would Scott choose to remain mum for so long after learning about what his friend has endured?
A possible answer is that “Scott himself was previously accused of sexual harassment by a former aide, who said he touched her inappropriately when she was working in his Washington office in 2013,” according to ABC News.
Could it be that he chose not to rat out Fairfax because he was a member of the same “fraternity”?
Another question worth asking is whether there are any politicians left who aren’t guilty of sexual misconduct?
