Women Accusing Va. Lt. Gov. of Sex Assault Denied Bipartisan Hearing by Democrats: Report
The Democratic party in Virginia is in trouble — and the liberal party is now facing national scrutiny over apparent double standards in how sexual assault claims are handled.
A series of scandals have rocked the state’s government, with Democratic Governor Ralph Northam still dealing with the public relations nightmare of admitting that he was dressed in either blackface or a KKK costume in a school yearbook.
Attorney General Mark Herring, also a Democrat, found himself in the same hot water after he too admitted to racially-insensitive blackface during his university years.
But a third Virginia Democrat, Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, faced the most intense charges. Not long after the Northam scandal erupted, two women accused the state’s second-in-command of committing rape several times over the last two decades.
“Vanessa Tyson and Meredith Watson leveled their accusations against Fairfax in February. Tyson says Fairfax forced her to perform oral sex in 2004,” Fox News reported. “Watson says Fairfax raped her in 2000 when both were students at Duke University.”
Those are without a doubt serious claims, but the left has tried to downplay them since day one. In a bizarre move considering the prominence of the “#MeToo” movement, Democrats now appear to be blocking a bipartisan hearing which would help get to the bottom of the assault claims.
“House Republicans said Tuesday that they tried and failed to broker a deal with Democrats that would allow for a bipartisan public hearing in which two women who accuse Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax of sexual assault could testify under oath,” Fox explained.
Both women have sought a hearing during which they can testify, under penalty of perjury, about what they say Fairfax did to them. This would allow officials on both sides of the political aisle to ask questions and uncover the truth.
But if Democrats have their way, the truth may well stay buried.
“There should be no mistake about what has happened here: the alleged victims are seeking a bipartisan hearing; Republicans are seeking a bipartisan hearing; Democrats in the House of Delegates are refusing to allow that to happen,” said Kirk Cox, the speaker of the Virginia House.
In turn, Democrats have suddenly discovered a newfound respect for due process, and insisted that hearings regarding alleged sexual misconduct could be skewed for politics.
“Law enforcement officials are best equipped to investigate these matters, and we certainly would not want to harm their inquiries or deny due process to either the complainants or the Lieutenant Governor by conducting a hearing that could easily be exploited for political purposes,” said House Minority Leader Eileen Filler-Corn, a Democrat.
It must be pointed out that Democrats took a very different tone during the Brett Kavanaugh controversy. Just 100 miles away from the Virginia statehouse, Kavanaugh was put through the wringer after the Supreme Court nominee was accused by several women of decades-old misconduct.
Liberals seemed to have no worries about hearings being “exploited for political purposes” then — in fact, they seemed to relish it. Even outlandish claims were treated as serious by the left and the media, and Kavanaugh was forced to make an emotional plea for his public future in front of a panel of lawmakers and national television cameras.
What happened to “believing all women,” or at least listening to them? Apparently concern for how women are treated and a belief in uncovering the truth only matter if a conservative is under fire. The moment it’s a liberal Democrat who is facing allegations, those standards go out the window.
The stunning differences between the Kavanaugh proceedings and the Fairfax scandal make it painfully clear that there is real bias in politics today. Whether somebody has an “R” or a “D” next to their name should make no difference in how misconduct is investigated, but it seems liberals have other plans.
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