When it comes to the scandals currently enveloping Virginia's top-ranking officials, all we’re missing now are Michael Avenatti and a few dozen CNN panels – the latter of which is still pretty unlikely.
It turns out the unnamed California woman who’s accused Virginia Democratic Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax of sexual assault has hired none other than the legal team of one Dr. Christine Blasey Ford – the woman who famously accused now-SCOTUS Justice Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct stemming back from his time at Georgetown Prep in the ‘80s.
Multiple reports now state that Fairfax’s accuser has enlisted the aid of Katz, Marshall & Banks, the same D.C. law firm specializing in whistleblowing and sexual harassment law that represented Ford last year.
NEWS: A California woman accusing Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax of sexual assault has hired Christine Blasey Ford’s legal team - Katz, Marshall and Banks - and is consulting with them about next steps, according to a source close to the legal team.
— Sarah McCammon (@sarahmccammon) February 5, 2019
The news comes just as Fairfax is poised to take over the Virginia governorship in the wake of current Gov. Ralph Northam’s scandal involving a racially charged 35-year-old photo of his 25-year-old self in blackface. Like Kavanaugh, Fairfax claims the allegations against him, which stem back some 10 years or so, are “baseless,” saying they’re nothing more than a political hit-job designed to smear his reputation and blaming everyone from the governor to the mayor of Richmond for launching the attack.
But unlike Kavanaugh, Fairfax, a Democrat, hasn’t received nearly the public scrutiny as the former SCOTUS candidate over the so far unverified assault claims. However, Fairfax did claim that the Washington Post refused to print a story regarding the accusations when they were first made a year ago because they found “significant red flags and inconsistencies” with the woman’s account. The Washington Post has since denied Fairfax's explanation, saying they simply chose not to publish the story because they couldn’t find any evidence to corroborate the woman’s allegations.
Of course, that line of reasoning didn’t stop the Post (and just about every other publication in the country) from running with an avalanche of stories about Ford’s uncorroborated claims against Kavanaugh. But hey, we'll see if the addition of Ford's own legal representation results in a consistent standard.
I won't hold my breath.