Professor Vanessa Tyson, the woman who has accused Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax of sexual assault, released a statement yesterday with precise details about what happened that night in 2004.
In the statement, she wrote how she reached out to people in Virginia in 2017 when she realized Fairfax planned to run for office.
Democratic Rep. Bobby Scott is one of those men. Why is he just now letting this out?
From ABC News:
In a statement given to ABC News on Wednesday, Scott wrote, “Allegations of sexual assault need to be taken seriously. I have known Professor Tyson for approximately a decade and she is a friend. She deserves the opportunity to have her story heard.”Aides to Scott confirm to ABC News that Tyson first reached out him in an e-mail 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.Aides to Scott maintain that he was not made aware at that point about an alleged sexual assault in 2004 involving Fairfax.In a text message exchange between Scott and Tyson in December 2017, she informed him that the now-Lieutenant Governor-Elect had a “MeToo allegation,” but at the time the congressman did not know that she was the accuser, according to aides.
Scott learned that Tyson was the accuser late December 2017 and early January 2018. Tyson told him she already went to The Washington Post. He agreed to speak with the publication.
Honestly, it sounds like he’s just trying to save his butt. His aides told ABC News that “Scott maintains that Tyson never brought up the allegations in the many years that they have known each other prior to the time period between December 2017 and January 2018.”
Um, okay, bro. That doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. Tyson wrote that the sexual assault made her feel ashamed and humiliated. She kept it to herself until the #MeToo movement gave her courage and she saw that Fairfax wanted to run for Lt. Governor.
The Washington Post decided not to run Tyson’s story due to “significant red flags and inconsistencies with the allegations.” I wonder if WaPo ever reached out to Scott or vice versa.
Two months after Tyson contacted Scott, a former aide accused him of sexual harassment. Macherie Reese Everson claimed the congressman “touched her inappropriately on two occasions in 2013 and that he flirted with her.” When she did not give into his moves, she claimed he fired her.
Scott denied he sexually harassed her or fired her. He stated that “she left with a letter of recommendation from the congressman.”
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