The two women who have accused Democratic Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax of sexual assault are calling on the Virginia General Assembly to hold a public hearing when the new session begins on Wednesday.
According to interviews with CBS News, both Vanessa Tyson and Meredith Watson want to testify about their allegations under oath. Tyson was the first to come forward in February with accusations against Fairfax when Democrats were in the midst of calls for Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam’s resignation over photos that surfaced of him wearing blackface in college.
Conservative media outlet Big League Politics was the first to surface Tyson’s allegation against Fairfax, who would have taken over for Northam if he had decided to resign (he never did).
Tyson eventually released a statement outlining her allegation that Fairfax forced her to perform oral sex on him during the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston. At the time, Tyson was doing work for a rape crisis center and told “CBS This Morning” on Monday that she feels “in retrospect” that Fairfax took advantage of her because of her past. Tyson is a survivor of incest.
"Here's the thing. What I was doing for the rape crisis center was actually probably the biggest part of my life at that time" — Tyson
"Do you feel he took advantage of you knowing your past?" — @GayleKing
"In retrospect, yes" — Tyson https://t.co/e6bPJdK5cE pic.twitter.com/duIcCsxz8O
— CBS This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) April 1, 2019
During a clip of Watson’s interview with CBS, Watson, who has accused Fairfax of raping her more than two decades ago, grew emotional. She told CBS’ Gayle King that she wished she had had the courage to speak out after her alleged assault so she could’ve prevented what happened to Tyson.
Meredith Watson came forward shortly after Vanessa Tyson made her accusations in February. She told us that she's sorry for not reporting her allegation that Justin Fairfax raped her nearly 20 years ago.https://t.co/e6bPJdK5cE pic.twitter.com/BWTESlz1tj
— CBS This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) April 1, 2019
