The woman who accused Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax of sexually assaulting her more than a decade ago hired the same law firm that represented Christine Blasey Ford in her allegations against then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, according to a report on Tuesday.
The California woman has retained Washington, DC-based firm Katz, Marshall and Banks and is talking to her attorneys about her next step, NPR reported.
Fairfax denied the accusations, which he called “false and unsubstantiated” in a statement on Monday.
Conservative website Big League Politics reported the woman’s accusations late Sunday.
But Fairfax, in his statement, said the Washington Post had investigated the claims more than a year ago and decided not to publish a story.
The newspaper said Fairfax and the woman had sex in a Boston hotel room during the 2004 Democratic National Convention.
Fairfax said the encounter was consensual and the woman said he forced her to perform oral sex.
The Washington Post said it couldn’t corroborate either version and couldn’t find any witnesses to verify the account.
The allegations against Fairfax were revealed as Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam is being called on to resign after a photo of a person in blackface and another wearing a Ku Klux Klan hood appeared on his page in his 1984 medical school yearbook.
Northam, a Democrat, first apologized for the photo on Friday, but then denied he was in the photo the next day.
He has been meeting with top officials of his administration amid calls for him to step down.
Fairfax, who is next in line if Northam resigns, said he doesn’t know what the governor will do.
“I believe the governor has to make a decision that’s in the best interest of the Commonwealth of Virginia,” he said on Monday.
Blasey Ford accused Kavanaugh of sexually abusing her when they were high school students in Maryland in the 1980s.
Kavanaugh was eventually confirmed by the Senate and now sits on the Supreme Court.
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