In his effort to persuade people that he’s innocent of sexual assault allegations, Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax announced Sunday that he passed two lie detector tests in which he denied “any non-consensual sexual activity” with his two accusers, CNN reported.
Results of the polygraphs, which are inadmissible in Virginia courts, were released ahead of separate TV interviews featuring the two women: Vanessa Tyson and Meredith Watson.
See Also: New Poll Finds Most Americans Think Justin Fairfax Is Guilty
“From the moment that Dr. Vanessa Tyson and then Ms. Meredith Watson first made accusations that Lt. Governor Fairfax had committed sexual assault decades ago, Lt. Governor Fairfax has been steadfast in saying that the allegations are extraordinarily serious, deserve to be heard, and should be investigated and taken seriously,” a statement from Fairfax said. “Lt. Governor Fairfax has also been steadfast from the start in saying that a serious, fair, and impartial investigation and examination of the facts would demonstrate that these allegations are false and that he engaged in no wrongdoing whatsoever.”
The polygraph tests were conducted by Jeremiah Hanafin who also administered a polygraph test last year to Christine Blasey Ford who accused Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault. Blasey Ford alleged that Kavanaugh attacked her at a party when they were teenagers in the 1980s.
The test consisted of answering two questions about the truthfulness of her claims. Hanafin told CBS News last year that the results meant that she believed that the incident happened.
Tyson was the first to come forward in February with her claim that Fairfax forced her to give him oral sex during the summer of 2004. Shortly after Tyson released details of her accusation, Watson said Fairfax raped her when they were in college together at Duke University nearly two decades ago.
Fairfax was poised to replace Gov. Ralph Northam if he decided to step down over his blackface scandal.
“In my ideal world, I’d want him (Fairfax) to resign.” Tyson told “CBS This Morning” co-host Gayle King in her first TV interview on Monday, adding that she wants to testify before the Virginia Assembly.
Meanwhile, public opinion appeared to be on the side of the accusers.
Overall, 36 percent of those surveyed said Fairfax “definitely or probably did it,” according to the Economist/YouGov poll published on Feb. 21. Just 11 percent believed he’s innocent.
More white people than African-Americans believed he’s guilty—38 percent compared to 30 percent. And more Republicans, at 45 percent, said he’s guilty, compared to Democrats, at 41 percent, who also believed he committed the sexual assaults.
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