RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Former Virginia Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax claimed federal investigators questioned him about the origin of sexual assault allegations against him in 2019 — a claim he shared with 8News.
Fairfax also claimed the FBI asked about possible ties between Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney and how the accusations surfaced, but Fairfax failed to show proof they did.
Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney repeatedly said there is no connection with him, his team and the subject of Fairfax’s claims after several reporters asked him about this following a report in online outlet, The Intercept.
“We had absolutely nothing to do with the situation surrounding Mr. Fairfax,” Stoney said Wednesday afternoon during a regularly scheduled press conference unrelated to the matter. “Right now, the FBI has not reached out to me, has not reached out to anyone part of my, you know, operation. So, you know, the only person talking about the FBI is one person, and that is the accused rapist who are making the claims.”
Stoney added his team, “would be willing” to review information in addition to Fairfax’s claim, “but no one has shown us anything beyond that.”
Fairfax told 8News he has “had ongoing conversations” with the FBI since his first meeting at the Bureau’s Richmond field office on June 8. He said no attorney was present at the meeting, which lasted three hours.
The former lieutenant governor also claimed the FBI asked to meet last month after sending documents to the Bureau since the allegations surfaced over three years ago. Fairfax did not say what those documents detailed.
A spokesperson for the Richmond FBI field office said, in part, “it is not our policy to confirm or deny the existence of our investigations.”
The Washington Post reported Fairfax and three other people provided them with copies of messages with an FBI agent to arrange in person interviews, reporting “the subject of the meetings is not specified.”
Fairfax has long-claimed Stoney is tied to the two women who accused him of sexual assault. In a 2020 interview with 8News, the former lieutenant governor said, “we’re very confident in the truth.”
Stoney remains steadfast the allegation is untrue, saying, “these baseless claims continue to come back from him, again.”
8News has reached out to the attorneys of the alleged victims, Vanessa Tyson and Meredith Watson, and did not received a response in time for this report’s publication.
According to The Washington Post, Debra Katz, Tyson’s attorney, said the FBI has not informed her an investigation was “initiated or to seek evidence,” adding there is no “evidence that either of the women came forward at the instigation of anyone else and for improper reasons.”
Watson’s attorney, Nancy Erika Smith, reportedly told The Intercept, “If it is true that the FBI is actually investigating two victims of Justin Fairfax, shame on the FBI.”
8News Reporter Dean Mirshahi contributed to this report.
