they have told uglies that countles-- us acountless times e about vanessa tyson. watch presidential candidate cory booker, dismissed tyson completely today as unimportant. watch this. >> i think beshould be focusing on what's happening with the governor. you know you guys will focus on lot of things. my focus is on calling for the governor to step down. >> tucker: booker got better things to focus on than some girl in california who's alleging sexual assault. cory backer will be disgusted by the cory booker you saw. back then sexual politics seem more important than race politics. now it's the other way around. never-ending car crash of intersectionalty. here's reminder. >> how we deal with survivors who come forward now is unacceptable. the way we deal with this allows for the continued darkness of this culture to exist. your brilliance shining light under this speaking your truth is nothing short of heroic. >> tucker: short of heroic then, it was a light in the darkness of our culture, cory booker, because, he's an incredibly good person. he went to yale. he was

the clock is ticking for vanessa tyson. the statute of limitations in massachusetts is 15 years on sexual assault. she has until the summer to file a complaint there. >> shepard: one of the accusers spoke publicly last night, right? >> yeah, the first accuser, vanessa tyson, spoke at stanford. it was previously scheduled. she did mention -- didn't mention justin fairfax. she talked about women when they come forward, they have their credibility attacked, which is what happened to justin fairfax when she came forward. she talked about how she was inspired by christine blase ford's testimony on capitol hill when she brought allegations against justice brett kavanaugh. >> as she shook, we shook with her. as she told her story, we felt her pain that she so visibly demonstrated. yet we have this empathetic absorpti absorption. we see her bravery, see her strength, her vulnerability. we recognize and maybe perhaps that it helps us to see it in o ourself. >> now vanessa tyson is reported by the same legal firm that represented chr

vanessa tyson she is the accuser. ot believe given my obvious distress fairfax lieutenant governor now thought his forced sexual act was consensual. to be very clear did i not want to engage in oral sex with mr. fairfax and i never gave any form of consent. what about this and the reaction to it here in washington, mollie? >> >> this is a very troubling situation for those of us in virginia. wexton is alone in saying that she believes the accuser of justin fairfax. we saw with the case of boston how the standard was if you are accused of a crime you are considered guilty and you have to step down and your life is destroyed. that was the standard that some on the left tried to apply. now that it's someone in their own party who is being accused of a crime, you are not seeing some of those same calls despite the fact this accusation comes from this century and someone who is in the same political party as well. >> bret: a long list of people calling for governor northam to step down after the blackface picture surfaced r

at this exclusive event, it was preplanned and vanessa tyson had a different message.bc bay area's ian cull was on campus and joins us in studio with what she said. ian. >> reporter: tonight's event was planned months before vanessa tyson's allegation came out. she is spending the year on a fellowship at stanford reeveryone sing sexual violence against women and that message bringing an overflow crowd to campus tonight. the stanford symposium was entitled betrayal and courage in the age of me too. vanessa tyson got a standing ovation, speaking publicly for the first time since accusing the virginia lieutenant governor of a 2004 sexual assault. first, speaking broadly about sexual assaults in america. >> and epidemic, so to speak. this is a public health issue. it is not simply a crime issue. >> reporter: tyson also spoke about watching christine blasey ford testify and feeling her pain. >> understanding the weight that someone else carries because maybe in our lives at some point, one place or another, we've carried that weight, too. all right. so when we hear someone

told us that countless times but this time they don't believe all women, they don't care about vanessa tysonshe's in the way. watch presidential candidate cory booker, a self-described very good person, dismissed tyson completely as unimportant. >> i think we should be focusing on what is happening with the governor. right now my focus is calling on the governor to step down. >> tucker: he's got better things to focus on then some girl in california who was alleging sexual assault against one of his party mates. cory booker just a few months ago would be disgusted you just saw, back then, politics seemed more important than race politics but now it's the othere way around, it's the never ending car crash of intersection malady. here's a reminder of the way it once was. >> how we deal with survivors who come forward right now is unacceptable in the way we deal with this unfortunately allows for the continued darkness of this culture to exist and your brilliance shining light onto this speaking your truth is nothing short of heroic.ig >> tucker: it was short of heroic then, it was a light in t

vanessa tyson says that lieutenant governor justin fairfax sexually assaulted her in boston during the004 dnc convention. fairfax claims that encounter was consensual but that the detailed statement released by dr. tyson yesterday has led to a resignation call from the national organization for women and calls for an investigation from one incredibly high profile democrat. >> i think that the letter

while the lieutenant governor's latest statement in response to vanessa tyson's sexual assault he says he doesn't wish her harm, fairfax in fact used profane language during a private meeting monday to describe miss tyson. fairfax's chief of chaff acknowledged the use of the expletive but dispute he used it to characterize tyson. >>> some democrats are beginning to speak out more forcefully on the fairfax allegation after first refusing to weigh in on the lieutenant governor, senator and presidential hopeful cory booker told cnn yesterday this is a deeply disturbing allegation that should be thoroughly investigated. presidential candidate and south bend mayor echoed that statement as well. >> the allegations are extremely disturbing. horrifying, in fact. they deserve to be fully investigated. you know, when somebody experiences sexual assault in america they need to know he or she needs to know that those allegations will be taken seriously and that they will be believed when they come forward. so i hope that will happen in this case and then decisions could be made accordingly. >> dem

vanessa tyson and today 2020 candidate senator kamala harris said this -- >> i think that the -- theter written by the woman reads as a credible account and i think there should be an investigation to get to the bottom of it and determine the facts. >> karen, wexton and harris are some of the high profile democrats that have spoken out. julian castro say there's needs to be an investigation but at this stage, do you think that they're saying, doing enough? >> at this point i do. this is -- this is a real test of where the country stands at this moment in the me too movement and also after what we all went through last year during the kavanaugh hearings. so i think that -- you know, i do think that what vanessa tyson is owed is a respectful hearing of her story. she's owed a thorough investigation. i must say -- and while they're circumstances are different in all of these cases, there are a lot of echos of christine blasey ford from last year and i think one of the real disappointing moments in all of this was the lieutenant governor's reaction because his first reaction was to smear

i want to read what his accuser, vanessa tyson, said, "what started as consensual kissing quickly turnedsexual assault." should goes on to -- she goes on to give a graphic account of being forced to perform oral sex on justin fairfax. he denies itnd said, "i take this situation seriously and continue to believe dr. tyson should be treated with respectgr but i cannot with a description of events that is simply not true." where does this leave number two democrat justin fairfax? in the era of me too, lar, in the post-brett kavanaugh period, where does this leave him? larry: it leaves him in deep trouble and damaged fo future, even if this cannot be aoven one way or the othe it probably can't. this was 2004 and there were no temporary witnesses -- no contemporary witnesses or contemporaneous testimony. although the senioan african-amerfficeholder in virginia, congressman bobby scott, today he said he knew some of it was true. he had dated this woman a coupnd of years agoad heard the account then. so less than a week ago, this umafrican-americanr two in virginia was on the verge of taking th

rnia, vanessa tyson. tyson says a kiss led to this sexual assault back in 2004. really y, she released what was a very detailed, graphic account of what she sayn ha in that hotel room in boston during the democratic convention in 04. in a statement, tyson went on to say, quote, i cnot believe, given my obvious distress, that mr. fairfax thoughthis forced sexual act was consensual. tim kaine, also a former governor here, commented on this matter. >> you have t let anyone in a sexual assault story tell tir story. until i read the story, dr. tyson was not out telling her own stor okay. now, i've read that statement and it's really serious. >> reporter: senator kaine has called for governor northam to resign. tyson will say nothing more about this matter. process. we're going to stay on top of it. we'll be watching all of the acvity here today at the state capitol. we'll have more coming up this morning, as well. >> aaron xwgilchrist, live for in richmond. thank you so much. >>ookingal other top stories. trump will speak at the pray breakfast. is expected to make an

vanessa tyson. d tyson says that a kiss the 2004 assault.esterday, she released in graphic detail what she says occurred. in a statement, tyson went on to say, quote, i cannot believe, given my obvious distress, that mr. fairfax thought this forced sexual act was consensual. virginia senatorenim kaine cod on this matter. >> you have to let someone that has been involved in sexual assault, how to tell the story. until i read the story, n dr. tys not out telling her story. it's serious. >> senat kaine has asked for governor northam to resign. t we'll ha possible line of ccession in the virginia statehouse, coming up in about ten minute >>> new this morning at prince george's county, students at charles herbert flowers high hool will not have their principal in the building today. newss justin finch has been tracking this case thisng mor he joins us live from the school with the latest. mood morning. >> reporter: gooing. we know two investigations are under way between prince ge ge county public schools and county police. both looking into this

bureau virginia chief reports now on the deep divide revealed by these allegations. >> reporter: vanessa tyson speak about what she calls an epidemic of sexual violence. the stamford university seminar was scheduled before her allegations against virginia's lieutenant governor were made public. tyson says justin fairfax sexually assaulted her back in 2004 in a boston hotel room. and while she never directly referenced the alleged incident some of her remarks seemed loaded with meaning. >> sometimes you have to lead by example, no matter how harld it is. >> reporter: tyson is one of two women who stepped tforward las week accusing the lieurenant g enough of sex assault when h he was in 20s. it prompted most elected leers to quickly call f his resignation. but fairfax is fighting back. he denies the allegatio saying the encounters were conoensual. >> i justin fairfax personally. i'm not here to talk aboutis guilt or innocence, but i do know that he deserves like any other person desves some sort of fair process to deal with these allegations. >> reporter: that's prince william county's naacp pre

she's getting support on social media with people using the #ibelieve, vanessa. tyson is now being represented by the same attorney who represented christine blasey ford, the woman who accused brett kavanaugh of t.assa he admitted to a one-time consensual encounter with tyson but denies any assault. >>> as for governor northham, nine medical school cssmates gned a letter saying the governor is not a racist. they say that is not who he was then or who he is now. >>> it's 4:06. now to a frightening story out of princeil wliam county where more than six bullets ripped through a home. they found bulletser scatted through their home. bullets hit the wal through the house including out their child's home. seven hit the home. no one was injured. police do not believe the family s targeted. zahid reached out to their homeowner's association to beef up protection, but so far nothing has been done. >> i'm supposed to be able to protect myfamily, but you rely on your neighborhood and youro community t provide a little peace of mind. what happens when you reach out to them and the

vanessa tyson is an associate press forat scrts college in california. next question, when will we be hearing from ckr? o you, jim. >> no onehi knows how ts is going to shake out or end. julie carey live in richmond. thank you. >>> well, this news i taking over social media today. wizards star, jn wall suffering an injury at his home. and this one will keep him out for, get this, 12 months. sherree burruss joins us from the news room with more on this nic and costly injury. >> as you mentioned, jim, jlln one of the top trending topics on twitter this afternoon because the wizards all-star is out 12 months after rupturing his achilles. he suffering this achilles injury falling in his home. the wds guard was already set to miss the season after eft heelurgery on the but now he'll miss 12 months. the wizards team doctor discovered theur ion monday while looking at an infection wallad developed in the previous surgeries. the surgery has not been scheduled by the team doctor expecting it to happen s etime neweek. >> sherree burruss, thank you. >>> maryland ha

she identified herself as vanessa tyson, an associate professor at scripps college in california. tatement, professor tyson detailed a 2004 encounter at the democratic national convention in boston where she said fairfax forced her to perform oral sex. tyson said, "what began as consensual kissing quickly turned into a sexual assaut. to be very clear, i did not want to engage in oral sex with mr. fairfax and i never gave any form of consent. quite the opposite." lieutenant governor fairfax has denied her account of what happened, saying "i have never done anything like what she suggests." fairfax had previously implied democratic virginia governor ralph northam's supporters might be behind a smear campaign to prevent him from assuming the governorship. well, for more, we go now to raleigh, north carolina, where we're joined by khalilah brown-dean, an associate professor of political science at clinic he at quinnipiac university in connecticut. she is from lynchburg, virginia, and is a graduate of the university of virginia. her book titled "identity politics in the united states" i

vanessa tyson, and meredith watson. fairfax seen leaving his northern virginia home, flatly denies both allegations. in a new statement writing, i call on all appropriate and impartial investigatory authorities, including the fbi, to investigate fully and thoroughly the allegations against me by ms. watson and dr. tyson. i ask that all three of us be respected during this process." now meredith watson and vanessa tyson say they're prepared to testify if impeachment proceedings against justin fairfax move forward. both women say they stand ready to publicly refute his claims that the encounters were completely consensual. philip? >> all right, geoff, thank you. >>> a lawyer for the publisher of "the national enquirer" is speaking out in the tabloid's defense. in a heated public battle with amazon founder jeff bezos, the richest man in the world. we go to nbc's morgan chesky. >> reporter: a scandal ripped from the pages of a tabloid, involving the world's richest man and nude selfies. the attorney for "the enquir enquirer

vanessa tyson and meredith watson. fairfax seen leaving his northern virginia home today flatly denies both allegations. in a new statement writing i call onll appropriate and impartial investigatory authorities, including the fbi, to investigate fully and thoroughly the allegations against me by ms. watson and dr. tyson. i ask that all three of us be respected during this process. >>> meredithn watnd vanessa tyson say they're prepared to testify if impeachment proceedings against justin fairfax move forward. both of them say they stand ready to publicly refute his claims that the interactions were consensual. >>> in nezuela, suffering through its own national crisis, the man who still holds power and the man who says he t is legitimate president. kerry sanders has been following it all in caracas. >> reporter: president juan guaido at churchy. toda the 35-year-old mobbed by supporters. >> he is the one. nobody else. >> reporter: juan guaido and nicolas maduro both claim to be venezuela's president. tens of thousands r

vanessa tyson, and meredith watson.aving his northern virginia home, flatly denies both allegations. in a new statement writing, i call on all appropriate and impartial investigatory authorities, including the fbi, to investigate fully and thoroughly the allegations against me by ms. watson and dr. tyson. i ask that all three of us be respected during this process." now meredith watson and vanessa tyson say they're prepared to testify if impeachment proceedings against justin fairfax move forward. both women say they stand ready to publicly refute his claims that the encounters were completely consensual. philip? >> all right, geoff, thank you. >>> a california mother who rushed into her burning home to save her four children has died. bakersfield firefighters say they were able to rescue four children, but one person was left inside the home. the family's pastor told reporters the mother was not home when the fire started and that she rushed in trying to save her kids. the four children suffered minor injuries. investi

vanessa tyson is a college professor and she says a proud democrat. e's the one accusing lieutenant governor justinir x of sexual assault. tyson has taken a leave of absence i california. today she released in graphic detail an account of wha she says occurred in 2004. she says a kiss led to the assaul and that fairfax has tried to brand her as a liar to a national audience to service his political ambitions. she says in rt, i cannot believe, given my obvious distress, that mr. fairfax thout this forced sexual act was consensual. not wanty clear, i did to engage in oral sex with mr. fairfax and i never gave any formf consent. fairfax released a statement today as well, this saying in part, i take this situation very seriously and continue to believe dr. tyson should be treated with respect, but i cannot agree to a description of events that simply is not true. new tonight, the president of the naacp is weighing in. >> first of all, the naacp, we denounce sexual assault under any circumstance. we're going to watch that t scenar see how it plays out. >>

vanessa tyson,r. fairfax is now smearing ms. watson. that's shameful. >> one of the new voices calling tonight for lieutenant governor fairfax to resigns a local politician who recently hosted the lieutenant governor at a fund-raiser. phyllis randall is the chairman of the loudoun county board of supervisors. in a statement tonight she said this, "having more information available, i can no longer stand with the lieutenantno gov i'm heartbroken to have to make this decision, but i know in my heart it's correct." randall says shehe will donate money raised at her event with fairfax to the loudoun abused women's shelter. this story is developing by the hour use our nbc washington app to stay on top of the changes over the weekend. we'll also send you alerts when big news breaks. >>> i'm leon harris with breaking news at the live desk in the newsroom. bizarre developments in a high-profile officer shooting in virginia. a man released from a mental hospital after he was found not guilty of that crime is now back in jail. news 4 as learned k

vanessa tyson didn't specifically address her allegations agautst lant governor justin fairfax, and the questions that were posed at tonight's event at stanford university had been screened in advance, hower, dr. tyson did get emotional at times talking about her struges as a survivor. >> that none of us are desupposable and ispensable. fact, we should be valued for our uniquenesses as human business. that's what i'd like to see in the world. >> now, this event was something of a coincidence. she is a professor and advocate for sexual assault victims and booked to speak on this panel months ago, it turns out. the focus was couragen t age of the me too movement. tyson says in ai2004,ax forced her to perform a sex act in his hotel room at tde cratic nationalve cn.ntonio ual. tns >> o topic of credibility, it deeply, deeply concerns me, least when women come forward deliberatenow, this attempt to try to undermine someone's credibility. >> another woman, meredith watson, says lieutenant governor fairfax raped her. he denies those allegations as well and insists that he will not resig fromis

vanessa tyson. meanwhile state lawmakers attempt to find some way to get the business of this government complete. >> ryan, thank you for that. if the scandal brings down virginia's top three government officials, a republican would take the state's top office. house of delegates speaker kirk cox is fourth in line for governor. >>> planet earth just emerged from the fourth hottest year ever recorded. according to the nasa and noaa, 18 of the hottest 19 years have occurred since 2001. the warming driven largely by increased carbon monoxide emissions and other greenhouse gases caused by human activity. many countries suffered through extreme weather and climate events in 2018, but the united states was hit particularly hard. there were 14 separate weather and climate disasters that caused $1 billion in damage or more last year. >>> wall street waiting for the federal reserve to decide when and if it will raise interest rates in 2019, the former fed chief janet yellen told cnbc yesterday that the feder

vanessa tyson, at cueser, including in her statement what began as consensual kissing quickly turned into a sexual assault. adding: >> dana: so this story continuing to develop. thanthank you, we will check ban with you. let's bring in our fox news editor and co-host of the podcast that we will record in about an hour. think we will have a lot to talk about. >> yes, ma'am. >> dana: let's start with virginia. you're a former resident. what do you think is going on here? >> look i think the, this is a secular religion in the democratic party and among liberal americans. it's objects relate to antiracism and feminism most recently manifested in the me too movement. what you have here are the pieties of the secular phase in trapping virginia politicians. we are down now to a point you would of said six months ago this is unthinkable. going away from the republican party from purple to solid blue. now the democrats are in a solid position where the pieties threaten their hold on virginia power. we are talking about the scenario which the speaker of the house, a republican, or the presiden

. >> reporter: vanessa tyson said fairfax forced her to perform oral sex in 2004. meredith watson says fairfax raped her while both were students at duke in 2000. both women say they will testify if there's an impeachment hearing. >> my client felt a need to -- a moral and civic duty to come forward. >> reporter: in his latest statement, fairfax says "i did not sexually assault or rape meredith watson, vanessa tyson or anyone else." and is calling for the fbi to investigate. >> any message for the citizens of virginia? >> we'll have our say, i'm confident in the truth. thank you all so much. >> all right, zachary kiesch joins us now from the state capital in richmond. the next steps are complicated. if the impeachment of the lieutenant governor moves forward, how would fairfax be replaced? >> reporter: tom, it would make a complex situation even worse. the virginia constitution doesn't explicitly say how to fill the vacancy so a massive political fight would likely ensue in court. tom. >> zachary kiesch for us tonight from richmond. zachary, thank you. >>> the batt

vanessa tyson, earlier in the week, accused fairfax of sexually assaulting her in0 when they were both in boston to attend the democratic national con convention. fairfax says, i deny this latest sub sun stan unsubstantiated allegation. eneve i never forced myself on anyone, ever. he calls this a vicious and coordinated smear campaign, and adds, i will not resign.x fairfawas defiant when approached by nbc news. do you support the io estigation the allegation against you, sir? >> weill have our say, and i am confident in t uth. >> reporter: prominent democrats are lining up to insist he go. formerr governoterry mcauliffea the caucus in the statehouse, and 19 members of the state senator, where as lieutenant governor, fairfax presides. as of lateid y, several presidential candidates called for fairfax to step down, including cory booker. >> i just believe it is time for him to step down, toresign. >> mike, what a difference a week makes. this time last week, we were t talking abou blackface/kkk scandal with the governor of virginia, ralph northam, at the time. most everybody said he simp

the accuser, vanessa tyson, is a fellow at stanford. she says she came forward with "tremendous anguish". she says she had gone to fairfax's hotel room to "retrieve documents" and that after consensual kissing.. he forced her into having oral sex with him. fairfax denies the allegation.. does anybody think it's any coincidence that on the eve of my potentially being elevated that that's when this uncorroborated smear comes out? does anybody believe that's a coincidence? a stanford bio says tyson is researching the political discourse surrounding sexual assault and the unique identities of sexual assault survivors. tonight: new clues.. that could help catch a bay area serial killer. investigators just released the sketch on the right. it shows what the killer might look like now... more than 40 years later. san francisco police believe a serial killer known as the doodler...murder ed at least 5 men in the city in the 19- 70's. investigators believe the killer targed gay, white men. a chilling phone call to police reveals when one caller

that both n ounters were consensual writing i did not sexual assault or rape meredith watson, vanessa tyson or anyone else. i call on all appropriate and impartial investiga authorities, including the fbi, to investigate fully and thoroughly the allegations against m >> my sincere here is that this will not be necessary and tat the lieutenant governor will heed the calls of many to resign this weekend. if he does not, we will move forward on monday. >> some african-american leaders are questioning the effort to remove fairfax from oice. former loudon knapp knapp president says there'sechos of the past when african-american men were lynched, off for unproven sex assaults. >> this guy's whole life and career i going to be ruined over not proven facts but just rlegations. orter: and others are especially troubled that democrats are turning on fairax at the same time that governor ralph northam and marc herring will stay in office after admitting to have dressed up in blackface. >> to have theer democrats o articles of impeachment, on a black democratic lieutenant governor when th couldn't put

at this point vanessa tyson hasn't filed a criminal complaint against justin fairfax but the district out to tyson's attorneys says her office will investigate if they file a complaint. rachel collins confirms what was first report evidence by the "boston globe" telling us these are unique circumstances. we wouldn't normally discuss a matter like this publicly but the decision was made to self-identify. i would be remiss if i didn't make my office and its resources available to her. tyson's legal team haven't said if they're pursuing a complaint. but the statute of limitations for sexual assault in massachusetts is 15 years. so the deadline for them to do that is now less than six months away. lieutenant governor justin fairfax denies the allegations but his office tells us he would cooperate with any investigation if a criminal complaint is filed but add in a statement. in that event the lieutenant governor will explore all options to filing his own criminal complaint in response to the filing of a false criminal complaint against him. last night vanessa tyson spoke publicly for the

vanessa tyson, the woman accusing virginia's lieutenant governor ofexual assault. dr. tyson describes in graphic detail an encounter she said she had with justin fairfax at the democratic national convention back in 2004 inboston. it began with what she described as a consensual kiss but turned more. quote, i cannot believe given my obvious distress that mr. fairfax thought this forced sexual act wasconsensual. ag be very clear, i did not want to e in oral sex with mr. fairfax and never gave my consent, end quo. just thi evening the lieutenant governor released a new statement of his own reading in quote, i take the situation very seriously and contin to believe dr. tyson should be treated with respect, but iee cannot a to a description of events that simply is not true. and he went onto say reading dr. tyson's account is painful aat e wishes for the best.on on mday the lieutenant governor told reporters the encounterwa happened before h married and was consensual. >> does anybody thi it's any coincidence that on the eve of potentially my being elevated that's when this

vanessa tyson and meredith watson. fairfax leaving his home today denying both allegations. i call on all appropriate and impartial investigate to investiga investigate fully. i ask all three of us to be respected during this process. >> meredith watson and tyson say they are prepared to testify to move forward. they both refute his claim that is the encounter were completely consensual. >>> thank you, geoff bennett. >>> in venezuela, it appears to be a presidential campaign this weekend between the man still holds power and the man who says he's the legitimate president. nbc kerry sanders has beeni following it all. >> reporter: the 35 years ol mobbed by supporters. guaio and maduro both claims to be venezuela's president. tens of thousands rallying formuro for maduro this weekend. in a country where hunger now drives alee gen drives allegiance. street markets still sells but at a high prices. food is scarced for everyone. the sixth-month old justeighs eight pounds but should weigh 16. this afternoon, guaido visited many volunteers. >> doctors say there are many patients, t

vanessa tyson and meredith watson. fairfax flatly denies both allegations.n a new statement writing i call on all appropriate and impartial authorities including the fbi to investigate fully and thoroughly the allegations against me by mrs. watson and dr. tyson. i ask that all three of us be respected during this process. >> one of the women accusing virginia lieutenant governor justin fairfax of rape is due to speak about the me too movement on tuesday. vanessa tyson is a fellow at stanford university's center for advanced study in the behavioral sciences. she's set to appear at a symposium called betrayal and courage in the age of me too. she says fairfax sexually assaulted her in 2004 when they were both aids at the democratic national convention. on friday, meredith watson accused fairfax of assaulting her in 2000 while they were students at duke university. fairfax says the encounters were consensual. he said he will not step down and he wants the fbi to investigate the allegations. >> happening tomorrow, another big teacher strike. this time in colorad

. >> reporter: even as lawmakers try to regroup, word there's growing support for vanessa tyson who accused the lieutenant governor of a sexual assault in 2004. a charge he denied. here's what he said today. >> we'll have our day, i'm confident in the truth. >> reporter: just the latest sign the scandal is not leaving the capital at any time soon. it will be a short reprieve for lawmakers. no doubt new questions will welcome them when they get back here on monday. back to you in the studio. >> before we let you go.us the governor surfacing on social media, what are you hearing aboutthat? reporter: you know, this is the first time we have seen the governor since that rocky press conference last and he put up a picture of a meeting with a well known african-american farmer in virginia, he writes, i just completed a great meeting with lph northam, i urge my support and urge him not to step. do the governor replied, great hearing from you today,ha you for your work on behalf of black farmers. just thet lat indication the governor is digging in and staying haput. >> you, julie carey. >>> virgini

vanessa tyson" who is, of course, the fairfax accuser. of controversy here in richmond and there isn't too many people that have any idea how it will end up. >> dr. vanessa tyson, she's a tenured professor right now and is very, very detailed statement that she did release ryan nobles in richmond. let's bring back david swerdlick. the newspaper had the story for a while, they didn't publish it but now they're going in-depth. >> and our washington reporting was that we could not independently corroborate either lieutenant governor fairfax's or dr. tyson's story. that is what was reported out this week. but lieutenant governor fairfax made a statement over the weekend saying that the "washington post" reporting months ago had found inconsistencies and red flag which is is not consistent with our reporting. and that, i think, is why now lieutenant governor fairfax is facing more pressure, including from dr. tyson's statement which, as you said, was very detailed. >> democrats are in trouble. how big of a scandal. how big of a problem is this

our northern virginia bureau chief has today's developments. >> reporter: professor vanessa tyson speaking at a statyord univervent entitled betrawl and courage in the age of me t. she never directly mentioned th, allegati that justin fairfax sexually assaued her en2004 in her hotel roim. >> sometes you have to lead by example. no matter how hard it is. >> reporter: tyson is one of two women who stepped rward lt week accusing the lieutenant governor of sex assault when he was in his 20s. it prompted mostle eed leaders to quickly call for hir resignation. but fairfax is fighting back. he denies the allegations saying the inkounlters were consensual. >> i know justin fairfax personally. i'm not here toknowha ttal hke other person deserves, some sort of fair process to deal with these allegations. >> reporter: that's prince williams county's naacp president. william bailee along with many others in the african-american community were outraged when talk of impeachment arose. hard and that k was dropped. >> at least prince william and the ncp feel we need not and we should not rush to a sonvict

there is growing support for vanessa tyson in the form of this letter, now signed by hundreds of her friends and academic colleagues. >> julie carey reporting. watson'sterday evening, attorney responded to the statement alleging fairfax targeted watson bwause he k she was a previous sex assault victim. the statement reads, in part, mr. fairfax actually used the prior rape of his friend against her when he chose to rape her in a premedicated way. like he is swearing dr. vanessa tyn, he is shamie iing watson. it's fiphyllis randle is the chair o the loudoun county board of supervisors. in a statement, she said, quote, having more information avaible, i can no longer stand with the lieutenant governor. cim heartbroken to have to make this on, but i know in my heart, it's. corre can da randall says she'll donate the money raised at the event with fairfax to the loudoun county women's abuse shelter. the story is developing by the use our nbc washington app to stay up on changes over the weekend. of course, we'll send you alerts and breaking news. >>> family membe and loved ones will gathe

it's been nearly three weeks since both accusers, vanessa tyson and meredith watson, came forward with. still no investigation. democratic party leaders including 2020 presidential candidates cory booker, kamala harris, kirsten gillibrand, and elizabeth warren have called on fairfax to resign. in the meantime, democratic governor ralph northam not faring so well at the outside of his so-called apology two or three weeks after his black face scandal erupted. virginia union university, a historically black institution in richmond, announced he would attend a phase identity and social justice conversation with students earlier in the week. but the president of the student body wrote a letter asking ortho not to come. he will instead host an event at the statehouse. first, jessica, i want to go to you on the sexual assault allegations. the democrats in virginia have called for justin fairfax to step down for an investigation to be launched. what is your take on the current situation with democratic party in virginia? >> jessica: i can't believe it's been a couple weeks. everybody was prett

vanessa tyson came forward with allegations of sexual misconduct against fairfax. detailing an allegedly abusive encounter with him during 2004 democratic national convention. now, you are wanting come about what you were to see it isn't graphic. tyson claims "as i cried and get mr. formed -- forced me to perform oral and i cannot believe obvious distress mr. fairfax thought is for act was consensual mr. fairfax has i tried to brand me as outlier to national audience and to serve his political ambitions and threaten litigation and gave false insertion. i'm compelled to make clear whaf happened." joining me reaction rachel compost, sara carter and lawrence jones. rachel, let me go to you first, listen, lieutenant governor has niven a pretty firm statement of denial here saying it is i demonstrably false. they can come if we will apply the standards of democrats applied before, he should be gone by now, but he seems to be fighting back and shown not willing to resign a at this poi. >> rachel: i do agree he deserves to process. this is kavanaugh karma for the democrat

now there's a different professor, professor vanessa tyson who is telling her story to the "washingtonssaulted by the lieutenant-governor the of virginia justin fairfax. do you feel that she deserves the same recognition for coming forward with her story? >> i do. i think that we have got to get to the point in this country where we appreciate that only a very small percentage of persons who are sexually assaulted come forward. and the reason they don't come forward is because they are trashed in the media and it is incumbent on us to believe the women. 92 to 97% of those who come forward are telling the truth. >> so based upon what you have seen so far, think you've probably seen what we all have from vanessa tyson, you believe her? >> there's very little that i have seen. but from what she has said, i have no reason to doubt her. she tried to go to the "washington post," they did not go with the story because they had a problem being able to corroborate it. but like kristine blahs decide ford, she h blazy-ford, she had friends that corroborated her story. at some point we have to lea

and she's agreed to be publically identied, vanessa tyson, an associate professorn california. the rotunda in virginia's capital has rarely if ever looked like this, media swarming around lawmakers looking for comments on two controversies. the latest came yesterday about a woman who accuses lieutenant governor justin fairfaf sexually assaulting her at the 2004 democratic national onvention when he was an unmarried 25-year-old. he says the one-time encounter was entirelyse connsual and calls the revolution a political smear. today vanessa tyson is stepping forward hiring the same law firm that represented christine blasey ford. most lawmakers refusin comment on the accusation against the lieutenant governor. others saying theeed more information. >> it's a tough allegation and we have to sit backnd gather, you know, whatever information is out there. >> we don't have all the information, but we take any allegation of sexual abuse or harassment very seriously. so we'o going wait and see how that information involves. > louise lucas also repeating her plea that governor ral north

vanessa tyson. dr. ton describes in very graphic detail an encounter she says she had with justin fairfax at the democratic national convention back in 2004. r we're going td you a portion of this statement. quote, i cannot believe given my obvious distrs that mr. fairfax thought this forced sexual act was .consensu to be very clear i did not want to engage in oral sex with mr. fairfax and i never gave any form of consent, end quote. the docr says the me too movement is part of what inspired her to action. >> erika, thank these scandals that have come to light over the past week could lead to ati pot constitutional crisis in the commonwealth. in the event that the governor is removed from office or unable to serve, the lieutenant governor would succeed him. after the lutenant governor, attorney general would be next in line. the men in allhr of those posts as you've heard are currently embroiled in controversy. if all of them resigned or became unable to serve, third in line is the house speaker who in

vanessa tyson says she's working to set up a meeting with prosecutors in boston about th allegations.ally assaulted her during the 2004 democratic national convention in boston. fairfax says the encounter was llnsensual and his name wi be cleared. the virginia house speakpe says he's oto a general assembly-led investigation and tells "the richmond times dispatch" there would need to be a bipartisan agreement for that to happen. >>> today marks one year since the mass shooting at maroury stonemanas high school in parkland, florida. a 19-year-old killed many students and staff members. many of the survivors are recognizable faces. spired a movement in our area. nicole jacobs has word on a contribute.go morning. >> reporter: good morning to you. bethesda chevy chase students are making atatement today, hanging 671 t-shirts on the fence in memory of those tee victims who lost their lives to gun violence in 2018. you can see the t-shirts have mes on them and their ages. it's all part of the parkland school shooting memorial. these students say gun violence is not o a problem with mass shoo

position his i]encounters were consensua saying i did notw3ok sexual ass or rape meredith watson or vanessa tyson all appropriate and investigative authorities including the fbi to investigate fully and thoroughly the )jjpt(r'st me, but nearly all top democratic n the $sqp"ers commonwealth are calling on democratic t+dpintroduce artic tries to hang on. >> my sincere shown this won't be necessary and the lieutenant many to resign this weekend. if he ds n/áw we'll move >> some african-american leaders are questionin the effort to remove fairfax fromt(fá office. rm> thompson says th+p african-american friends he's been speaking with are espec!1e%uásq that democrats are turning on fairfax at the same time itçóxd appearse attorney l mark her will up in blackface. >> to have the democrats, the democrats offer, say they arefá going to offerrticles ofu impeachment on a black lieutenant governor, democratic lieutenant governor, when they couldn't p

vanessa tyson." this scandal is also raising new similarities to allegations against now supreme court justice brett kavanaugh by dr. christine blasey ford. dr. tyson has hired the same attorneys who represented dr. ford. the lieutenant governor has retained the same law firm that represented justice kavanaugh. >> judge napolitano: you can't make that part of it up. i think they hired these people, these lawyers, because these lawyers were very astute at p.r. as well as whatever legal issue issues. as melissa said earlier, i don't know what the legal issues are. they could be no impeachment hearing for lieutenant governor fairfax at which professor tyson would testify. because this happened before he was in office. so i don't know in what forum, other than the public arena -- >> harris: that matters -- speech he would be defamation or something? >> judge napolitano: a but you have to start a lawsuit, you're talking two years before somebody would be tried. >> harris: that's why the arena matters. beca

she is getting support on social media with people using the hashtag i believe vanessa. tyson is now being represented by the same attory who represented christine blasey ford, the woman who accused supreme court justice brett kavanaugh of assault. lieutenant governor fairfax admitted to a consensual encounter with tyson but denies any assault. >>> governor northam, nine medical schoolss ctes signed a letter saying the governor is not a racist. they say that is not who he was then or who he is now. >>> 6:06 now to a frightening story out of prince william county where more than six bullets ripped through a home. they say they found bullets scattered throughoue their h in montclair. bullets hit the walls throughout the house,ng incluutside of their child's room. princeay william police someone fired nearly a dozen shots early monday morning. seven h the zahid home. no one was injured. police do not believe the family wa targeted. zahids reached out to their homeowner association to beef up protection but say so far nothing has been done. b>> i'm supposed able to protect my fami

vanessa tyson says lieutenant governor justin fairfax assau assaulted her at the 2004 democratic nationalntion. fairfax admitted to a one-time consensual encounter with tyson but he denies ever assaulting her. coming up in the next half hour, we have more on the growing support for vanessaty n. meanwhile, nine former classmates of virginia governor amralph nor wrote a letter supporting him. they do not believe the governoa is st, they say in the letter. stay with news 4 and the nbc washington app. julie carry is in richmond monitoring these stories for us. >>> take a look at this. these are just some of the complaints from news 4 viewers about the potholes opening up in our local roads, nearly 2,000 were reported in d.c. lasonth compared to just 500 in the previous janu transportation officials say keeping up has been a real challenge. >> it's about the freeze/thaw cy he and thevy volume of rain which saturates the ground, causes that condition and in so m caseses it much worse, depending on the nature of the weather. that also affects our ality to fill them. if it's raining or snowing, w

so far not detailed premeditated attack she claims her attack was similar to the first accuser, vanessa tyson who says that she and fairfax were at the dnc convention in boston in 2004 when he asked her to go to his hotel room to get documents and they began kissing, consensually, but then she claims fairfax put his hand behind her head and forced her to perform oral sex. watson has called that encounter consensual. and concerning the allegations by meredith watson fairfax says, quote: i demand a full investigation into these unsubstantiated and false allegation. he goes on to say he is telling the truth. meredith watson's attorney says she shared the details of her rape with a number of people who have now issued statements to corroborate her story. the attorney also said, quote: ms. watson is reluctantly coming forward out of a strong sense of civic duty and her belief that those seeking or serving in public office should be of the highest character. she has no interest in becoming a media personality or reliving the trauma that has greatly affected her life. similarly, she is not seeking a