Sen. Bernie Sanders ran away and literally hid in an elevator to avoid a question about the sexual assault allegations levied against Virginia Democrat Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax.
On Tuesday, The Daily Caller’s Henry Rodgers attempted to ask Sanders about Fairfax, who has been accused of sexually assaulting a woman during the 2004 Democratic National Convention.
“Senator Sanders, do you believe,” Rodgers began before a gentleman walking with the Vermont lawmaker cut him off and said he “can’t” talk about that right now.
Sanders then gets in the elevator, looks directly toward Rodgers and other reporters, and doesn’t say anything while donning a creepy smirk on his face.
Sen. Bernie Sanders will not say if he believes VA Lt. Governor Justin Fairfax’s accuser… pic.twitter.com/zU69QSzXGD
— Henry Rodgers (@henryrodgersdc) February 5, 2019
Sanders double standard on the issue is astounding.
During the Kavanaugh hearings in Sept. 2018, Sanders flat-out declared: “I believe Dr. Ford. Brett Kavanaugh does not belong on the Supreme Court.”
But when asked if that same standard should be applied to Fairfax, Sanders refused to respond and would not say if he believes Fairfax’s accuser.
The woman, who has not been named, claims that Fairfax sexually assaulted her over a decade ago when they both attended the Democratic National Convention.
As noted by Fox News, the woman has also retained Katz Marshall & Banks to represent her in the matter.
Debra Katz and her firm represented Christine Blasey Ford, the California professor who accused now-Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her almost four decades ago.
Fairfax originally suggested over the weekend that Virginia Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam or his allies could be behind the allegations against him resurfacing.
Pictures from Northam’s 1984 medical school yearbook have resurfaced, which show one person dressed in “blackface” and another wearing a Ku Klux Klan outfit.
Northam claimed he doesn’t believe he’s either person pictured in “blackface” or in the KKK outfit, but did admit he once “darkened” his face when he dressed up as singer Michael Jackson.
Fairfax now claims that the relationship he had with the woman was consensual and that he’s not sure if Northam or his allies spread the rumors.
The reason Sanders is being asked about Fairfax is because he took to Twitter last week to heap praise on the Lieutenant Governor and said he would lead Virginia in the right direction.
Gov. Northam should resign. Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax should step in and begin a new day for Virginia.
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) February 2, 2019
With Northam under fire for the racist yearbook photos and Fairfax engulfed in allegations of sexual assault, this has not been a good week for Virginia.
But more importantly, Sanders has a long history of refusing to answer questions about sexual assault, including when it allegedly took place under his own watch.
During an interview with CNN earlier this month, host Anderson Cooper asked Sanders about a bombshell report that several women experienced sexually harassment while working for his 2016 presidential campaign.
Sanders, who is gearing up for a 2020 presidential run, told Cooper that he wasn’t aware of the numerous allegations because he was “uh.. a little bit busy.”
“Just to be clear, you seemed to indicate that you did not know at the time about the allegations. Is that correct?”Cooper asked.
“Uh, yes,” Sanders responded. “I was a little bit busy running around the country, trying to make the case.”
Samantha Davis, the former director of operations in Texas and New York in 2016, said that she felt marginalized and “pushed aside” after declining to go to her supervisor’s hotel room.
“I did experience sexual harassment during the campaign, and there was no one who would or could help,” Davis said.
In an email obtained by the Times, a delegate wrote: “There was an entire wave of rotten sexual harassment that seemingly was never dealt with.”
The Times’ expose came in response to another report detailing how a group of Bernie staffers have been trying to meet with the Vermont socialist to discuss their bad experiences, but he has not taken the time to meet with them.
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