Virginia Democrat Backs Off Effort to Open Impeachment Inquiry Against Fairfax

The failed attempt by Delegate Patrick A. Hope, the white lawmaker who was to file the impeachment legislation, demonstrated that as the sandal engulfing Virginia’s government enters its second week it is only growing more painful for Democrats, who are having to confront three statewide officials of their own party.

Hope circulated a resolution Sunday that would have directed a House committee to determine whether allegations of sexual assault against Fairfax by two women, Meredith Watson and Vanessa C. Tyson, “constitute conduct sufficient to provide grounds for impeachment.”

He had said Friday evening that he would introduce articles of impeachment Monday if Fairfax, a fellow Democrat, had not resigned by then.

But Hope backed down after a Sunday night conference call among House Democrats turned heated, according to two Democrats directly familiar with the call who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss party matters. Hope said on Twitter on Monday that discussions with his colleagues had “led to additional conversations that need to take place before anything is filed.”

Members of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus, who have been agonizing over what to do regarding all three of the state’s executives, believe that the claims against Fairfax should be litigated in a legal setting, not a political venue.

And they are furious at Hope over what they see as his haste and his making an already excruciating dilemma even more painful by trying to force them to take a public position on impeachment this week, according to a Virginia Democrat directly familiar with the call.

Fairfax has denied the allegations against him. A spokeswoman for Fairfax said that while he was “aggressively exploring options for a thorough, independent and impartial investigation,” an impeachment proceeding was “an inherently political process” that would not present “the most likely path for learning the truth.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.