Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam may or may not be in that blackface photo, 3-month investigation concludes
Remember Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam?
The Democrat got into some major hot water back in February when a photo of two people, one in blackface and one in a Ku Klux Klan robe, was found on his Eastern Virginia Medical School yearbook page. Yet Northam somehow slunk from the spotlight as EVMS conducted a probe into the picture. And more than three months later, investigators have decided not to decide whether Northam was in it.
A conservative publication posted Northam's 1984 yearbook page back in early February, and several sources confirmed it was real. Northam first said he was — and then said he wasn't — in the photo, so EVMS commissioned a report to determine the answer. Yet even after interviewing Northam and his former classmates, investigators "could not conclusively determine the identity of either individual depicted in the photograph," the report released Wednesday details.
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Northam denied he was in the photo following its release, but said he had worn blackface on a separate occasion. He then resisted scathing calls for his resignation. That move would've left Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax (D) in charge, but he was quickly accused of sexual assault by two women. Fairfax denied the allegations.
Find the whole EVMS report here.
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Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
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