A federal appeals court on Wednesday upheld a ruling dismissing a defamation lawsuit filed by Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax after CBS News broadcast interviews with two women who accused him of sexual assault.
In its ruling, a three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said that because Fairfax is a public official, he can seek redress for any alleged defamatory statements only if CBS published them with “actual malice,” meaning “with knowledge that it was false or with reckless disregard of whether it was false or not.” The judges said Fairfax had not shown that.
The allegations against Fairfax, a Democrat, were made in early 2019 at a time when it appeared that Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam might resign after a blackface photo on his medical school yearbook page surfaced. Under Virginia law, the lieutenant governor replaces a sitting governor who resigns. The allegations against Fairfax blunted the momentum of those seeking Northam’s resignation.
Both Northam and Fairfax have remained in office, as has Democratic Attorney General Mark Herring, who admitted about the same time that he had worn blackface in college.
Another Bill Cosby gets off again !!!! GUILTY