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By Erik Ortiz
An independent inquiry into a racist photo on Virginia Federal Governor Ralph Northam's 1984 Medicine Directory page "could not conclusively determine" whether he is one of the two people in the photo, according to the findings released Wednesday.
The investigators noted that Northam made "incoherent public statements" about his participation in the photo, which featured a black-faced person and another in Ku Klux Klan's costume. Governor's personal page in his directory of Eastern Virginia Medical School.
"None of the people we interviewed told us, from personal knowledge, that the governor was in the picture, and no knowledgeable person told us to tell him that the governor was in the picture," an investigator said. a report of 36 pages.
In addition, the investigators stated that they found no information that the racist image was mistakenly placed on Northam's home page or for any other reason not following his direction. They also could not determine the origin of the photo, although the investigators stated "that those we interviewed thought the photo may have taken place at a party. from Halloween, or maybe from a costume party on the theme of strange or opposing couples ".
Eastern Virginia Medical School launched the investigation by recruiting former Virginia Attorney General Richard Cullen of McGuireWoods law firm, whose mandate was to examine the past culture of the school and the production processes of its yearbook.
Cullen said at a press conference on Wednesday that Northam had participated in the investigation and had asked how the various images had been found on his page.
"He remembers the car, the cowboy hat and the other, but he does not remember the KKK or the Blackface image," Cullen said.
Asked about the truth of the statements of the comrades interviewed during the investigation, Cullen said that the investigators were "trained to be skeptical" and "it is fair to say that we took their statements to their true value and that we we had no reason not to do it ".
The scandal erupted in February when the page was posted on a conservative news site – which led to calls for Northam's resignation and the confusion of other Virginia Democrats in separate scandals.
Northam, a pediatric neurologist who took office in January 2018, first stated that he was on the photo and apologized at a press conference. But a few days later, in an interview with CBS News, Northam denied being in the picture after "having the chance to step back, take a deep breath" and study it.
Northam, however, admitted to having darkened his face with waxing to mimic Michael Jackson during a dance competition in 1984.
Investigators said Wednesday they have reviewed in detail the contents of the 1984 yearbook of Eastern Virginia Medical School and discovered that it "repeatedly contained other content that could hurt women, minorities, some ethnic groups and others ". These images have become less frequent in recent years.
From 1976 to 2013, investigators discovered that school yearbooks were almost entirely run by students, with little or no supervision on the part of the administration.
"Although there has been an administrative liaison some years, we have not identified any information indicating that professors or administrators have published or censored student photographs or the general content of the directories" , says the report.
After refusing to leave his post following the brewing scandal, Northam said he would use the rest of his term to advance issues of race and equality.
His office did not immediately comment on the results of the investigation.
The other two Virginia Democrats overcame their own political controversies: Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax was accused of sexual assault by two women, which he denies and said he did not resign. Meanwhile, Attorney General Mark Herring admitted to having worn Blackface at the age of 19.
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