Ralph Northam KKK costume photo directory: The investigation of the Northam racist phone picture deemed inconclusive

Officials from the Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS), to which Virginia Democratic Governor Ralph Northam attended, unveiled the results of an independent investigation into racist photos found on the page of the Northam's 1984 directory, as well as on others over the years. The school hired the McGuireWoods law firm to conduct the investigation.

"With respect to the photo on Governor Northam's personal page, we were unable to determine with certainty the identity of one or the other of the persons pictured." , revealed the report. "No one we interviewed told us, to our knowledge, that the governor was in the picture, and no knowledgeable person reported to us that the governor was in the picture."

Rumors about the governor's past have been generalized earlier this year after the publication of Northam's page in the medical school yearbook, showing a person in black face and another in Ku Klux Klan's costume. Northam initially apologized for his presence on the photo, but the next day he said he did not think he was one of the two characters in the photo.

Northam also attributed the appearance of the photo on his page to someone else's error and stated that he had not seen the directory, which he had not bought, before last week. Northam remains in power after rejecting numerous calls for the resignation of the national politicians and the two states.

"Although we did not identify any information that the photo was mistakenly placed on Governor Northam's personal page or by any other means that did not follow his instructions, we were unable to determine conclusively the origin of the photo, "says the report.

As part of its investigation, the law firm McGuireWoods attempted to contact more than 80 former and current EVMS students from 1983-2021 classes. They asked 30 of them about the survey. The survey also included interviews with 15 professors, administrators and staff members, past and present.

McGuireWoods interviewed Northam on March 27, 2019. Northam named five people likely to have had relevant information for the 1984 yearbook. McGuireWoods spoke to several people, including four who spoke to Northam on Feb. 1 , including two staff members. The company conducted follow-up interviews with Northam, its chief of staff, Clark Mercer, and interviewed the wife of Virginia Governor Pam Northam.

The firm attempted to contact over 80 former and current EVMS students in the 1983-2021 classes. McGuire Woods asked 30 of them about the survey. The survey also included interviews with 15 professors, administrators and staff members, past and present.