Virginia politics went into further turmoil as the lieutenant governor of the eastern US state, where the governor is under intense pressure to resign, was accused of sexual misconduct.
Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax, who would take over if Governor Ralph Northam steps down, strongly denied the allegation made by a woman about a sexual encounter they had in a hotel room 15 years ago.
Fairfax, 39, a Democrat who won election along with Northam in November, said it had been a "100 per cent consensual encounter". "There was no inappropriate contact whatsoever," Fairfax told reporters.
"Years later, now we have a totally fabricated story out of the blue that's meant to attack me because of where I am in politics," he said on Monday. "This has been weaponised and used as a smear."