Racist yearbook photo investigation cost nearly $368,000

NORFOLK, Va. – A law firm’s investigation into whether Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam appeared in a racist yearbook photo cost nearly $368,000.

The Virginian-Pilot reports invoices obtained through a freedom of information request show Eastern Virginia Medical School received the final bill on Aug. 16.

McGuireWoods LLP said in May that it couldn’t determine whether Northam is in the picture published in 1984 of a man in blackface next to someone in a Ku Klux Klan hood and robe.

The law firm spent five months conducting interviews, reviewing decades of yearbooks and analyzing news reports.

EVMS President Richard Homan was notified of the outcome of the investigation a day before it was made public. Homan says he knew about the photo while Northam was running for political office and didn’t make it public.

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Information from: The Virginian-Pilot, http://pilotonline.com