John Conyers has denied that he settled a complaint from a former staffer who claimed she was fired after rejecting his sexual advances.
The House Ethics Committee launched a probe of Michigan Rep. John Conyers hours after he admitted to reaching a cash settlement with an ex-staffer who accused him of sexual harassment.
The Tuesday announcement followed a Buzzfeed News report that detailed a $27,000 payment to silence Conyers’ ex-employee, along with additional accounts of inappropriate behavior toward female staffers.
A second report emerged later in the day chronicling the experience of a different female staffer who tried to file a sexual harassment suit against Conyers.
“The Committee is aware of public allegations that Representative John Conyers, Jr. may have engaged in sexual harassment of members of its staff, discriminated against certain staff on the basis of age, and used official resources for impermissible personal purposes,” Ethics Committee Chairwoman Susan Brooks (R-Ind.) Ted Deutch (D-Fla.) said in a joint statement.
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A ballooning number of lawmakers on both sides of the aisle called for an ethics investigation into Conyers’ conduct following the Buzzfeed story published Monday.
After initially denying the settlement early Tuesday, Conyers confirmed its existence but stressed that the allegation was false.
“In this case, I expressly and vehemently denied the allegations made against me and continue to do so,” the 88-year-old Democratic lawmaker said in a statement.
“My office resolved the allegations — with an express denial of liability — in order to save all involved from the rigors of protracted litigation. That should not be lost in the narrative.”
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The Buzzfeed story detailed affidavits from ex-staffers who said they had witnessed Conyers requesting sexual favors from the one who filed the complaint — and had seen him caressing the legs and back of other staffers in a sexual manner.
One former staffer said one of her jobs was “to keep a list of women that I assumed he was having affairs with and call them at his request and, if necessary, have them flown in using Congressional resources.”
The ex-employee who received the settlement said in her complaint that Conyers repeatedly begged for sexual favors and often asked her to join him in a hotel room, Buzzfeed reported.
In one instance, the woman showed up at his hotel room after he asked her to work alongside him for the evening.
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But the congressman started talking about his sexual desires soon after she arrived — and even asked her to fondle his privates, her complaint says, according to Buzzfeed.
In another seamy encounter, Conyers made an unwanted request to the woman after she refused to stay in his hotel room while they traveled together for a fundraising event.
“Just cuddle up with me and caress me before you go,” he said, according to Buzzfeed.
The woman later agreed to the settlement in exchange for her silence after enduring a protracted process that critics say is designed to discourage victims from reporting abuses.
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“I was basically blackballed,” the woman told Buzzfeed News.
“There was nowhere I could go.”
New York Rep. Jerrold Nadler was among several lawmakers who called for an investigation of Conyers, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee and the longest-serving current member of the House.
“The allegations against ranking member Conyers are extremely serious and deeply troubling,” Nadler said.
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“Obviously, these allegations must be investigated promptly by the Ethics Committee. There can be no tolerance for behavior that subjects women to the kind of conduct alleged. We also must support efforts to reform the way the House of Representatives handles these matters to make the process easier and more supportive of victims, as well as more transparent.”
House Speaker Paul Ryan called the report “extremely troubling.”
“People who work in the House deserve and are entitled to a workplace without harassment or discrimination,” Ryan added.
With News Wire Services .
