The Latest: Conyers' resignation letter read in the House
ASSOCIATED PRESS
DETROIT (AP) — The Latest on sexual misconduct allegations against Rep. John Conyers (all times local):
The House clerk has read Democratic Rep. John Conyers' letter of resignation on the floor of the chamber.
In the letter, Conyers says: "I have made the decision to retire from my position as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Michigan's Thirteenth Congressional District effective today."
Conyers first was elected in 1964. He announced his retirement Tuesday morning on a Detroit radio talk show.
That leaves the 435-member House with two vacancies. This past summer, Republican Rep. Tim Murphy of Pennsylvania resigned after the anti-abortion lawmaker allegedly urged his mistress to end a pregnancy.
Some in the House had been urging the 88-year-old Conyers to resign following sexual harassment and inappropriate touching allegations by several women who had worked for him.
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder will call a special election to fill out John Conyers' term in the U.S. House after the lawmaker retired amid sexual harassment allegations by former staff members.
Spokeswoman Anna Heaton says Snyder's office will look at a timetable for that process once it receives a letter of resignation that officially creates the vacancy.
She says the Republican governor has wide discretion as to the timing of the special election.
The 88-year-old Conyers also submitted his decision to retire in a one-sentence letter Tuesday to House Speaker Paul Ryan and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. Pelosi and Ryan had called for Conyers to resign.
Conyers on Tuesday endorsed his son, John Conyers III, for the seat. Michigan state Sen. Ian Conyers, a grandson of John Conyers' brother, also says he plans to run.
Rep. John Conyers says he's resigning from Congress "to preserve (his) legacy and good name."
Conyers said in a statement Tuesday that he's not being afforded "due process" to defend himself against sexual harassment allegations made by former staff members. He's also citing his "current health conditions" as a factor in his decision to step down.
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, a Texas Democrat, read the statement from the 88-yearold Conyers on the floor of the House. She served with Conyers on the House Judiciary Committee.
Conyers says he's been a champion for the oppressed and the disenfranchised, and that he "never wavered in (his) commitment to justice and democracy."
Conyers says he hopes his retirement will be viewed in the "larger perspective" of his more than 50 years as a lawmaker.
A congresswoman says she struggled with her decision to call for Rep. John Conyers to resign because of the important role he played in the civil rights movement.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., said Tuesday that she came to Congress after being a civil rights activist and that "none of the work" she did on immigrant rights issues would have been possible without Conyers' leadership.
Jayapal said last week that Conyers should resign following allegations by former staffers accusing him of sexual harassment. He announced his retirement Tuesday. Jayapal says Democrats will "lose our moral authority if we also don't call out those we love who have done things that are bad."
Jayapal says she also thinks Roy Moore, of Alabama, should drop out of the Senate race in the wake of allegations of sexual misconduct with teenagers.
A top House Democrat says word of 27term Michigan Rep. John Conyers' retirement is a "sad end to a long career."
Rep. Zoe Lofgren of California said Tuesday that people shouldn't forget Conyers' notable accomplishments in civil rights and other issues.
Conyers was the first African-American to chair the Judiciary Committee and a founder of the Congressional Black Caucus. He sponsored legislation to honor Martin Luther King Jr. with a holiday and pushed for Rosa Parks to lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda after her death.
The 88-year-old Conyers announced his retirement Tuesday amid allegations of sexual misconduct by former staffers.
The congressman who replaced Rep. John Conyers as acting Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee says he is saddened by news of Conyers' retirement.
Conyers has been beset by allegations of sexual harassment in recent weeks and has come under increasing pressure from House colleagues to resign.
Calling Conyers a "friend and mentor," Rep. Jerrold Nadler said in a statement that "there is no doubt that these allegations have taken a tremendous toll on him personally, as well as on his family and on everyone that knows him."
But Nadler continues: "With that said, there can be no tolerance for behavior that subjects women to the kind of conduct that has been alleged."
The attorney for one of the women who have accused U.S. Rep. John Conyers of sexual harassment says the issue is "about much more than one congressman."
Lisa Bloom told The Associated Press in an email following Conyers' retirement announcement Tuesday that "systemic change is urgently needed so no other women have to endure the retaliation, secrecy and delays" that her client and others have experienced.
Marion Brown has said that she settled a complaint in 2015 that alleged she was fired because she rejected Conyers' sexual advances. She was paid more than $27,000 by Conyers' office in the confidential settlement.
The House Ethics Committee is investigating the allegations by Brown and other women who worked for Conyers.
The 88-year-old Conyers first was elected in 1964.
The House Ethics Committee will likely continue to investigate Rep. John Conyers, even though the veteran Democrat has announced he plans to retire.
The ethics panel retains jurisdiction over Conyers as long as the 27-term Democrat remains in Congress, and a senior legislative aide says the normal course would be for the ethics inquiry to continue.
The aide spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the individual wasn't authorized to discuss it publicly.
Lisa Bloom, an attorney for one of Conyers's accusers, says her client, Marion Brown, "is ready, willing and able to
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