Conyers leaves post on Judiciary panel
Amid harassment inquiry, Democrat steps aside
WASHINGTON – Rep. John Conyers is stepping down from his top spot on the House Judiciary Committee as a congressional ethics panel investigates sexual harassment allegations against the Michigan Democrat.
Conyers again denied the allegations in a statement Sunday but said he has requested to step down as the Judiciary Committee’s ranking member.
“To be clear, I would like very much to remain as ranking member,” he said in a statement. “There is still much work to be done on core concerns like securing civil rights, enacting meaningful criminal justice reforms, and protecting access to the ballot box. ... But I have come to believe that my presence as ranking member on the committee would not serve these efforts while the ethics committee investigation is pending.”
Conyers, 88, has denied harassing an employee who received a 2015 settlement of more than $27,000 from his office budget. He did confirm the settlement, saying last week that his “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.”
The House Ethics Committee has opened an inquiry into the allegations.
After the report of the settlement was published last week, a second woman accused the congressman of harassing her while she worked was his aide. Melanie Sloan said he verbally abused her, criticized her appearance and once came to a meeting in his underwear.
In response to Conyers’ decision to step aside, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said Sunday that “zero tolerance means consequences.”
“We must ensure the Congress has a climate of dignity and respect with zero tolerance for sexual harassment,” the California Democrat said in a statement.
Conyers has long served on the powerful panel, including a stint as its chairman from 2007 to 2011.
Rep. Jerrold Nadler of New York, the second most senior Democrat on the committee, said his party’s work on the panel must move forward.
“I will do everything in my power to continue to press on the important issues facing our committee, including criminal justice reform, workplace equality and holding the Trump administration accountable,” Nadler said in a statement.
The announcements come after Pelosi insisted on NBC’s Meet the Press that Conyers deserves due process as the ethics committee investigates the accusations and his use of office funds to settle one case.
“John Conyers is an icon in our country,” she said. “He has done a great deal to protect women. ... The fact is, as John reviews his case — which he knows, which I don’t — I believe he will do the right thing.”
When asked if the “right thing” meant the Michigan Democrat’s resignation, Pelosi dodged the question.
“He will do the right thing in terms of what he knows about his situation,” Pelosi replied. “That he’s entitled to due process. But women are entitled to due process as well.”
Pelosi did not say whether she believed Conyers’ accusers.
Attorney Lisa Bloom said Sunday that she represents the woman who filed a sexual harassment complaint in 2014. Her client “was forced” to sign a confidentiality agreement when she received the settlement, Bloom said.
“We call upon Mr. Conyers and the Office of Compliance to release my client from her confidentiality agreement so that she may have a voice to tell her own story,” Bloom said in a statement.
“There is still much work to be done. ... But I have come to believe that my presence as ranking member on the committee would not serve these efforts.”