Today, Congressman John Conyers (D-MI) made the announcement that he will not seek re-election in 2018 after a series of sexual misconduct allegations. Conyers is one of the founding members of the Congressional Black Caucus and also the longest-serving member of Congress, having been elected in 1964.
Allegations of improper behavior came out recently after it was revealed that a former staff member was paid $27K out of Conyers’ office funds to settle the dispute. Former staffer Marion Brown completed a decades-long term as the chief of staff for Conyers. And she sat down with Savannah Guthrie on NBC’s “Today” to reveal her identity and, going against the confidentiality agreement she signed, opened up about her experience working in the legendary congressman’s office: “He asked me to satisfy him sexually. He pointed to genital areas of his body and asked me to touch it.”
Brown’s 2014 complaint against Conyers and the alleged settlement she reached in 2015 was a story first broken by “Buzzfeed News” last week.
Within the past few days, it was revealed by the Washington Post that another woman has come forth with a claim that Conyers put his hand under her skirt while sitting in the front pew at church. The swirl of misconduct allegations saw Conyers hospitalized with what has been called a stress-related ailment.
House Leader Nancy Pelosi stated on the program “Meet the Press” on Sunday, “The allegations against congressman Conyers as we have learned more since Sunday are serious, disappointing and very credible.”
