The story of embattled Congressman John Conyers, Jr. just continues to drag on as the longest serving member of the U.S. House of Representatives refuses calls to resign in light of multiple allegations of sexual misconduct.
The latest today is that House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said at a press conference (as reported by NBC News):
“Congressman Conyers should resign. The allegations against Congressman Conyers, as we’ve heard more and more since Sunday, are serious, disappointing and very credible. It’s very sad. A brave woman came forward…Zero tolerance means consequences for everyone — no matter how great a legacy is no license to harass or discriminate.”
Additionally, WDIV is reporting that Conyers Jr. is now in a local hospital due to stress.
Conyers, Jr., who represents a large portion of the city of Detroit and metro Detroit, continues to deny allegations against him.
Beyond the sexual misconduct issue that have recently come to light, Conyers has a long series of allegations of misusing congressional resources that were not followed up on by his colleagues over the years.
Conyers is considered a civil rights icon as a founder of the Congressional Black Caucus and champion of various pieces of civil rights legislation, he’s well connected with the union movement and he’s been a powerful member of the House of Representatives.
But only now has the political will built among his colleagues to resign.
Democratic party leadership can no longer claim the high ground when it comes to sexual assault allegations, giving that up with the litany of allegations against multiple leaders that have come to light.
There was a tortuous interview by Pelosi herself on Meet The Press on Sunday. She called Conyers an “icon in our country.”
But my, oh my, how a few days can change things.
This morning, the former Conyers staffer Marion Brown who had signed a non-disclosure agreement as part of a settlement went public on the TODAY show saying that Conyers “violated my body” as well as frequently propositioned her for sex. She’s the center of the BuzzFeed report that broke all of this wide open.
Conyers attorney, Arnold Reed, was defiant about the “three or four” allegations against Conyers.
“It is not up to Nancy Pelosi. Nancy Pelosi did not elect the congressman and she sure as hell won’t be the one to tell the congressman to leave,” said Reed, as reported by multiple outlets.
Earlier, Conyers said that he would not resign but not seek a new term.
Does anything matter anymore? Conyers got hung out to dry by leadership once they felt he was a major liability. Call us skeptical, but the timing feels like CYA (Cover Your A…) and not some sort of “coming to Jesus” around the topic.
Both sides of the aisle are doing a terrible job dealing with all of this.
