Detroit Free Press editorial calls on Conyers to resign

By LOUIS NELSON 11/22/2017 07:51 AM EST

A newspaper in Rep. John Conyers’ hometown of Detroit has called on the longtime lawmaker to resign, writing in an editorial published Tuesday night that his most recent scandal, involving allegations of sexual harassment kept quiet with taxpayer dollars, is grounds to end his tenure on Capitol Hill.

“It is the kind of behavior that can never be tolerated in a public official, much less an elected representative of the people,” the Detroit Free-Press wrote in its editorial. “And it means that whatever Conyers’ legacy will eventually be, his tenure as a member of Congress must end — now.”

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The arrangement struck with Conyers’ accuser could potentially be a violation of House ethics rules, which stipulate rules for hiring and payment of employees, although the congressman’s office insisted that the payments to Conyers’ former staffer were a severance payment. The Free-Press, in its editorial, said the deal “looks an awful lot like hush money.”

The newspaper couched its call for Conyers to resign with praise for his long history on Capitol Hill and his work on civil rights issues, both before joining Congress and since his election. But the allegations unearthed this week by BuzzFeed, of sexual misconduct and of the potential misuse of taxpayer dollars to cover it up, should be enough to force out Congress’ longest-serving member,” the editorial read.

“John Conyers Jr. must go — after 53 years in Congress, after a stellar career of fighting for equality, after contributing so much to southeast Michigan and the nation,” the newspaper said. “It’s a tragic end to his public career. But it’s the appropriate consequence for the stunning subterfuge his office has indulged here, and a needed warning to other members of Congress that this can never be tolerated.”


https://www.politico.com/story/2017/11/22/john-conyers-detroit-free-press-editorial-258070?lo=ap_c1