John Conyers Confirms Sexual-Harassment Settlement, Retracts Earlier Statement
Source: The Daily Beast
Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) confirmed Tuesday that he had paid out a settlement after BuzzFeed News reported that his office paid a woman more than $27,000 as part of a confidentiality agreement related to sexual-harassment complaints. The confirmation retracts an earlier statement he made to the AP denying such a settlement and claiming he was surprised by the accusations. I expressly and vehemently denied the allegations made against me, and continue to do so, he said. My 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 resolution was not for millions of dollars, but rather for an amount that equated to a reasonable severance payment. The long-time congressman also stated that he would cooperate with a House investigation.
Read more: https://www.thedailybeast.com/john-conyers-confirms-sexual-harassment-settlement-retracts-earlier-statement
The old, "I did it to spare everyone but me" routine. Fuck that. Conyers should resign.
murielm99
(30,745 posts)There are many time people pay a settlement to avoid litigation. He says he would cooperate with an investigation.
PatSeg
(47,501 posts)We can't automatically assume that every allegation is true, just like we need to listen when people report sexual harassment.
BeyondGeography
(39,374 posts)It worked so well for him up until this point.
It should at least give you pause that he denied it all at first, including the settlement, and that's already been walked back.
murielm99
(30,745 posts)asking everyone to resign. Let them investigate.
BeyondGeography
(39,374 posts)From the affidavits, which Buzzfeed independently verified:
She alleged Conyers made her work nights, evenings, and holidays to keep him company.
In another incident, the former employee alleged the congressman insisted she stay in his room while they traveled together for a fundraising event. When she told him that she would not stay with him, she alleged he told her to just cuddle up with me and caress me before you go.
Rep. Conyers strongly postulated that the performing of personal service or favors would be looked upon favorably and lead to salary increases or promotions, the former employee said in the documents.
Three other staff members provided affidavits submitted to the Office Of Compliance that outlined a pattern of behavior from Conyers that included touching the woman in a sexual manner and growing angry when she brought her husband around.
One affidavit from a former female employee states that she was tasked with flying in women for the congressman. One of my duties while working for Rep. Conyers was to keep a list of women that I assumed he was having affairs with and call them at his request and, if necessary, have them flown in using Congressional resources, said her affidavit. (A second staffer alleged in an interview that Conyers used taxpayer resources to fly women to him.)
The employee said in her affidavit that Conyers also made sexual advances toward her: I was driving the Congressman in my personal car and was resting my hand on the stick shift. Rep. Conyers reached over and began to caress my hand in a sexual manner.
The woman said she told Conyers she was married and not interested in pursuing a sexual relationship, according to the affidavit. She said she was told many times by constituents that it was well-known that Conyers had sexual relationships with his staff, and said she and other female staffers felt this undermined their credibility.
I am personally aware of several women who have experienced the same or similar sexual advances made towards them by Rep[.] John Conyers, she said in her affidavit.
A male employee wrote that he witnessed Rep. Conyers rub the legs and other body parts of the complainant in what appeared to be a sexual manner and saw the congressman rub and touch other women in an inappropriate manner. The employee said he confronted Conyers about this behavior.
Rep. Conyers said he needed to be more careful because bad publicity would not be helpful as he runs for re-election. He ended the conversation with me by saying he would work on his behavior, the male staffer said in his affidavit.
I dont think any allegations should be buried...and thats for anyone, not just for this particular office"
The male employee said that in 2011 Conyers complained a female staffer was too old and said he wanted to let her go. The employee said he set up a meeting in December 2011 to discuss mistreatment of staff and his misuse of federal resources. The affidavit says that Conyers agreed that he would work on making improvements as long as I worked directly with him and stopped writing memos and emails about concerns.
Another female employee also attested that she witnessed Conyers advances, and said she was asked to transport women to him. I was asked on multiple occasions to pick up women and bring them to Mr. Conyers['] apartment, hotel rooms, etc.
BuzzFeed News reached out to several former Conyers staffers, all of whom did not want to speak on the record. One former staffer, who did not want to be named, said she was frustrated by the secretive complaint process.
I dont think any allegations should be buried...and thats for anyone, not just for this particular office, because it doesnt really allow other people to see who these individuals are, said the former staffer. When you make private settlements, it doesnt warn the next woman or the next person going into that situation.
Another staffer said Conyers reputation made people fearful to speak out against him. Aside from being the longest-serving House member and the ranking member of a powerful committee, Conyers is a civil rights icon. He was lauded by Martin Luther King Jr. and is a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus.
Your story wont do shit to him, said the staffer. Hes untouchable.
https://www.buzzfeed.com/paulmcleod/she-complained-that-a-powerful-congressman-harassed-her?utm_term=.urj41DA35#.hbA4Qld1x
Or he could spare the Democratic Party from further embarrassment and resign...NAH.
Response to BeyondGeography (Reply #5)
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murielm99
(30,745 posts)Confers says he will cooperate with an investigation.
Response to murielm99 (Reply #8)
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murielm99
(30,745 posts)He says he will cooperate.
Response to murielm99 (Reply #12)
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murielm99
(30,745 posts)I take his word for what he said in his statement. His settlement did not imply guilt. There are often legal settlement like this.
You are not from here, are you?
Also, I am done with this tedious discussion. I will not participate in a circular firing squad for Democrats. Goodbye.
Panho
(39 posts)BeyondGeography
(39,374 posts)Panho
(39 posts)Do you want settlements by members of both parties to be released, or just one party, giving the Impressions that Democrats are perverts and Republicans are not.
BeyondGeography
(39,374 posts)They dont care how the story got out. Maybe their political instincts are better than yours.
Panho
(39 posts)Doesn't it bother you that a foreign power is selectively leaking material damaging to Democrats and Republicans? I am not defending Conyers. What he did is wrong. But US intelligence needs to investigate this so that an unbiased source such as the Washington Post can tell us what Congressmen, Republicans and Democrats, have settled lawsuits.
By the way, no reporter has asked any Democrat whether they are troubled about this leak by Russians. So you cannot say that Democratic leaders don't care.
The news just broke.