Peter Hasson of the Daily Caller details the latest high-profile Democratic politician caught up in the current furor over sexual harassment.
A leading Democratic congressman settled a wrongful dismissal complaint for more than $27,000 in taxpayer funding after he allegedly fired the staffer because she would not “succumb to [his] sexual advances,” according to a new report.
The congressman, Michigan Rep. John Conyers, is described as a serial sexual harasser who would prey on his female staffers in sworn affidavits signed by four of his former staffers. BuzzFeed News first reported the bombshell allegations and accompanying settlement after right-wing blogger Mike Cernovich provided the website with the documents.
One former female employee filed a complaint with the Congressional Office Of Compliance in 2014, alleging that she was fired for rebuffing Conyers’ sexual advances. It was that employee who eventually received a $27,111.75 settlement in 2015, in exchange for a confidentiality agreement. The congressman did not admit to fault as part of the settlement agreement.
“In her complaint, the former employee said Conyers repeatedly asked her for sexual favors and often asked her to join him in a hotel room. On one occasion, she alleges that Conyers asked her to work out of his room for the evening, but when she arrived the congressman started talking about his sexual desires,” BuzzFeed reported. “She alleged he then told her she needed to ‘touch it,’ in reference to his penis, or find him a woman who would meet his sexual demands.”