Conyers denies sexual harassment complaint settlement

UPDATE: Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., admitted Tuesday he did reach a settlement with a former female staff member over sexual harassment accusations but denies her claims of wrongdoing. In a statement issued by his office, Conyers said he first denied the settlement when reporters confronted him at his home Tuesday morning because he didn’t know what they were referring to. “I expressly and vehemently denied the allegations made against me, and continue to do so,” Conyers said. “My office resolved the allegations—with an express denial of liability—to save all involved from the rigors of protracted litigation. That should not be lost in the narrative.” Since reviewing his response to the report, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said she supports opening an ethics review.

OUR EARLIER REPORT (1:14 p.m.): WASHINGTON—Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., the longest-serving member of Congress, is denying claims he settled a 2015 complaint from a former female employee. The woman said she lost her job for resisting his sexual advances, according to a report from BuzzFeed News. Conyers, 88, reportedly used taxpayer funds to pay the woman a little more than $27,000 to keep the complaint silent under a confidentiality agreement. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and John Boehner, the former Republican Speaker of the House, told BuzzFeed they did not know about the settlement. According to signed affidavits from Conyers’ former staffers, the ranking Democrat on the powerful House Judiciary Committee repeatedly made sexual advances toward female employees, including rubbing their legs and requesting sexual favors. One former staffer detailed part of their job responsibilities under Conyers: “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.” Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., has requested an ethics investigation.