Longtime Democratic Rep. John Conyers denies sexual harassment settlements

AP

John Conyers

• Rep. John Conyers settled a wrongful dismissal complaint in 2015 with a former employee who said she was fired after she refused his sexual advances, BuzzFeed News reported Monday.
• Conyers' office reportedly paid the woman $27,000 in a settlement that included a confidentiality agreement.
• Former employees wrote in affidavits that they witnessed the congressman touch female staffers inappropriately and request sexual favors.

Democratic Michigan Rep. John Conyers, the longest-serving member of the House of Representatives, settled a wrongful dismissal complaint in 2015 with a former employee who said she was fired after she refused Conyers' sexual advances, BuzzFeed News reported Monday.

Conyers' office reportedly paid the woman $27,000 in a settlement that included a confidentiality agreement. BuzzFeed published four signed affidavits from former employees who said they had witnessed the congressman touch female aides inappropriately and request sexual favors.

"I was basically blackballed. There was nowhere I could go," the woman, who requested anonymity for fear of retribution, told BuzzFeed.

Conyers, a civil rights icon and ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, denies that he settled any sexual harassment complaints and said that he knew nothing of the claims until he read BuzzFeed's report on Tuesday morning, The Associated Press reported.

The 88-year-old congressman told the AP he's "been looking at these things with amazement."

BuzzFeed disclosed that it received the affidavits and other documents from right-wing activist Mike Cernovich, a right-wing internet personality, but independently verified their authenticity.

House Speaker Paul Ryan called the allegations "deeply troubling" in a Tuesday morning statement.

Congress's Office of Compliance, which handles sexual misconduct complaints, has paid $17 million in 264 settlements with federal employees over the past 20 years for violations including sexual harassment, The Washington Post reported last week.

Lawmakers - including Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a New York Democrat; Rep. Jackie Speier, a California Democrat; and Rep. Barbara Comstock, a Virginia Republican - have become outspoken advocates of reforming Congress' system for dealing with sexual misconduct complaints.

They argue that the current process, which involves a mandatory nondisclosure agreement, 30 days of counseling, 30 days of mediation between the accuser and the accused, and a 30-day "cooling off period" before the complaint is formalized, discourages victims from coming forward and unfairly protects perpetrators.

"The present system may have been okay in the dark ages," Speier said during a congressional hearing earlier this month. "It is not appropriate for the 21st century."

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, said that she was previously unaware of Conyers' alleged settlement.

"The current process includes the signing of non-disclosure agreements by the parties involved," Pelosi said in a statement. "Congresswoman Jackie Speier has introduced legislation that will provide much-needed transparency on these agreements and make other critical reforms. I strongly support her efforts."