Why Dan Kildee & Detroit Land Bank Authority Call For Conyers To Resign

Dan Kildee & Bill Clinton

Dan Kildee & Detroit Land Bank Authority join the ranks, with Nancy Pelosi, Kathleen Rice, Mike Quigley, and Raul Grijalva for John Conyers to resign from Congress.

Dan Kildee was the one who spearheaded the creation of the land bank in Michigan.

And now we know why Dan Kildee & Amy Hovey want Conyers to resign.

Conyers steps down from committee post amid harassment claims

Congressman John Conyers has stepped down from his powerful perch as Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee. His colleague in the House, Representative Dan Kildee, reacts to this development 

What is a Land Bank? Dan Kildee, Co-Founder and President Amy Hovey, Co-Founder and Senior Vice-President... by Beverly Tran on Scribd

Amy Hovey is the Chief Operating Officer and Senior Vice President of Capacity Building for Community Progress. Prior to helping launch the organization, Amy founded The Protogenia Group LLC in 2002, after working with the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) for six years. At the consulting firm, Amy provided technical assistance in several areas including organizational development, leadership development, board governance, administrative management, and program and real estate development. She also provided support to Genesee County in the creation of the Genesee County Land Bank Authority. In addition to technical assistance, Amy has extensive training and meeting facilitation experience including an annual fifteen-day training program on comprehensive real estate development.

Prior to Protogenia, Amy was a Program Director with the Michigan State office of the Local Initiative Support Corporation. During her time with LISC, Amy worked with local community development corporations, government agencies, and for profit business, promoting collaboration among community organizations, to revitalize urban neighborhoods. Amy worked closely with several non-profits engaged in commercial corridor revitalization utilizing the Main Street approach. She completed analysis of organizations requesting loans, grants and training. Amy created and facilitated several group trainings to build capacity of non-profit staff and boards. In addition, she provided technical assistance to non-profits on a variety of topics.

Amy joined LISC after four years in private business, working in management, finance and community relations with First of America Bank.

Amy is also part of the Western Reserve Land Conservancy and it seems so is Quicken Loans.

It also seems that there are many U.S. Representatives and Senators who are part of these land bank organizations.

It also seems Dan Kildee & his Land Bank "Legal Geniuses" (trademark pending) are the ones behind the Flint Water Crisis.

But, hey, what do I know?

Stay tuned.  We are just getting started.

Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©

Someone Said Sources Said Conyers Will Not Run Again

Any wagers on the next angle of attacks?

People are working really hard, knowing indictments are coming down, to prevent asset forfeiture and incarceration.

They already threw in a pinch of senility, but I did not feel like posting it.

Stay tuned.  This is just getting started.

Sources: Rep. John Conyers won't seek re-election in wake of sexual harassment claimsSources say Conyers will not resign



DETROIT - The controversy swirling around Michigan Rep. John Conyers has intensified this week as former staff members accused him of sexual harassment.

 Sources told Local 4 that Conyers will not seek re-election for a new term in the wake of the scandal, which continues to grow. Two sources close to the Conyers situation told Local 4's Rod Meloni that the congressman won't resign.

It's his intent to announce in January that he won't run for re-election in 2018.

 His attorney said the allegations are not true, but Conyers is under increased scrutiny, and his family is rallying around him.

 Conyers caught a bit of a break Wednesday as the Congressional Black Caucus met in Washington and Chairman Cedric Richmond disputed the stories saying he is pushing for Conyers to resign. 

Among the former staffers accusing Conyers of sexual harassment is Deanna Maher, who claimed Conyers sexually harassed her three times, including undressing to his underwear in her bedroom while she was in a nightgown.

 The Michigan Democratic Party has not yet responded to a request for comment about the sources' information that Conyers won't run again.

The situation could change depending on the pressure brought to bear in Washington.

Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©

I Know What You Did Last Summer, Nancy Pelosi

I know what you did last summer, Nancy.

I know you have been plotting with your minions to strip Mr. Conyers of his chairmanship for quite some time.

I know you have been plotting to take Mr. Conyers out of congress, for quite some time, also.

I know how your tried to do it.

I know why you tried to do it.

And I know who you did it with.

Perhaps, it is time you retire, gracefully, Nancy.

I know you shall do the right thing.

http://nancypelosiforcongress.com

CHUCK TODD:
Joining me now is House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi of California. Leader Pelosi, welcome back to Meet the Press.

REP. NANCY PELOSI:

Morning. My pleasure to be here.

CHUCK TODD:

Happy Thanksgiving weekend.

REP. NANCY PELOSI:

Thank you. Happy Thanksgiving to you, and congratulations on 70 years.

CHUCK TODD:

Thank you. Thank you for that. We're now 71. I'm going to go back into our wayback machine here. Here's you on Meet the Press, asked specifically about allegations against President Clinton. Here's what you said back in 1998.

(BEGIN TAPE)

TIM RUSSERT:

Why the silence when there have been these allegations, serious ones, about President Clinton?

REP. NANCY PELOSI:

Well, I'd like to say that I think that the women of America are speaking out about what they think about this whole situation. And the women of America are just like other Americans in that they value fairness, they value privacy, and do not want to see a person with uncontrolled power, uncontrolled time, uncontrolled, unlimited money investigating the president of the United States.

(END TAPE)

CHUCK TODD:

That's back then. And look, both Senator Gillibrand and Mayor de Blasio were basically making the argument that our culture's changed, and that, today, same allegations probably would have led Democrats, perhaps like yourself, to call for his resignation. You can have a debate about whether it was an impeachable offense, but whether he had the moral standing to stay in office. Do you agree with this idea that this is a generational change that we're experiencing?

REP. NANCY PELOSI:

Well, I think it's obviously a generational change. But let me just say the concern that we had then was that they were impeaching the president of the United States, and for something that had nothing to do with the performance of his duties, and trying to take him out for that reason.

But let's go forward. Let's go forward. I think that something wonderful is happening now, very credible. It's 100 years, almost 100 years, since women got the right to vote. Here we are, almost 100 years later, and something very transformative is happening. That is, women are saying, "Zero tolerance, no more, and we're going to speak out on it." And this is so wholesome, so refreshing, so different.

CHUCK TODD:

But why do you think the reaction was different by women on Bill Clinton? And I say that because it does seem as if, frankly, when you watch some of the reactions by the president in defending Roy Moore, or at least overlooking the allegations against Roy Moore, that, were you putting politics ahead of your personal disgust?

REP. NANCY PELOSI:

No, but we're talking about a child molester. This is--

CHUCK TODD:

Okay, but--

REP. NANCY PELOSI:

We're talking about a child molester.

CHUCK TODD:

But President Clinton was accused of being a sexual predator.

REP. NANCY PELOSI:

Well--

CHUCK TODD:

And of even rape at one point, by one accuser.

REP. NANCY PELOSI:

Why don't we talk, instead, about how we go forward. Nobody is proud of President Clinton's behavior at the time. But he was being impeached--

CHUCK TODD:

But I think the reason there's a re-litigation of this is that, I think the concern is that we allowed the erosion, that the reason we're at this moment and the reason it got worse over the last 20 years is because of the way we handled it collectively then. Do you buy that argument?

REP. NANCY PELOSI:

No. I buy that the election of President Trump, really, as your presenter said earlier, just evoked a response. So many women, and this is really important, I think, to note, because I've heard from so many women in the last few months, in fact, I heard, around the time of Anita Hill, so many women who've had a bad experience.

And now they're saying, "I had a bad experience, and now a person who possibly engaged in that activity is the president of the United States. I'm speaking out." So I think, as your presenter said earlier--

CHUCK TODD:

It was me, actually.

REP. NANCY PELOSI:

Was that your voice?

CHUCK TODD:

Yes, that is my voice. That's okay.

REP. NANCY PELOSI:

Then you had it right when you said Harvey didn't evoke this, the election of President Trump evoked what happened to Harvey. And now everybody is served notice.

CHUCK TODD:

Right.

REP. NANCY PELOSI:

Let's go forward. Let's talk about, okay, let's learn from past decisions and go forward.

CHUCK TODD:

So define zero tolerance. You said there’s now a zero tolerance.

REP. NANCY PELOSI:

Yes.

CHUCK TODD:

John Conyers. What does that mean for him? Right now. In or out?

REP. NANCY PELOSI:

We are strengthened by due process. Just because someone is accused -- and was it one accusation? Is it two? I think there has to be -- John Conyers is an icon in our country. He has done a great deal to protect women -- Violence Against Women Act, which the left -- right-wing -- is now quoting me as praising him for his work on that, and he did great work on that. But the fact is, as John reviews his case, which he knows, which I don’t, I believe he will do the right thing.

CHUCK TODD:

Why don’t you?

REP. NANCY PELOSI:

Excuse me. May I finish my sentence?

CHUCK TODD:

Sure, sure.

REP. NANCY PELOSI:

That he will do the right thing.

CHUCK TODD:

And is the right thing what? Resign?

REP. NANCY PELOSI:

He will do the right thing in terms of what he knows about his situation. That he’s entitled to due process. But women are entitled to due process as well.

CHUCK TODD:

But he took advantage of a situation where he had a - the rules of Congress and I know you guys want to change these rules, but he got to hide his settlement, he got to - his accusers had to go through all sorts of craziness, so why is he entitled to new due process in this case?

REP. NANCY PELOSI:

No, I I - we are talking about what we have heard. I’ve asked the Ethics Committee to review that. He has said he’d be open - he will cooperate with any review.

CHUCK TODD:

Do you believe the accusers?

REP. NANCY PELOSI:

Excuse me?

CHUCK TODD:

Do you believe John Conyers’ accusers?

REP. NANCY PELOSI:

I don’t know who they are. Do you? They have not really come forward. And that gets to --

CHUCK TODD:

So you don’t know if you believe the accusations?

REP. NANCY PELOSI:

Well, that’s for the Ethics Committee to review. But I believe he understands what is at stake here and he will do the right thing. But all of these non-disclosure agreements have to go. By the way, some of them are there to protect the victim because they didn’t want some of it to be public. But that’s over. In other words, if the victim wants to be private, she can be -- he or she can be.

CHUCK TODD:

I guess it goes back to what is this line? What is a fireable offense? You say it’s zero tolerance.

REP. NANCY PELOSI:

Yes.

CHUCK TODD:

But zero tolerance -- what does that mean if you’re saying John Conyers, who already had due process, gets to stay right now.

REP. NANCY PELOSI:

As I said, we’ve asked for the Ethics Committee to review that. He, I believe, will do the right thing. It’s about going forward.

CHUCK TODD:

Where are you on Senator Franken?

REP. NANCY PELOSI:

Well, same thing. I don't think that you can equate Senator Franken with Roy Moore. It's two different things. So, you know, let's have some discernment.

CHUCK TODD:

So you would accept an apology right now from Al Franken if there's no other accusers, or if all we know are what we know?

REP. NANCY PELOSI:

Well, also, his accusers have to accept an apology. The victims have some say in all of this, as well. And that has happened in the past. People have accepted an apology, as is coming forth now that I see in the press. But we didn't know, because there was a nondisclosure agreement to protect the victim. Sometimes they didn't want to be public. Sometimes they did. So now they will have their choice.

But this is about going forward. And when we go forward, we will address all of that. But we also have to address it for every person, every workplace in the country, not just in the Congress of the United States. And that's very important. And a good deal of that would be done by the Judiciary Committee.

CHUCK TODD:

Okay.

REP. NANCY PELOSI:

And I know that John would take that into consideration.

CHUCK TODD:

You have one member has already, Gregory Meeks has already called for him to be withdrawn as ranking member.

REP. NANCY PELOSI:

No.

CHUCK TODD:

Isn't that something in your power? Can't you decide that he should be suspended on ranking member on Judiciary, of all committees for him to be ranking on?

REP. NANCY PELOSI:

You have to remember that this all happened during the Thanksgiving break. When we come together at the beginning of this week, I think John will do the right thing.

CHUCK TODD:

You're not going to unilaterally make this decision?

REP. NANCY PELOSI:

I'm not sharing that with you right now. But what I am saying is this is a big distraction, and it's very, very important. Do you know that the beginning of the Women's Movement, Elizabeth Cady Stanton lived in Seneca Falls. And she would hear down below examples of family domestic violence. And that was one of the motivators for her to advance the cause of women.

CHUCK TODD:

Right.

REP. NANCY PELOSI:

So this is as old as-- well, it's old as civilization, probably.

CHUCK TODD:

Right.

REP. NANCY PELOSI:

But in terms of our history, in terms of the women's movement, one of the motivators. Now, 100 years after her fight for the right of women to vote, we will clear the deck on this. But I am here to talk about something also transformative in our society, and that is this tax bill that the Republicans have put forth.

CHUCK TODD:

And I want to get into this. But there seems to be a bit of a political paralysis here. I'm trying to figure this out.

REP. NANCY PELOSI:

That isn't. It isn't. We're moving. This week we will pass bipartisan legislation for mandatory anti-harassment, anti-discrimination behavior, A. B) we will then take the larger issue, which has to pass both houses of the Congress for ending the nondisclosure, ending of who pays, all of the concerns that we have about this.

But I don't think that it should-- I think that we want to give people hope. This is going to be addressed. Women have spoken out. Their concerns will be addressed in a way that I think will give comfort, as well as end this behavior.

CHUCK TODD:

All right.

REP. NANCY PELOSI:

Because you know what? It's disgusting, it's repulsive, and it has to be zero tolerance.

CHUCK TODD:

Will you support Congress retroactively making public all of these private settlements that taxpayer dollars have been used?

REP. NANCY PELOSI:

Not necessarily. Sometimes the victim does not want that to happen.

CHUCK TODD:

But if the victim wants it public, will you side with the victim?

REP. NANCY PELOSI:

What I have-- yes. But what I--

CHUCK TODD:

100%?

REP. NANCY PELOSI:

Well, here's the thing. It's really important.

CHUCK TODD:

Okay.

REP. NANCY PELOSI:

Because there is a question as to whether the Ethics Committee can get testimony if you have signed a nondisclosure agreement. We're saying we think the Ethics Committee can, but if you don't agree, we'll pass a law that says the Ethics Committee can, a resolution in Congress that the Ethics Committee can.

CHUCK TODD:

All right.

REP. NANCY PELOSI:

But there's no-- I don't want anybody thinking there's any challenge here to our changing the law and see how people-- when we know more about the individual cases. Well, because you know what our biggest strength is? Due process that protects the rights of the victim, so that, whatever the outcome is, everybody knows that there was due process.

CHUCK TODD:

Leader Pelosi, unfortunately for time, I have to end it there. Appreciate your coming on.

REP. NANCY PELOSI:

You mean we're not even going to talk about taxes?

CHUCK TODD:

I'm--

REP. NANCY PELOSI:

See, you have fallen into the place where they are doing something that's going to increase the debt enormously.

CHUCK TODD:

We're--

REP. NANCY PELOSI:

It's going to be a job killer.

CHUCK TODD:

I've been covering it a lot.

REP. NANCY PELOSI:

A job killer.

CHUCK TODD:

Just finish this thought.

REP. NANCY PELOSI:

And it's going to raise taxes on the middle class. And that has a big impact on individual lives of all Americans. And really, we should be spending more time on that.

CHUCK TODD:

Do you think this other issue isn't as serious as taxes?

REP. NANCY PELOSI:

I think it's eno-- look, as a woman, mother of four daughters, I think it's enormously important. But I think that we have to have a balance in how we go forward. Because this is giving the--

CHUCK TODD:

I struggle with this myself every day.

REP. NANCY PELOSI:

This is giving them cover.

CHUCK TODD:

Okay.

REP. NANCY PELOSI:

There are so many reasons that we should be concerned about the Republican majority in Congress.

CHUCK TODD:

I am going to be asking a Republican across the aisle some of these questions in a few minutes. Anyway, Leader Pelosi, I have to leave it there.

REP. NANCY PELOSI:

Yeah. Well, thank--

CHUCK TODD:

I appreciate it.

REP. NANCY PELOSI:

Yeah. That's disappointing. But anyway.

CHUCK TODD:

I wish I had more time.

REP. NANCY PELOSI:

Let me just say one more thing.

CHUCK TODD:

I'm always for more--

REP. NANCY PELOSI:

I have to say one more thing.

CHUCK TODD:

Go to my bosses, ask for two hours.

REP. NANCY PELOSI:

I've got to thank--

CHUCK TODD:

I'll take it.

REP. NANCY PELOSI:

--our firefighters and our first responders in California for what they did in the fires. Our Thanksgiving, we prayed for them as a blessing to us. And wishing their families the best.

CHUCK TODD:

A worthy last word. Thank you very much.

REP. NANCY PELOSI:

Thank you. Bye-bye.

Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©

CONYERS Is About To Blow The Whistle

Who said the "allegations at the hightest levels of government" had to be just about sex scandals?

Perhaps it has to do with fraud and public corruption.

Stay tuned.

Is the dam about to burst open? John Conyers' lawyer hints at allegations at the higest levels of government

Are various members of the House and Senate about to be embroiled in sex scandals of their own? According to Arnold E. Reed, an attorney for Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), the damn may be about to break when it comes to future allegations.

Daily Caller reports:

The attorney for Democratic Michigan Rep. John Conyers, who is accused of continuously sexually harassing his female staffers, defended Conyers by indicating that there are allegations against "many members" of the House and Senate.

Conyers' attorney, Arnold E. Reed, released a statement defending the Michigan Democrat and pushing back against the "disturbing allegations." The bizarre statement was written in all-CAPS and referred to both Reed and Conyers in the third person.

"Reed acknowledged that while these allegations are serious, they are simply allegations," the statement said. "If people were required to resign over allegations, a lot of people would be out of work in this country including many members of the House, Senate and even the president."

Below is Arnold E. Reed's letter in full.

As one Senate staffer admitted to the Daily Caller, "Things have gotten dark around here," in light of the Franken allegations. "Everyone is walking on eggshells, asking who's next?"

According to Axios reporter Jonathan Swan, claims against the Democrat lawmaker are the "very tip of the congressional iceberg.

"Democratic Sen. Al Franken is the very tip of the congressional iceberg. Many more stories are coming and we wouldn't be surprised if they end several careers. A Republican source told me he's gotten calls from well-known D.C. reporters who are gathering stories about sleazy members," says Swan. 

The "next wave," is coming, Swan adds.

In a new report by CNN, over 50 current and former lawmakers, aides and staff say they have personally experienced sexual harassment on Capitol Hill.

As The Gateway Pundit's Cristina Laila reported, prominent Democrats are calling for Al Franken to resign after model and radio host Leeann Tweeden came forward accusing the Senator of sexual assault.

It was revealed Monday evening that one Congressman who settled a harassment suit in 2015 was Democrat Rep John Conyers. According to affidavits, Conyers used taxpayer money to fly women into D.C. to meet with him in hotel rooms.

Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©

CONYERS Attorney Arnold Reed States There Is No Resignation

Think once.

Think twice.

Think again.

It is not what you think.

Conyers not resigning over claims, says attorney

A lawyer for U.S. Rep. John Conyers said late Wednesday the Detroit Democrat will not resign amid an ethics probe into allegations of sexual harassment and a settlement with a former staffer.

Attorney Harold Reed, who is representing the 88-year-old lawmaker and longest-serving active member in the U.S. House, said Conyers takes the allegations “very seriously.”

However, “at this juncture, the congressman is not resigning over these allegations. They’re allegations, No. 1. And No. 2, if everybody was called upon to resign over allegations, half the House, half the Senate, including the president of the United States, would have to step down.”

“John Conyers wants individuals to know that he continues to serve and will continue to serve to the best of his ability.”

Accusations against Conyers first surfaced Monday when Buzzfeed News reported on a 2015 settlement he reached with a former staffer. On Tuesday, the site reported on a sexual harassment lawsuit a former staffer withdrew after a federal judge refused her request to seal the records to protect the congressman’s public reputation.

Conyers’ attorney also dismissed a Washington Post report Wednesday that another woman, Melanie Sloan, whom Conyers hired in 1995 as minority counsel to the House Judiciary Committee, said the congressman did not sexually harass her but acted inappropriately and abusively.

“There was nothing I could do to stop it,” Sloan said in a Post interview.

The report centered on Sloan, a high profile-lawyer and former executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.

Reed questioned Sloan’s timing and said he doubted her claims.

“This is the most powerful woman arguably in Washington when it comes to this behavior,” Reed said, adding her allegation was “fundamentally incongruous with the truth. ... Stories like that cast a pall over women who have legitimate claims.”

While they have not called for Conyers to step down, several Democratic colleagues asked for the House Ethics Committee investigation and at least one has called on Conyers to relinquish his role as ranking member of the prestigious House Judiciary Committee.

U.S. Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-New York, said Wednesday it “would not be appropriate” for Conyers to remain in the powerful panel post given the ethics probe.

Conyers should “step down as the ranking member, with the opportunity if he defends himself and says and shows there is nothing there, that he could come back,” Meeks told CNN.

The ethics panel can examine “whether or not there’s a practice or pattern,” Meeks said, and additional considerations should be made when the committee completes its probe.

Meeks and Conyers are members of the Congressional Black Caucus, which Conyers helped found in 1971.

In a withdrawn lawsuit that surfaced Tuesday, a former staffer alleged repeated and escalating harassment by Conyers after she began working in his office as a scheduler in July 2015, saying she had been given extra responsibilities because of his “age and failing mental capacities.”

By the summer of 2016, Conyers was harassing her daily, she said in the complaint, accusing him of rubbing her shoulders, kissing her forehead and covering or attempting to hold her hand.

The Detroit News is not publishing the woman’s name due to the nature of her claims and decision to withdraw the suit. She did not return voicemails left on the phone number she listed in court records.

Buzzfeed previously published notarized affidavits from three other staffers dated 2014. The affidavits describe Conyers making advances toward female staffers that included requests for sexual favors, caressing their hands in a “sexually suggestive” way, and rubbing their legs and backs in an inappropriate manner while in the office or in public.

Conyers settled a complaint by one of the former staffers in 2015, denying her allegations but paying her through his Member’s Representational Allowance, a taxpayer-funded account that is supposed to be used for office operations.

Conyers put the former staffer back on his payroll in mid-2015, paying her $27,111.74 between June 16 and Sept. 15, according to salary data compiled by the website Legistorm.

Settlements for complaints filed with the Office of Compliance are typically approved by the Committee on House Administration. But former Rep. Candice Miller, a Harrison Township Republican who chaired the committee and now serves as Macomb County public works commissioner, said the Conyers’ settlement “did not come through the normal channels.”

“It never came through our committee,” Miller said. “He did it out of the normal channels. He paid for it through his budget.”

U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis, a Florida Republican, said Wednesday he is preparing legislation to unseal congressional settlement records, bar use of taxpayer dollars to pay claims and prohibit members from using office budgets to camouflage payments, calling the latter “a Conyers rule.”

“Members of Congress cannot be allowed to use the American people’s money as a personal slushfund to cover wrongdoing,” DeSantis wrote on Twitter.

The House Ethics Committee said Tuesday it will probe allegations that Conyers sexually harassed his employees, discriminated against staffers based on age or used official resources for “impermissible” personal use.

Several Michigan Democrats had called for the House investigation, and Michigan Democratic Party Chairman Brandon Dillon called the allegations “incredibly serious and disheartening.”

Conyers confirmed Tuesday that his office reached a financial settlement with a former staffer but denied accusations of sexual misconduct.

“In this case, I expressly and vehemently denied the allegations made against me, and continue to do so,” Conyers said in a statement.

His office settled the complaint “in order to save all involved from the rigors of protracted litigation,” he said, calling the $27,111.74 expense “an amount that equated to a reasonable severance payment.”

Asked about the 2017 lawsuit filed by his former scheduler, a Conyers spokeswoman simply noted the accuser “voluntarily decided to drop the case.”

The withdrawn complaint alleges a long-running series of inappropriate actions by Conyers, including harassment during a car ride to and at a White House event in April 2016. The woman said he urged her to “come home with him” and continued “to touch her against her wishes the entire evening.”

In one instance, the woman said, she was able to use a camera phone on her office desk “to catch some of these events on tape.”

The woman had asked the court to seal her complaint “to protect the reputation of the high profile person” she was suing. She withdrew the suit after Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly refused her request to shield court records from the public.

In her initial complaint, the woman said she had “extreme admiration and respect” for Conyers’ legislative work “as a Civil Rights icon.”

Separate records identify the woman as a possible relative of Cynthia Martin, Conyers’ former chief of staff whose tenure ended in controversy. The News was not able to reach either woman to discuss their connection.

The House Ethics Committee is already investigating whether Conyers authorized Martin to be paid for four months in 2016 — from April 20 to Aug. 25 — when she may not have done any official work.

Martin had pleaded guilty in April 2016 to a misdemeanor charge of receiving stolen property after initially refusing to return $16,500 mistakenly transferred into her Congressional Federal Credit Union bank account. Martin agreed to pay $13,000 restitution, according to court records.

The withdrawn complaint from Conyers’ former scheduler alleged sexual harassment, a hostile work environment, retaliation and wrongful termination, and reckless infliction of emotional distress.

The woman claimed Conyers’ wife, former Detroit City Council President Monica Conyers, called her a “whore” when she was hired and pushed staff to fire the woman after she did not provide a medical certificate when requesting medical leave in July of 2016.

The complaint referred to Monica Conyers as a “known brawler” and said the staffer felt threatened anytime the congresswoman’s wife was in Washington D.C. The woman allegedly told a colleague the situation was a “time bomb waiting to happen.”

Monica Conyers, who spent time in federal prison for bribery, filed for divorce in late 2015. The complaint suggests the congressman’s decision to hire the scheduler was a “partial cause.” John and Monica Conyers later reconciled and remain married.

The woman who filed the complaint said she has known Conyers since 2006. She previously worked in his campaign office, traveled with him to campaign events and worked as a House Judiciary staffer at his “behest” from 1997 to 1998.

She said Conyers did not “make an inappropriate advances or touch” her inappropriately until she worked in his office.

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U.S. Representative Gregory Meeks Calls For Conyers To Step Down From Judiciary

Gregory, my dear, did Lil' Miss Nancy and her minions get to you?

Does Imran have other things on you?

Are you wearing an orthopedic boot, yet?

You must be scared.

Are you going to retain Perkins Coie?

Oh Gregory!

You are so correct.

Anyone who has ever touched Mr. Conyers should be intensely investigated, and I mean everyone.

If anyone wishes to find out if they have already been put under Alice's looking glass, you can just enter your name in a basic google search, along with my name, or go to the "Go Find It" widget, in the right sidebar.  ===>

In the spirit of fuchsia, I must note that CNN failed to provide any investigative research into the credibility of U.S. Representative Gregory Meeks, which is why I have provided the gentlman's ethical background from Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.

And as for the Congressional Black Caucus, well, just be patient.  Your time is coming.

Congressional Black Caucus member: Conyers should step down as top Dem on House panel

Washington (CNN)Rep. Gregory Meeks, a New York Democrat and a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, said Wednesday that his colleague Rep. John Conyers of Michigan should leave his post as the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee as he is the subject of a House Ethics Committee investigation.

"No one is exempt from bad behavior, and I think that he's agreed and I clearly see where Leader (Nancy) Pelosi has said there will be an immediate ethics committee, a review," Meeks told CNN's John Berman and Poppy Harlow. "I really think that probably the appropriate thing right now is that he should step down as the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee and be subject to this ethics investigation."

Getting rid of John Conyers won't be easy

The House Ethics Committee announced on Tuesday that it had opened an investigation into allegations that Conyers, the longest-serving active member of the House, settled a wrongful dismissal complaint in 2015 after allegedly sexually harassing a staffer, according to an explosive report published by BuzzFeed News.

Conyers said he is "expressly and vehemently" denying any wrongdoing.

"In our country, we strive to honor this fundamental principle that all are entitled to due process," Conyers said in a statement. "In this case, I expressly and vehemently denied the allegations made against me, and continue to do so."

Pressed later in the interview, Meeks said that it would "not be appropriate" for Conyers to remain the top Democrat on the committee given the multiple allegations against him.

"If he defends himself and says and shows there is nothing there, then he could come back," he said. "But you can't, in my estimation, just in the scenario that we're in to be the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee at this time. I think that he should step down."

Reports of another allegation that Conyers had sexually harassed a former staffer emerged Tuesday, based on court documents filed in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in March 2017. The lawsuit, which the woman later dropped after an unsuccessful attempt to seal it, was first reported by BuzzFeed News.

Meeks' call for Conyers to step down from his committee post goes farther than members of House Democratic Leadership, who have not, so far, called for Meeks to abandon that role.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said Tuesday that "any credible allegation of sexual harassment must be investigated by the Ethics Committee." Similarly, Rep. Steny Hoyer, the No. 2 Democrat in the House, called the report "very disturbing" and said that an ethics investigation is an "appropriate next step."

Both Pelosi and Hoyer have also called for more sweeping reforms to overhaul the way in which sexual harassment is handled on the Hill, and support legislation sponsored by California Rep. Jackie Speier targeting the issue.

Neither Rep. Jerry Nadler of New York nor Rep. Zoe Lofgren of California, two senior Democrats who also serve on the Judiciary Committee, have called on Conyers to leave his leadership position.

Asked Tuesday, Nadler said it was important to have a "proper investigation" into the allegations surrounding Conyers. In an interview on CNN's "Erin Burnett OutFront," he stopped short of calling on Conyers to resign and said to wait for more facts as the ethics probe unfolds.

"I think it's a little too early to say that," Nadler said of resignation. "Wait a little while before you make that conclusion."

Gregory Meeks (D-NY) - CREW's Most Corrupt Members of Congress by CREW on Scribd

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Another Conyers Accusation: Detroit Politics Will Do That To You

Detroit politics will do that to you.

Woman says she was called 'mentally unstable' after accusing Rep. John Conyers

For the first time, a former staff member of Democratic Rep. John Conyers Jr. of Michigan has publicly come forward to allege that the top lawmaker contributed to a hostile work environment, according to a Washington Post report published Wednesday.

 Melanie Sloan, who served with Conyers from 1995 to 1998, alleged in the report that she was verbally abused by Conyers, who is now the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee.

Within this time, Sloan said that she saw and experienced similar claims that were made public in recent days, after allegations of sexual misconduct began to emerge.

 Sloan alleged that Conyers yelled at her and was critical of her appearance, according to The Post.

She also said that at one point, she saw him in his underwear after she was summoned to his office, but said she did not believe she was sexually harassed.

"I was pretty taken aback to see my boss half-dressed," Sloan said told The Post.

"I turned on my heel and I left."

Sloan said she repeatedly sought help from her supervisors, but was ignored, according to the newspaper.

 "There was nothing I could do to stop it," she said.

"I was dismissed and told I must be mentally unstable."

 Conyers' attorney denied Sloan's allegations and told The Post that Conyers "has never done anything inappropriate to Melanie Sloan."

 The House Ethics Committee launched an investigation Tuesday, following a BuzzFeed News report that said Conyers had settled a wrongful dismissal complaint with a former employee who alleged she was fired for refusing his "sexual advances."

 Other reports soon emerged, including one employee who alleged Conyers had made inappropriate contact, such as "rubbing on her shoulders, kissing her forehead, making inappropriate comments, covering and attempting to hold her hand," the Post said.

Conyers reportedly denied settling the sexual harassment cases, but later confirmed he had, adding that he still "vehemently denied the allegations."

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Detroit Free Press Wants Conyers To Resign

When are those damn indictments coming down?

I truly wish these so-called editorial staffers would put their name on what they publish, unless it is Nolan Finley.

Nolan is scared of me for some reason.

I am only preserving the annals of history.

Someone has to do it because the Free Press is not.

Hurry up and pop your popcorn, this is about to be off the chain!!!!!

Editorial: U.S Rep. John Conyers must resign

His documented use of taxpayer dollars to bury allegations of sexual harassment goes too far.

John Conyers Jr. has a long and complicated legacy in southeast Michigan and the U.S. Congress. 

He has been an undisputed hero of the civil rights movement, a legislator of uncommon influence and power, and an aging icon whose felonious wife and sometimes-wandering pace have confounded his place in history.

But the revelations of Conyers’ alleged sexual harassment scandal and his documented use of taxpayer dollars to bury that scandal, in violation of congressional ethics rules, is less ambiguous.

It is the kind of behavior that can never be tolerated in a public official, much less an elected representative of the people.

And it means that whatever Conyers’ legacy will eventually be, his tenure as a member of Congress must end — now.

He should resign his position and allow the investigation into his behavior to unfold without the threat that it would render him, and the people he now represents, effectively voiceless.

A voice for equality

We reach this conclusion with an incredible amount of disappointment.

The word “hero” is invoked, without much hyperbole, around Conyers’ name, dating not only to his initial run for Congress in the mid-1960s, but to the stalwart civil rights activism in the 1950s and early 1960s that brought him to that point.

His career in Congress saw him play key roles in everything from voting rights and health care reform to the creation of the Martin Luther King Holiday. And even in recent years, when he has struggled with focus and the rigor of the job, he has remained a steadfast voice for social justice and equality. 

A problem in Congress

But even the most generous interpretation of the story revealed early this week is absolutely devastating to his ability to stay in Congress.

Monday night, the news site BuzzFeed reported a former Conyers staffer’s claims that she was fired after she rebuffed the congressman’s persistent sexual advances.

Those claims were made in sworn affidavits by the alleged victim and three other former staffers, all obtained by BuzzFeed.

In the current climate of revelations about powerful men abusing their positions and committing horrific acts of harassment, abuse or assault on women, those allegations should be enough to spur a dedicated congressional inquiry. Without a doubt, Congress has a real problem, and one that the American people deserve to see resolved. 

A dishonest arrangement

But Conyers’ situation gets worse — far, far worse.

After the alleged victim made a formal complaint through the U.S. Congress Office of Compliance, Conyers’ office endorsed an alternative route. If the woman dropped her complaint and signed a legal document attesting that Conyers had done no wrong, and if she agreed never to disparage him or make subsequent claims, she’d be re-hired as a temporary “no-show” employee and paid $27,111.75 over the course of three months. She accepted the terms.

Conyers’ office defended the arrangement Tuesday as a means to avoid "protracted litigation" and defended the sum as a “reasonable severance payment.” Conyers also continues to deny the woman’s claims.

But the House’s ethics rules are clear: A House member can’t retain an employee who isn’t performing work commensurate with the pay, and regardless, can’t give back pay for work that stretches further than a month.

It’s a rule Conyers has flouted before.

He continues to battle an ethics complaint alleging that he violated House rules by keeping a former chief of staff on payroll after she was fired; Conyers' lawyers contend that the representative's office has the right to pay severance to its employees at will. Nor is Conyers the only member of Congress who has  come under fire for paying what they've described as severance.

What makes this payment different? It looks an awful lot like hush money.

Litigation, contrary to Conyers' statement, wasn't a certain outcome. The staffer's complaint was made through the U.S. Congress Office of Compliance, a secretive body that settles, for congressional employees, the kind of employment law violations that other businesses might hash out in court.

Employees who bring claims through the compliance office are required to sign confidentiality agreements in order for a claim to proceed, a process that seems calculated to preclude the public accounting taxpayers, and voters, are owed. There's a special congressional office that works to resolve claims out of court. An employee determined to file a lawsuit has to go through months of counseling and mediation.

Over the last two decades, the office has paid $17 million to settle 264 complaints. Legislation introduced by U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier, Democrat of California, would require the office to change its operations, including naming each member who is involved in a claim.

That’s a reform worth pursuing.

But it’s also not the point with Conyers.

This agreement disrupted the accepted process to deal with claims against members of Congress, and leveraged taxpayer funds — without the oversight of the ethics apparatus of the body itself — to make this claim go away.

That’s not acceptable, on any level.

And it’s a betrayal that breaches the most fundamental trust that exists between a public servant and the people that person represents.

Even if Conyers could prove that he did not make inappropriate advances toward his former staffer, there’s no defense for having used dollars from his congressional office to “settle” a claim. That sort of thing happens in the private sector, yes. It should never, ever happen where public dollars (and public accountability) are concerned.

It’s impossible to know how frequently this happens in Congress. Conyers’ spokesperson said the House General Counsel’s office signed off on the agreement. But even if this deceptive practice has become commonplace, the Dean of the House should know better. 

 A public betrayal

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.

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. 

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Woman filed, then dropped, lawsuit against Conyers for harassment in 2017

Dean of the U.S. House
of Representatives
John Conyers, Jr.

Washington (CNN)Another former staffer alleged that Michigan Democratic Rep. John Conyers sexually harassed her, according to court documents filed in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in March 2017 and obtained by CNN.

The lawsuit, which the woman later dropped after an unsuccessful attempt to seal it, was first reported by BuzzFeed News.

The woman said she has known Conyers since 2006, but alleges the incidents occurred in 2015 and 2016.

CNN is not naming the woman, and she has not responded to multiple requests for comment. There was no lawyer listed for the woman in the suit.

Asked whether Conyers denied the claims in the 2017 suit, a spokesperson for Conyers said: "The former staffer voluntarily decided to drop the case."

The revelation of an additional accuser comes the same day the House Ethics Committee announced it would investigate Conyers after reports that he settled a separate wrongful dismissal complaint in 2015 after allegedly sexually harassing a staffer.

In that instance, Conyers did not dispute the existence of settlement or payments, but "expressly and vehemently" denied any wrongdoing.

According to the court documents obtained by CNN, Conyers' former staffer complained of "sexual harassment and a hostile work environment perpetrated against her" by Conyers' office. Her allegations include, according to the suit, Conyers "repeatedly coming to her desk, rubbing on her shoulders, kissing her forehead, making inappropriate comments, covering and attempting to hold her hand."

The woman said she made repeated complaints about the advances to Conyers' chief of staff, who subsequently directed her to make a list.

"These advances occurred every occasion defendant Conyers was in the Washington, DC, offices and were so numerous and occurred so frequently that the plaintiff was unable to maintain this list due (to) the extreme amount of time it would require to adequately chronicle these advances and behaviors and manage her workload," the suit states.

She also says she made efforts to stop the harassment, including in March 2016 asking a male congressional staffer who she says she previously dated to "be her 'fake boyfriend' and to make regular stops by the office" hoping to dissuade the lawmaker.

The woman alleges that Conyers' harassment grew worse and that she "attempted to minimize interaction with him" because she feared that he would make comments and sexual advances towards her.

In April 2016, the woman went to the Office of Compliance to obtain counseling. Several days later, she says, Conyers repeatedly made inappropriate comments toward her, attempted to hold her hand and asked her to come home with him when they shared a car ride to a White House event.

In the court documents, she said Conyers' behavior caused her "severe anxiety and chest pains" and that after consulting with a physician, she made the decision to take medical leave. However, when Conyers' chief of staff, Raymond Plowden, also listed as a defendant, required medical documentation to justify her sick leave, she refused citing an "atmosphere of mistrust."

The office then terminated her position, according to the court documents.

The woman had been seeking $34,500 in lost wages, $5,500 in lost benefits, $15,000 for mental anguish and emotional distress and $50,000 in punitive damages, because she alleged that "defendant Conyers is a habitual, repeated offender."

The new allegations against Conyers, the longest-serving active member of the House of Representatives, come as there has been a torrent of attention on sexual harassment and misconduct on Capitol Hill, by both members and staffers.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/11/21/politics/conyers-former-staffer-accuses-harassment/index.html

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CONYERS Has Second Staffer Accuse Sexual Harassment

I bet that other woman is the sister of Cynthia Martin.

I bet she would be stressed being faced with charges of treason in the family, but hey, what do I know.

Oh, and Perkins Coie still sucks.

Stay tuned, on a mission...

There's Another W

Dean of the U.S. House
of Representatives
John Conyers, Jr.

oman Who Accused Rep. John Conyers of Sexual Harassment

Less than 24 hours after a report that Rep. John Conyers reached a settlement with a staffer who said she was fired from his office after rejecting his sexual advances, another sexual harassment allegation has come to light.

A former staffer who worked as a scheduler in Conyers’ office tried to file a lawsuit against him, his Chief of Staff Ray Plowden, and his district director Yolanda Lipsey, alleging Conyers repeatedly tried to make sexual overtures towards her, which perpetrated a hostile work environment, Buzzfeed reports. The staffer, who was not publicly revealed in the article, tried to file a sealed lawsuit, but the court would not let the complaint stay sealed, so she stopped the effort, according to Buzzfeed.

Buzzfeed obtained and published the court documents, which were filed in DC District Court in March. The documents allege that Conyers hired the former staffer in July 2015. Four months later — after his wife had filed for divorce, which she partially attributed to her husband’s decision to hire the staffer — she alleges that she began to notice “random comments and lingering touches,”but thought they were innocuous. They continued, she said, and she told the Chief of Staff twice, who ultimately told her to start documenting them. However, she alleges, they were occurring too frequently for her to document them every time. That April, she requested formal counseling from the Office of Compliance.

“From May 2016 until July 2016, Defendant Conyers continued to, repeatedly and daily, harass both physically and emotionally and inappropriately touch the plaintiff by rubbing on her shoulders, kissing her forehead, covering and attempting to hold her hand, suggesting that she come to Detroit, causing the plaintiff severe anxiety and chest pains”

She ultimately decided to go on medical leave because of the stress, and alleges that a staffer stole documents that included a resignation letter and forwarded them to Plowden, the Chief of Staff. She was ultimately terminated.

A spokesperson for Conyers told TIME, “the former staffer voluntarily decided to drop the case.”

#FollowTheWhiteRabbit

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CONYERS Under New Ethics Committee Investigation

Boy, oh boy...

I wonder what Cynthia Martin has to say.

This is about to get really, really juicy.

Much, much more to come.

On a mission...

#FollowTheWhiteRabbit

Ethics Committee Opens Investigation Into Top Democrat Who Paid Off Sexual Harassment Accuser

The House Ethics Committee has opened an investigation into Michigan Democrat Rep. John Conyers, after it was revealed Monday that Conyers paid a former employee more than $27,000 in taxpayer funding after allegedly firing her for refusing his sexual advances.

Sworn affidavits signed by former Conyers staffers portray him as a serial sexual predator who preyed on young, vulnerable female staffers. Conyers confirmed the settlement on Tuesday but denied any wrongdoing.

(RELATED: REVEALED: Top Democrat Paid Off Sexual Harassment Accuser With $27K In Taxpayer Money)

“The Committee is aware of public allegations that Representative John Conyers, Jr. may have engaged in sexual harassment of his staff, discriminated against certain staff on the basis of age, and used official resources for impermissible personal purposes,” the committee said in a statement Tuesday afternoon. The statement adds that the committee “has begun an investigation and will gather additional information regarding these allegations.”

Conyers regularly made sexual advances on female staffers and would ask them for sexual favors, according to the affidavits signed by his former staffers. “Rep. Conyers strongly postulated that the performing of personal service or favors would be looked upon favorably and lead to salary increases or promotions,” one former employee said in an affidavit.

BuzzFeed News first reported the bombshell allegations and accompanying settlement on Monday after right-wing blogger Mike Cernovich provided the website with the documents.

Conyrers also allegedly abused taxpayer funds to shuttle in women with whom he had sexual relationships.

“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,” one former Conyers stated in an affidavit. Another staffer told BuzzFeed that Conyers used taxpayer funds to fly women into see him.

House Democrats had called for an investigation into Conyers, the longest-serving member of Congress, but stopped short of calling on him to resign.

Their reaction is similar to Senate Democrats’ call for a Senate Ethics Committee investigation into Minnesota Sen. Al Franken, after multiple women came forward saying the Democratic senator had groped them. Franken asked for an ethics committee investigation into himself, but declined to resign.

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CONYERS: Espionage, Fraud & Lies - Epic Secrets Behind An Epic Investigation

While sexual harassment in the workplace is a repulsive, arcane social norm that needs to seriously be addressed, so is the rampant fraud and public corruption that takes place in the Congress, the States, County and City governments.

Consider this an introduction because there is much, much more to this story.

So, sit back, relax, and let the dirt come out, because it is not going to be what you think.

The back story is going to be of epic proportions.

You can read the book when I am done.

Chapter One.  It begins.

She Said That A Powerful Congressman Harassed Her. 

Here’s Why You Didn’t Hear Her Story.

Dean of the U.S. House
of Representatives
John Conyers, Jr.

“When you make private settlements, it doesn’t warn the next woman or the next person going into that situation.”

Michigan Rep. John Conyers, a Democrat and the longest-serving member of the House of Representatives, settled a wrongful dismissal complaint in 2015 with a former employee who alleged she was fired because she would not “succumb to [his] sexual advances.”

Documents from the complaint obtained by BuzzFeed News include four signed affidavits, three of which are notarized, from former staff members who allege that Conyers, the ranking Democrat on the powerful House Judiciary Committee, repeatedly made sexual advances to female staff that included requests for sexual favors, contacting and transporting other women with whom they believed Conyers was having affairs, caressing their hands sexually, and rubbing their legs and backs in public. Four people involved with the case verified the documents are authentic.

And the documents also reveal the secret mechanism by which Congress has kept an unknown number of sexual harassment allegations secret: A grinding, closely held process that left the alleged victim feeling, she told BuzzFeed News, that she had no option other than to stay quiet and accept a settlement offered to her.

“I was basically blackballed. There was nowhere I could go,” she said in a phone interview. BuzzFeed News is withholding the woman’s name at her request, because she said she fears retribution.

Last week the Washington Post reported that the office paid out $17 million for 264 settlements with federal employees over 20 years for various violations, including sexual harassment. The Conyers documents, however, give a glimpse into the inner workings of the Office of Compliance, which has for decades concealed episodes of sexual abuse by powerful political figures.

“I was basically blackballed. There was nowhere I could go."

The woman who settled with Conyers launched the complaint in 2014 with Congress’s Office of Compliance alleging that she was fired for refusing his sexual advances and ended up facing a daunting process that ended with a confidentiality agreement in exchange for a settlement of more than $27,000. Her settlement, however, came from Conyers’ office budget rather than the designated fund for settlements.

Congress has no human resources department. Instead, congressional employees have 180 days to report a sexual harassment incident to the Office of Compliance, which then leads to a lengthy process involves counseling, mediation, and requires the signing of a confidentiality agreement before a complaint can go forward.

After this, an employee can choose to take the matter to federal district court, but another avenue is available: an administrative hearing, after which a negotiation and settlement may follow.

Via documentcloud.org

Some members of Congress have raised major concerns with the current system over the years, but the calls for an overhaul have grown louder in the post-Weinstein era. Members have argued that 90 days is too long to make a person continue working in the same environment with their harasser; that interns and fellows should be eligible to pursue complaints through this process; and that it is unfair for a victim to have to pay for legal representation while the office of the harasser is represented for free by the House's counsel.

In this case, one of Conyers’ former employees was offered a settlement, in exchange for her silence, that would be paid out of Conyers’ taxpayer-funded office budget. His office would “rehire” the woman as a “temporary employee” despite her being directed not to come into the office or do any actual work, according to the document. The complainant would receive a total payment of $27,111.75 over the three months, after which point she would be removed from the payroll, according to the document.

Via documentcloud.org

The draft agreement, below, viewed by BuzzFeed News was unsigned, but congressional employment records match the timing and amounts outlined in the document. The woman left the office and never went public with her story.

The process was “disgusting,” said Matthew Peterson, who worked as a law clerk representing the complainant, and who listed as a signatory to some of the documents.

“It is a designed cover-up,” said Peterson, who declined to discuss details of the case but agreed to characterize it in general terms. “You feel like they were betrayed by their government just for coming forward. It’s like being abused twice.”

Other lawyers named as representing the accuser could not be reached for comment. The Office of Compliance did not confirm or deny that they had dealt with the case.

“You feel like they were betrayed by their government just for coming forward. It’s like being abused twice.”

“Pursuant to the Congressional Accountability Act, the OOC cannot comment on whether matters have or have not been filed with the office,” Laura Cech, publications and outreach manager of the Office of Compliance, told BuzzFeed News in an email when asked to comment on this case.

Two staffers alleged in their signed affidavits that Conyers used congressional resources to fly in women they believed he was having affairs with. Another said she was tasked with driving women to and from Conyers’ apartment and hotel rooms.

Rep. Conyers did not admit fault as part of the settlement. His office did not respond to multiple requests for comment on Monday.

The documents were first provided to BuzzFeed News by Mike Cernovich, the men's rights figure turned pro-Trump media activist who propagated a number of false conspiracy theories including the “Pizzagate” conspiracy. Cernovich said he gave the documents to BuzzFeed News for vetting and further reporting, and because he said if he published them himself, Democrats and congressional leaders would “try to discredit the story by attacking the messenger.” He provided them without conditions. BuzzFeed News independently confirmed the authenticity of the documents with four people directly involved with the case, including the accuser.

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. 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.

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 don’t think any allegations should be buried...and that’s 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 Conyer’s 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 don’t think any allegations should be buried...and that’s for anyone, not just for this particular office, because it doesn’t really allow other people to see who these individuals are,” said the former staffer. “When you make private settlements, it doesn’t warn the next woman or the next person going into that situation.”

Another staffer said that 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 won’t do shit to him,” said the staffer. “He’s untouchable.”

In a statement to BuzzFeed News, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi said she was not aware of the settlement.

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

A spokesperson for John Boehner, who was the speaker of the House when the settlement was made, did not respond to a BuzzFeed News request for comment on Monday.

The documents also show that there was a belief among at least some staffers that the office was a jealous environment. Some of the documents allege Conyers offered his protection when staff would complain to him about management in the office.

California Democrat Rep. Speier and colleagues in the House and Senate have introduced legislation that would overhaul the complaint process, including requiring OOC to publicly name the office of any member who enters into a settlement.

The bill would also allow complainants to waive mediation and counseling, set up a victims' counsel, and require all congressional offices to go through harassment training every year.

Conyers’ office has a history of ethical run-ins. In 2016, his former chief of staff Cynthia Martin pleaded guilty to receiving stolen property after she refused to reimburse $16,500 that was mistakenly deposited in her account.

A preliminary investigation by the Office of Congressional Ethics found that Conyers continued to pay Martin more than $13,000 per month when she was supposedly on unpaid leave.

In 2006, two former aides complained that Conyers made them babysit his children, run errands, and work on his reelection campaign while drawing their congressional salaries. There was also a bizarre incident in 2005 when 60 Thanksgiving turkeys, given to his staff to disperse to people, may have gone missing.

Conyers’ wife, former Detroit city councilor Monica Conyers, was sentenced to three years in prison over bribery charges in 2010. (One of the documents alleged Conyers began “aggressively acting out his sexual harassment behavior” following this.) Last year the couple renewed their vows. 

John Conyers Confidential Settlement Unsigned Agreement and Release Redacted - 2014 by Beverly Tran on Scribd

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