Cocktails & Popcorn: Arnold Reed, Attorney For John Conyers, Enters The Stage

I have popcorn. Want some?

I wonder if the DOJ OIG Report is about to be declassified.

Oh, and I forgot to mention that Perkins Coie Sucks.

#perkinscoiesucks

Marc Elias Of Perkins Coie Sucks & So Does The FEC

Learn more: BEVERLY TRAN: Marc Elias Of Perkins Coie Sucks & So Does The FEC http://beverlytran.blogspot.com/2017/10/marc-elias-of-perkins-coie-sucks-so.html#ixzz5Kiw2nDU6
Stop Medicaid Fraud in Child Welfare 

Arnold Reed, 'lawyer on the side of the people'

When his beloved father fell ill, Arnold E. Reed didn't hesitate. He swapped the cloistered halls of law school for Chicago's south side, where his dad owned a barbershop. To keep the business going, Reed, who'd learned the craft from his father, spent the next few months cutting hair.

Meanwhile, a classmate would mail Reed homework, and he studied when he could.

In the end, not only did the University of Iowa College of Law student graduate, he did so on time.

"I read the books and taught it to myself," said Reed, 54, whose Dad lived to see him graduate.

"Really, there was never a question that I would finish. Some things ought to be a given."

That kind of decisiveness, devotion and determination would mark his career as one of the state's pre-eminent trial lawyers, specializing in criminal, personal injury, civil litigation, medical malpractice and entertainment law, plus damage control for high-profile clients, such as now-retired Congressman John Conyers and Aretha Franklin. This year, he was cited by Michigan's Lawyers Weekly as one of 30 Leaders in the Law Class of 2018.

While the widely respected trade newspaper is mum on how it culls from a pool of nominees, its website says winners are honored for significant accomplishments in law practice; outstanding contributions to the practice of law in Michigan; seeking improvements to the legal community and their communities at large; and setting an example for other lawyers. In its current form, the award has existed for the last decade.

In many ways, it's an improbable achievement for the Southfield-based legal firebrand, known for dogged representation and an outsize courtroom presence.

In his office, attorney Arnold Reed, founding partner of Arnold E. Reed & Associates, P.C., talks about notable cases, awards and being the "smartest S.O.B. (Son of a Barber)" in Southfield. (Photo: Brandy Baker / Special to the Detroit News)

Reed was the first in his family to graduate college, let alone law school. While his father operated the barbershop, his mother took two trains and a bus each way to a factory job to help support the family, which included Reed and his older brother.

At age 9, Reed saw someone gunned down on the street. While fleeing, the killer had looked right at Reed, too petrified to move. That’s when Reed decided he needed to be fearless, a mindset that defines his approach to law.

Wayne County Circuit Judge Deborah Thomas described Reed's courtroom manner as a cross between a bulldog and a chihuahua.

"I've watched him since he was a baby lawyer," Thomas said. "He is always prepared, and he will not let go. He is always focused, and he will work that case. He's also a good family man, and what you would like to see in the community and in the profession."

While his childhood community had its share of scofflaws, most of his neighbors were honest blue-collar types. Time and again, he’d see them falsely accused by police, or unable to retain proper representation. Reed decided that knowledge was power and he needed to get it.

In the sixth grade, he ran for class president — and lost. “That made me angry, so I started learning about the Constitution and how to impeach somebody,” said Reed, who is married to a lawyer, has a son in law school and a daughter pursuing graduate studies.

Reed received his undergraduate degree in journalism and political science from Indiana University in Bloomington. After law school at Iowa, he worked as chief law clerk for former Michigan Supreme Court Justice Conrad Mallet Jr., who remembers him as being the strongest member of his team.

"He would consistently present their work in a way that allowed for uncomplicated digestion of whatever argument they helped craft," said Mallet, now chief administrative officer for the Detroit Medical Center. "He's a very, very, very good lawyer."

Attorney Arnold Reed speaks about Congressman John Conyers' health and the latest accusations of sexual harassment in front of the congressman's home in Detroit. Daniel Mears, The Detroit News

That stint as a law clerk was followed by corporate work and a job in Detroit with the public defender's office. Because the fledgling lawyer couldn't convince his boss to give him a capital case, Reed, with no money to speak of, went out on his own, setting up a law practice in Detroit and winning his first multimillion-dollar verdict, in a police misconduct case, at just 29 years old.

Since then, the member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. has represented former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, Conyers, Franklin and an upstart vocalist named R. Kelly in the mid-'90s.

Reed recalled meetings early on with the Queen of Soul, who he successfully represented about five years ago in a case involving misappropriation of her name and likeness.

"She's a woman who tends to be formal with people she doesn't know or have a relationship with, so it was always, 'Ms. Franklin' and 'Attorney Reed.' After I won the case for her I said, 'Now can I call you Aretha?' She didn't say anything, so I took that to mean she was still 'Ms. Franklin,'" he said, chuckling.

As for Conyers, Reed represented him last year after the congressman became embroiled in allegations of sexual harassment. Conyers ultimately retired.

Reed remembers encountering Conyers years earlier after a particularly long community event. Reed had asked him why he devoted so much time and effort to so many causes when he could find more lucrative work elsewhere.

"He looked at me, smiled and said, 'Arnold, money has never been my motivating factor. I have the best job in the world. I can help people.' So when he needed my help, I answered the call."

Reed's legal battles often extend into the court of public opinion. For instance, he took a lot of heat for representing Kilpatrick in a case stemming from the former mayor's conviction for lying under oath about an affair with his chief of staff.

 "It took me aback a bit," he said of the criticism. "Everyone deserves a right to representation no matter the allegation. Also, I've been in this game over 25 years, and I'd be lying if I said I weren't ever discriminated against based on my color, because I have been.

"When I put my suit and tie on every day and I go out, there are some people who look at me like I'm Kilpatrick simply because I'm African-American. I have to explain to people that when I represent Kwame Kilpatrick, I represent you, I represent your son.

 "In any case, I have a social responsibility not to shy away from cases merely because of allegations."

Reed's brazen style, however, leaves some cold, said Solon Phillips, in-house counsel for Southfield Public Schools.

"I have a great deal of respect for his zeal and tenacity in terms of what he does for his clients, but he is aggressive, so I can see how he could rub people the wrong way," said Phillips, who has known Reed for about 15 years.

"In his younger years, for example, he would press opposing counsel when he saw them by asking them why they weren't working, asking them whether they were working as hard as he was.

 "If you're on the receiving end, I can see where he might make some folks uncomfortable."

 His high-profile client roster notwithstanding, Reed is a self-described "lawyer on the side of the people." Everyone, he says, deserves representation under the law.

"I'm always around rich and powerful individuals, but I know my upbringing," said Reed, who often rides to work on his motorcycle, the back of his leather jacket emblazoned with "Not Guilty."

The voracious reader prides himself on going all out for his clients, often spending days and nights with them. He leans on his journalism background to do his own investigative work and visualizes courtroom plans.

“The major thing is having belief in your cause,” Reed said. “If you don’t believe, you’re not going to convince 12 others.”

He has a fan in Donna Pope, for whom Reed won a $4.2 million judgment in an unlawful termination whistleblower case in 2009.

“He’s very thorough and very patient, very poised and convincing,” said Pope, who lives in western Michigan. “This was one of the hardest things I had to go through in life, and he made it manageable to survive it.”

Mary Chapman is a Detroit-based freelance writer.

Arnold E. Reed: “The major thing is having belief in your cause. If you don’t believe, you’re not going to convince 12 others.” (Photo: Brandy Baker / Special to The Detroit News)

Arnold E. Reed

Age: 54

Occupation: Owner, Arnold E. Reed and Associates, Southfield

Education: Bachelor's degree, Indiana University; Juris Doctorate, University of Iowa College of Law

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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. 

Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©

What Do Trump & Conyers Have In Common?

Me eating my popcorn.

I will give you a hint:

Perkins Coie Sucks.

Stay tuned, the show is just about to start.

Dem calls for Conyers to give up top committee post

Another accusation surfaced Tuesday evening.

As first reported by Buzzfeed News, a former staffer sued Conyers in March, alleging sexual harassment in a complaint she withdrew after a federal court refused her request to seal the records to protect the congressman’s public reputation.

The woman alleged repeated and escalating harassment by the 88-year-old 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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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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