REUTERS/Rebecca Cook
Rep. John Conyers, a Michigan Democrat, settled a 2015 complaint by a female staffer who accused him of sexually harassing her and firing her when she rejected him, BuzzFeed News reports. BuzzFeed obtained a copy of the complaint from alt-right personality Mike Cernovich. The complaint, which was settled without an admission of fault from Conyers, includes signed affidavits from Conyers’ former staffers, who describe a pattern of alleged sexual harassment in Conyers’ office. Conyers allegedly asked the woman for sexual favors and demanded she touch his penis while in a hotel room. Other former staffers said Conyers was known to rub female staffers’ hands, legs, and backs in a sexual manner, and that he asked staffers to pick up women and bring them to his apartment or hotel room. Conyers’ accuser settled for $27,111, after which she told BuzzFeed she was “blackballed” from employment in Conyers’ circles. Conyers’ office did not return BuzzFeed’s requests for comment. Conyers, 88, is the longest-serving member of the House of Representatives.