Buzzfeed exposed yet ANOTHER sexual harassment claim against tippity top Democrat Conyers, except this one was retracted voluntarily by the accuser.
In the court documents filed earlier this year, the former staffer said she had a “fatherly affection” for Conyers, as well as “extreme admiration and respect for his legislative work as a Civil Rights icon.” It was because of this that “Plaintiff was extremely uncomfortable addressing this inappropriate behavior with Defendant Conyers nor did Plaintiff wish to embarrass or disparage Defendant Conyers by sharing her concerns with other members of the office staff.”
She also cited his “age and failing mental capacities” in the suit, saying she was hired, in part, to keep track of his “whereabouts,” call to wake him up every morning, and deliver his medication, including on weekends. She said she asked a male staffer she’d earlier dated to be her “fake boyfriend” and make regular stops by the office in the hopes of halting Conyers’ advances.
But the former staffer says the advances only grew more frequent over time, and from May to July of 2016 she was exposed to daily harassment by Conyers that included “rubbing on her shoulders, kissing her forehead, covering and attempting to hold her hand” as well as on some occasions urging her to come to his home.
Conyers denied any wrongdoing in the first story Buzzfeed published, but admitted that yes, he settled the case for $27,000 just to keep it out of court. The House has now opened an investigation into the case, which is really odd because he can’t be the only congressman to use the sexual harasser’s slush fund, but whatever.
There is one odd contradiction in Buzzfeed’s story. This is what they said early on:
Unlike the settlement agreement at the center of a BuzzFeed News investigation released Monday, these court filings are public documents.
And this is what they said later:
BuzzFeed News has also withheld that woman’s name at her request because she said she fears retribution and the documents were not public.
So. I dunno. Anyway it’s bad for Conyers. Even though the woman voluntarily retracted her accusations, they seem to fit a pattern with the other accusations revealed by Buzzfeed.