Conyers resigns; ‘Enquirer’ editor faces accusations


Associated Press

DETROIT

Democratic Rep. John Conyers resigned from Congress on Tuesday after a nearly 53-year career, becoming the first Capitol Hill politician to lose his job in the torrent of sexual-misconduct allegations sweeping through the nation’s workplaces.

The 88-year-old civil-rights leader and longest-serving member of the House announced what he referred to as his “retirement” on Detroit talk radio, while continuing to deny he groped or sexually harassed women who worked for him.

The top editor for the National Enquirer, Us Weekly and other major gossip publications openly described his sexual partners in the newsroom, discussed female employees’ sex lives and forced women to watch or listen to pornographic material, former employees told The Associated Press.

The behavior by Dylan Howard, currently the chief content officer of American Media Inc., occurred while he was running the company’s Los Angeles office, according to men and women who worked there. His conduct led to an internal inquiry in 2012 by an outside consultant.

Howard quit soon after the report was completed, but the company rehired him one year later with a promotion that landed him in the company’s main office in New York. It was not clear whether Howard faced any discipline over the accusations.

He endorsed his son John Conyers III to succeed him.

In other developments:

A former cast member of the reality TV show “The Apprentice” who accused Donald Trump of unwanted sexual contact and filed a New York defamation lawsuit against him has thanked her lawyers and says the case should go forward.

Summer Zervos was flanked by attorneys Gloria Allred and Mariann Wang outside court Tuesday.

Zervos filed the lawsuit in January, saying Trump defamed her when he said she was lying about claims he sexually harassed her in California years ago.

Trump’s lawyers say the case can’t go forward while he’s president because he’s too busy and important.

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