More pressure on Conyers to resign after new accusations

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

Calls for Michigan Rep. John Conyers to resign increased Tuesday after a former staffer said the longest-serving member of the House made unwanted sexual advances that included partially undressing in front of her in a hotel room and inappropriate touching.

Deanna Maher, 77, who ran a Michigan office for Conyers from 1997 to 2005, told The Associated Press Tuesday that the first incident occurred in 1997 during a three-day Congressional Black Caucus event in Washington, which she said she “felt honored” to attend.

Maher said while she was in the bedroom of a hotel suite, Conyers walked in, called room service and ordered sandwiches.

“I had my nightclothes on,” said Maher, who now lives in the Holland area in western Michigan. “I was just scared to death. I was married at the time. He sat in the bedroom taking his clothes off. I didn’t say anything, and he didn’t say anything.”

Nothing happened between them, she added.

“He didn’t go naked. He was down to his skivvies,” Maher said. “He sat there eating sandwiches, and then he stormed out and slammed the door. I was so embarrassed and ashamed of myself for being so stupid. I needed a job.”

“He didn’t put his hand on me, but the message was loud and clear,” she said.

The latest revelation came on a day Conyers met with the chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus for what the group’s chairman, Rep. Cedric Richmond, called a “candid conversation about the seriousness of the allegations against him.”

“Any decision to resign from office before the ethics investigation is complete is John’s decision to make,” Richmond said in a statement after the meeting.

Conyers was first elected in 1964 and was one of the founding members of the Congressional Black Caucus.

Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said he met with Conyers on Tuesday to let him know he was concerned for him.

“I think he should go home and talk to his constituents and listen to them and make a decision based on that,” Thompson said.

Conyers missed two roll call votes in the House on Tuesday evening.

Some of the Detroit Democrat’s House colleagues are calling for him to step aside.

Democratic Rep. Kathleen Rice of New York was joined Tuesday by Rep. Pramila Jayapal from Washington state in calling for Conyers to step down.

A senior Democratic aide said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi has been putting pressure on Conyers to resign from the chamber. The aide spoke on condition of anonymity to reveal private conversations.

The House Ethics Committee is investigating allegations against Conyers, who has denied the accusations and refused to resign. He announced Sunday that he would step aside as the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee.

Separately Tuesday, the House’s top Democrat said in a letter to the ethics panel that it should move quickly with its inquiry.

“We are at a watershed moment for our country in the fight against sexual harassment and discrimination,” wrote Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat. “The Committee on Ethics has a great responsibility to proceed expeditiously as well as fairly into any investigation of credible harassment and discrimination allegations.”

The Senate Ethics Committee could also soon be investigating allegations made against Sen. Al Franken after radio news anchor Leeann Tweeden accused him of forcibly kissing her on a USO tour in the Middle East in 2006, before he was elected to office. Tweeden also released a photograph of Franken appearing to grope her breasts while she’s sleeping. Two women have also come forward to accuse Franken of grabbing their buttocks while posing for photographs.

Franken has apologized and said he welcomed an investigation.