In the latest in a recent string of sexual harassment-related news, a report from BuzzFeed News said a powerful Democratic Congressman settled a wrongful dismissal complaint with a former employee who alleged she was fired because she would not succumb to the lawmaker's sexual advances.
BuzzFeed said the office of Congressman John Conyers, D-Mich., paid the woman $27,000 in 2015 in exchange for a confidentiality agreement. Conyers did not admit fault as part of the settlement.
The alleged victim told BuzzFeed she felt she had no option other than to stay quiet and accept the settlement offered to her.
"I was basically blackballed. There was nowhere I could go," she said in a phone interview with BuzzFeed, which withheld the woman's name at her request because she said she fears retribution.
The report cites affidavits received from right-wing activist Mike Cernovich, although BuzzFeed said it independently confirmed the authenticity of the documents.
The documents also include allegations from former staff members that Conyers repeatedly made sexual advances to female staff, including requests for sexual favors, caressing their hands sexually, and rubbing their legs and backs in public.
Conyers, the longest-serving Congressman and the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, has not commented on the report.
The report comes on the heels of allegations of sexual misconduct against Senator Al Franken, D-Minn., and Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore, among many others.
by RTT Staff Writer
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