Using the power conferred upon one by voters to harass women sexually is reason enough to be dismissed from Congress. Add to that using taxpayers’ money in attempt to cover up wrongdoing, and the case for removal is ironclad.
Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., is accused of doing both things. His fellow lawmakers should waste no time in investigating allegations against him. If they are found to be true, Conyers should be booted off Capitol Hill.
Conyers is among the most senior members of Congress, having been elected first in 1964. He had been the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, until he stepped aside from that post a few days ago.
He is so well-respected by many in his party that House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., called Conyers an “icon” of women’s rights.
But one of those rights is to be free of harassment. Conyers is accused of a pattern of it. In 2015, his office allegedly paid $27,000 to quiet complaints by a woman who said she was fired for rejecting Conyers’ advances. If true, that allegation alone would be enough to kick him out of the House.
