Detroit • Longtime Michigan Rep. John Conyers acknowledged Tuesday that his office settled a harassment complaint involving a former staffer but said he “vehemently” denies the allegations against him.
His office “resolved the allegations” ... “for an amount that equated to a reasonable severance payment,” the 88-year-old Detroit Democrat said in a statement.
The leaders of the House Ethics Committee said in a statement Tuesday afternoon that the panel was opening an investigation into the allegations, including whether Conyers used official resources for impermissible personal purposes.
BuzzFeed reported that Conyers’ office paid a woman more than $27,000 under a confidentiality agreement to settle a complaint in 2015 that she was fired from his Washington staff because she rejected his sexual advances.