House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said Monday evening that she met with a former staffer to Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), Melanie Sloane, who accused the congressman of sexual misconduct. Pelosi said she believes the woman.
“This afternoon, I spoke with Melanie Sloan, who worked for Congressman Conyers on the Judiciary Committee in the mid-1990s. Ms. Sloan told me that she had publicly discussed distressing experiences while on his staff. I find the behavior Ms. Sloan described unacceptable and disappointing. I believe what Ms. Sloan has told me,” Pelosi said in a Monday evening statement.
Sloan told the Washington Post last week that Conyers verbally abused her when she worked for the congressman on the House Judiciary Committee in the 1990s. Sloan said that she would not characterize Conyers’ actions toward her as sexual harassment but said that the congressman often berated her. She also told the Washington Post that on one occasion when Conyers summoned her to his office, she found Conyers dressed only in his underwear.
“I was pretty taken aback to see my boss half-dressed,” Sloan told the Washington Post. “I turned on my heel and I left.”
Sloan told the Washington Post that she reported Conyers’ behavior to her supervisor and told a senior staffer to then-House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt (D-MO) at the time. Sloan said her complaints were ignored.
“There was nothing I could do to stop it,” she told the Post. “Not going to leadership, not going to my boss, not going to a women’s group, not going to a reporter. I was dismissed and told I must be mentally unstable.”
Pelosi said Monday evening that Sloan gave her “valuable feedback into the substantive reforms many of us in Congress are advocating to foster a climate of respect and dignity, and to protect legislative branch employees.”
“I have not had the opportunity to speak with the other women, one of whom cannot speak publicly because of the secretive settlement process in place. That ridiculous system must be ended and victims who want to come forward to the Ethics Committee must be able to do so,” Pelosi added.
Pelosi has called for a House Ethics Committee investigation into the allegations against Conyers, but she has not called on the congressman to step down. Amid allegations of sexual misconduct from several former female staffers, Conyers has stepped down from his role as ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee.
Nancy Pelosi allowed a culture of sexual abuse, harassment, and cover-up to fester under her leadership, either through ignorance or neglect. She allowed taxpayer money to be spent to silence at least one of Conyer’s victims.
She either knew or she didn’t know. Either way is damning.
She needs to step down as Minority Leader. Now.
I’ll come on Nancy and you didn’t want to impeach George W. Bush either for his illegal war and Iraq. Leave the fat checking to the newspapers all we need is another Dan Rather episode. Interview for leader of the Democratic Party in Congress and you have to speak out you don’t know this to be true Leave it up to the newspapers to do their job. But it’s too late now you’ve really put your foot into it if she’s lying that’s all the right need in Alabama is to frame up Democrats just like Dan Rather was framed don’t you get it. We need new leadership I’m sick and tired of Nancy Pelot see. Is
Now would be a good time to call for all of the taxpayer-funded settlements to be unsealed. Otherwise the sources feeding Cernovich will only out the Democrats.
Well when you go into a group that has a long history of sexual misconduct it might not be as easy to clean it up asap. Especially if a lot of the violated typically just put up with it and never speak up. Now that she getting first hand accounts and the tide seems to have changed, before we throw her out, let’s see if she starts to do something. Jesus look how many folks on this site have defended Franken even though the only proof folks on either side have is his word against her word. Meyers has a pretty good look at Trump and Conyers situations and calls Nancy out for using the icon excuse, which she’s apparently has let go of now. Wonder when folks here will do that with Franken, oh yeah he’s white…
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/seth-meyers-trump-access-hollywood-tape_us_5a1d18abe4b0e2ddcbb242b1?ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009
Sorry posted this reply to wrong one originally.
Dickweed, she has been in Senior Leadership in the House since 2002. She has had 15 years to “start to do something.” I think it is time for new leadership that really can and wants to do something.
Her response to the Conyers’ scandal has been nothing but tone-deaf and passive.