Nancy Pelosi: 'Congressman Conyers should resign'

Beleaguered Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) had a very eventful Thursday morning. Hours after one of his accusers spoke to the Today show about his alleged sexual harassment, Conyers was hospitalized with a "stress-related illness." Now, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) wants Conyers to resign from his congressional seat.

"The allegations against Congressman Conyers, as we have learned more since Sunday, are serious, disappointing, and very credible," Pelosi told reporters. "Congressman Conyers should resign."

An hour later, Conyers' lawyer fired back that "Nancy Pelosi did not elect the congressman and she sure as hell won't tell the congressman to leave."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Earlier Thursday, Marion Brown, a former staffer for the Democratic congressman, told the Today show that he "asked me to satisfy him sexually. He pointed to areas of, genital areas of his body and asked me to, you know, touch it." After BuzzFeed News reported last week that Brown — who was unnamed in the piece — settled a wrongful termination suit against Conyers for allegedly firing her after she rejected his sexual advances, two more former staffers came out with allegations of sexual misconduct against the Democratic congressman. Conyers maintains his innocence.

Pelosi initially sided with the congressman, calling him "an icon in our country" who had "done a great deal to protect women." The next day she said in a statement that she had spoken to one of Conyers' accusers and believed the allegations, but she stopped short of asking for his resignation.

You can watch Pelosi have a final change of heart below: Kelly O'Meara Morales