A former female intern for Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) said that the Michigan Democrat brought up murdered Federal Bureau of Prisons intern Chandra Levy when she rejected his sexual advances.
Courtney Morse, 36, the latest woman to come forward accusing Conyers of sexual misconduct, informed the Washington Post that the congressman told her one night he was interested in having a sexual relationship with her and held her hand in her lap on the way home.
Morse said that when she turned down Conyers’ advances, he referenced Levy’s case.
“He said he had insider information on the case. I don’t know if he meant it to be threatening, but I took it that way,” Morse said. “I got out of the car and ran.”
Levy disappeared in 2001, and police found her remains in a Washington, DC, park in 2002. A police investigation at the time found that Levy had been having an affair with then-Rep. Gary Condit (D-CA).
Morse also claimed that Conyers gave her gifts and asked her to have dinner with him before he made the sexual advances. She added that she quit her summer internship and moved back to Ohio after the incident.
Conyers, 88, announced Tuesday that he would retire from Congress, effective immediately, and that he would endorse his son, John Conyers III, to run as his successor.
The longest-serving House member had been hospitalized recently for what staffers say are stress-related health issues.
Conyers announced in November that he would step down from his seat as a ranking member on the House Judiciary Committee as accusations of his sexually harassing employees mounted.
A BuzzFeed News report revealed that Conyers’ congressional office paid a former female staffer $27,000 of taxpayer funds to settle a sexual harassment claim, which prompted the House Ethics Committee to investigate Conyers’ conduct.
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