E-mail Al Franken

[Egnever]

163. such a weak attempt

In 2014, the woman filed a complaint with Congress’s Office of Compliance. The legislature does not have a human-resources department, and instead the Office of Compliance uses a lengthy procedure to address alleged violations of various employment rules. The Washington Post reports that the office has paid more than $17 million for 264 settlements and awards to federal employees since 1997.

The complaint includes four signed affidavits from other former Conyers staff members who said this was no isolated incident. One former staffer reported witnessing a “variety of inappropriate sexual advances” from Conyers, directed toward herself and other female staff members. Another former staffer said, “I was asked on multiple occasions to pick up women and bring them to Mr. Conyers apartments, hotel rooms, etc.”

A male employee said he saw Conyers rubbing the complainant’s legs and other body parts “in what appeared to be a sexual manner,” and saw him doing the same with other women. The employee said he warned Conyers to be “more careful” and Conyers said he would “work on” his behavior. Then the employee set up a December 2011 meeting to discuss “mistreatment of staff and his misuse of federal resources.” The affidavit says Conyers agreed to make improvements, “as long as I worked directly with him and stopped writing memos and emails about concerns.”

The claims against Franken are not even in the same universe.