Congressman John Conyers Refuses To Resign Amid Sexual Harassment Controversy

Congressman John Conyers said Wednesday that he would not resign despite allegations against him stating he used taxpayer money to pay off a sexual harassment complaint.

"Congressman Conyers has no plans to resign," according to a statement from his office. "He intends to cooperate with the House should they determine further investigation is warranted," the New York Post reported.

"At this point, we have to say enough is enough. Mr. Conyers, the congressman, my client, is not going to bow down to political pressure to step down, resign, step aside," Conyers' attorney, Arnold Reed, told BuzzFeed News, adding that his client denies all such allegations.

When asked if the longest-serving member of the House would take any legal action in light of revelations of the sexual harassment allegations (including one that had been settled with a confidentiality agreement), Reed replied saying, "Absolutely not."

"There’s no legal action for Mr. Conyers to seek."

On Wednesday, Rep. Gregory Meeks called for Conyers to step down from his post while the allegations against him are being investigated, according to CNN. Reed confirmed that it would not happen.

"There will be no change. He will not bow down to opportunistic pressure being put on him by individuals to do that," he said.

Reed told CNN that "if everybody that was facing 'allegations' -- including the President, members of the House and Senate — resigned, we'd have a lot of unemployed people walking around."

The House ethics committee said Tuesday that they launched a formal probe of Conyers, an 88-year-old Michigan Democrat, who has been alleged of harassing two female staffers- including one who got a secret settlement with public funds.

The Ethics Committee said in a statement Tuesday that it was aware of the allegations against Conyers and had begun an investigation, Reuters reported.

House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi had called for the panel to open a probe of Conyers. "Any credible allegation of sexual harassment must be investigated by the Ethics Committee," she said in a statement.

The ethics panel can recommend punishments including a reprimand, censure or expulsion; however, the final punishment is decided by a vote in the full House.

The allegations against the congressman first surfaced in a BuzzFeed News report Monday which cited court documents suggesting that Conyers made sexual advances toward female staff members.

The documents also showed that the congressman settled a harassment complaint in 2015 with a former employee, who alleged she had been fired because she would not "succumb to [his] sexual advances."

As part of the settlement, however, there was no admission of guilt. After BuzzFeed News published its investigation Monday, Conyers confirmed the settlement, but vehemently denied the sexual harassment allegations.

"In this case, I expressly and vehemently denied the allegations made against me and continue to do so," Conyers said, who has been one of America’s most prominent black lawmakers.

"My office resolved the allegations – with an express denial of liability — in order to save all involved from the rigors of protracted litigation. That should not be lost in the narrative."