Conyers Accuser Speaks Out on 'Toxic Sexually Su
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'Toxic Sexually Suggestive Environment' in Office
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Deanna Maher, who accused Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) of sexual misconduct, spoke exclusively about her alleged ordeal to Martha MacCallum.
MacCallum said Maher worked on the Detroit Democrat's staff from 1997-2005 and that at one point, the now-88-year-old showed up in her hotel room and disrobed.
Conyers reportedly created a "toxic, sexually suggestive environment in his Capitol Hill office."
Maher said that Conyers was subtle at times but definitely trying to "hit on" her.
She said she was unlike the younger women who have been allegedly subjected to harassment, in that the incidents reportedly occurred when she was in her late 50s and early 60s.
"I was not anything like these young girls coming through who are so vulnerable," she said, crediting fellow Democrats Jackie Speier of California and Kathleen Rice of New York for speaking out on the allegations.
She said that, one day in the Congressional Office Building in Washington, a Conyers staffer pressed her against a wall and stuck his tongue down her throat.
"No, it wasn't rape, but for some guy who was a staffer [to do that] I felt ashamed, I felt dirty [and] I couldn't get any help... afterward because Congressman Conyers covered that up," she said.
Maher said that Conyers' leadership position on the Judiciary Committee meant he had oversight over the DOJ's budget and the like.
Therefore, she said, "all he has to do is pick up a phone and destroy somebody's life."
In the time since Conyers was first accused of misconduct, he has stepped down as the Ranking Member of the committee.
Watch more above.