Will House Ethics Comm. Let Conyers’ Sex Scandal Slide Like His Past Corrupt Acts?
NOVEMBER 28, 2017
The prominent Michigan congressman who illegally forced congressional staffers to be personal servants and work on state and local campaigns is embroiled in a major sex scandal. Various media outlets report that John Conyers, the longest serving House member and ranking Democrat of the powerful Judiciary Committee, secretly settled a sexual harassment claim by an employee with taxpayer funds from his office budget. Additionally, multiple former staff members accuse the 88-year-old lawmaker of repeatedly making sexual advances toward female staff. Democratic colleagues have already called for a House Ethics Committee probe, but there’s little hope Conyers will be punished since the notoriously remiss panel let him off the hook the last time it investigated his corrupt acts, determining that he had “accepted responsibility” for the violations. A former staffer said the legislator, a civil rights icon and founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus, is untouchable.
If you recall, Conyers’ wife, disgraced Detroit City Councilwoman Monica Conyers, served three years in prison for bribery. Now it’s hubby’s turn to be in the scandal limelight. Affidavits filed by four former employees and scrutinized by reputable news outlets, show an alarming pattern of sexual misconduct by Conyers. In the documents the workers say they saw the congressman repeatedly making sexual advances to women on his staff, including touching them inappropriately with leg and back rubs and requesting sexual favors. The woman who received the secret settlement filed a wrongful dismissal complaint in 2014, claiming she was fired for rebuffing the congressman’s repeated sexual advances. In 2015 she was paid $27,000 from Conyers’ taxpayer-funded office budget in exchange for silence. “His office would ‘rehire’ the woman as a ‘temporary employee’ despite her being directed not to come into the office or do any actual work,” according to the document cited in the news report that broke the scandal this week. A law clerk representing the woman described it as a “designed cover-up.”
Three other staffers submitted affidavits to the Office of Compliance documenting a disturbing pattern of behavior from Conyers. The congressman touched one woman in a sexual manner and got angry when she brought her husband, the news report says. One former female employee, who was also the victim of Conyers’ sexual advances, was responsible for flying in women for the congressman. “One of my duties while working for Rep. Conyers was to keep a list of women that I assumed he was having affairs with and call them at his request and, if necessary, have them flown in using Congressional resources,” the former staffer wrote in her affidavit. A second staffer interviewed in the news article also said Conyers used taxpayer resources to fly women to him.
When a national newswire confronted Conyers earlier this week, the veteran legislator denied knowing anything about the accusations and was quoted saying he had “been looking at these things with amazement.” Conyers has subsequently acknowledged the secret settlement with the former female staffer but denies the allegations. Now the two most senior Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee (California’s Zoe Lofgren and New York’s Jerry Nadler) behind Conyers are calling for an ethics investigation saying the allegations are extremely serious and deeply troubling. “Obviously, these allegations must be investigated promptly by the Ethics Committee,” Nadler said in a statement. “There can be no tolerance for behavior that subjects women to the kind of conduct alleged. We also must support efforts to reform the way the House of Representatives handles these matters to make the process easier and more supportive of victims, as well as more transparent.”
The last time the House Ethics Committee investigated Conyers it was a big joke. The probe involved illegally forcing congressional staffers to be personal servants and work on several state and local campaigns. After a comical three-year investigation, the committee took no action, declaring that the lawmaker “accepted responsibility” for a series of House rules violations involving the abuse of his staffers. The ethics committee’s top Republican and Democratic members justified the panel’s inaction by declaring that Conyers acknowledged a “lack of clarity” in communicating what was expected of his official staff. As chairman of the House Judiciary Committee in 2009, Conyers abruptly reversed his opposition to a controversial hazardous waste project with financial ties to his corrupt city councilwoman wife. Conyers was vehemently opposed—along with fellow Michigan Congressman John Dingell—to the project in his district but later changed course to become one of its strongest advocates. With the help of his crooked politician wife, Conyers even wrote the federal government a letter supporting the plan and pushing for the permit transfers required for the hazardous waste injection well in the city of Romulus, Michigan. The letter, addressed to the Environmental Protection Agency, explained that “many things had changed” in favor of the project since he stood in opposition to it.
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CAFE RIO MEXICAN GRILL OPENS THEIR 31ST UTAH LOCATION
IN SANTA CLARA ON DECEMBER 6TH BENEFITING THE
WASHINGTON COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT FOUNDATION
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 27, 2017, Santa Clara, UT- The 31st Utah based Cafe Rio Mexican Grill will open their doors in Santa Clara on December 6th at 10:30 A.M. The new location at 2540 Pioneer Parkway is not far from where the very first tortilla was rolled in their original location twenty year ago. The Cafe Rio phenomenon, which started in St. George, Utah in 1997, has since built a “super fan” following with incredibly dedicated and loyal customers. Santa Clara marks the company’s 113th location nationally.
Cafe Rio attributes their continued success to the commitment that they made when they opened their very first location, which is to use only the freshest ingredients and make each meal by hand from start to finish every single day. That commitment still stands strong today and continues to be the number one priority for their restaurants, along with making the customer experience the best it can be.
Each Cafe Rio restaurant features a wide-open kitchen where guests can clearly view sauces simmering, team members hand rolling and cooking fresh tortillas all day, hand scooping avocados, chopping onions and tomatoes, grilling meats and squeezing over 1000 fresh limes each day. They adhere to a strict “no freezers and no microwaves” policy in all of their locations. Over the years, the company has won hundreds of awards, including the coveted title “#1 Mexican restaurant in the nation” by the prestigious Sandelman & Associates for eight consecutive years. FastCasual.com recently selected Cafe Rio Mexican Grill as one of the top brands in its annual list of Top 100 Movers and Shakers.
“With our roots based in Utah, and particularly in the St. George area, it is very exciting for us to open our Santa Clara location,” says Todd Smith, Chief Marketing Officer of Cafe Rio Mexican Grill. “Out Utah customers never cease to amaze us with their loyalty and enthusiasm for our freshly made meals. To have their support over the last 20 years is beyond incredible and we are extremely grateful. We welcome everyone in the St. George greater metro area to come join us for our celebration in Santa Clara when we open our doors on December 6th at 10:30 A.M.”
Cafe Rio welcomes the public and the media to join them and St. George Chamber for their grand opening. The restaurant will host their signature “giant burrito” and ribbon cutting.
WHAT: Cafe Rio Mexican Grill
Santa Clara
WHEN: Wednesday, December 6, 2017
10:30 AM
WHERE: 3540 S. Pioneer Parkway
Santa Clara, UT 84765
A free meal will be given to the first 300 people that are present for the ribbon cutting ceremonies (Dec. 6th at 10:30 A.M. prompt) at the restaurant.
MEDIA INFO: All media members will receive a free meal all day on December 6, 2017 at the new Santa Clara location with proper media credentials.
Cafe Rio is passionate about supporting their communities, schools and doing what they can to fight hunger in each of their communities. They have chosen Washington County School District Foundation to give a $2,500 donation to at the grand opening. Those funds will help support low income students with free or reduced fee lunches, as well as other school programs.
Schools, sports teams and clubs in the Santa Clara area are encouraged to sign up for and promote customized fundraisers at the new Cafe Rio location. A percentage of the sales earned during a determined date and/or timeframe will go directly back to that group. Go to https://www.caferio.com/community to sign up and request more information on hosting a fundraiser.
For video footage and stock photos, media can visit www.caferio.com/press.
Username: caferio Password: cafe-78.
Cafe Rio Mexican Grill, Inc.:
Cafe Rio Mexican Grill, Inc., headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, has been serving its loyal customers fresh Mexican food since 1997. Their menu is inspired by the traditional Mexican cooking found in the Rio Grande region of Northern Mexico, Southern Texas, and New Mexico. Cafe Rio specializes in serving its customers the highest-quality, made from scratch Mexican meals, using only the freshest ingredients. For more information, visit: www.CafeRio.com.
Twitter: @CafeRio | Blog: http://www.caferio.com/blogs/blog| Facebook:www.facebook.com/caferio LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cafe-rio
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Judicial Watch: Obama Family Vacations, Campaigning Cost Taxpayers New Total over $114 Million
President Trump Travel Expenses are Now at $10,381,792.35.
(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced today that it obtained records from the U.S. Department of the Air Force and the Secret Service in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request and two FOIA lawsuits for travel expenses by the families of former President Barack Obama and President Donald Trump.
The total for Obama travel is $9,028,346.90 for this production of documents. Added to the previously released costs, the known total for travel expenses for the Obamas is now $114,691,322.17.
The total for President Trump's travels in this production is $2,821,367.34. Added to the previously released costs, the known travel costs are now $10,381,792.35.
Judicial Watch obtained new Obama travel records from the Secret Service as the result of a May 2017 FOIA lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security (No. 1:17-cv-01007)). Judicial Watch's lawsuit produced the following travel records showing a total of $9,028,346.90 for Obama travel:
A pair of Obama family vacations the weekend of February 14, 2014, cost the Secret Service $272,192.91:
Michelle Obama made two North Carolina trips in 2016 to campaign for Hillary Clinton. Air Force expenses total $40,902.40. In both trips, she took a C-40C military jet operating at $5,312 per hour.
In July 2017, Judicial Watch filed a separate FOIA lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, for the Air Force and Secret Service travel expenditures for the Trump family during April 2017 and Obama family between January 2009 and January 2017 (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Dept. of Defense and Dept. of Homeland Security (No. 1:17-cv-01341)).
Air Force and Secret Service records show President Obama's annual trips to Chicago cost $7,444,780.78
Secret Service showed expenses for Obama's post-presidency travels of $1,913,702.21 including: $936,742.56 in hotels; $159,393.40 in air/rail; $2,684.11 in car rentals; $819.70 in overtime; and $814,062.44 in miscellaneous expenses. The destinations of these trips were withheld under "privacy" and "law enforcement" exemptions.
Air Force documents showed two of President Trump's trips to Mar-a-Lago cost $1,124,802:
Judicial Watch obtained Air Force records through a FOIA request showing that President Trump's visits to his Bedminster, NJ, golf resort and a Pennsylvania rally cost $603,107.40:
"It shouldn't require federal lawsuits to to prod the Secret Service and Air Force to produce information about the costs of presidential travel – whether the travel is necessary or not, it's a massive amount of money," said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. "We will continue to monitor this spending while taxpayers continue to pay the bills for presidential travel."
