A former intern for former Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., said he propositioned her for sex and raised the investigation into government intern Chandra Levy’s disappearance after she rejected him.
Courtney Morse told the Washington Post she interned for Conyers when she was 20 years old and in college, but ended up quitting because of the congressman’s inappropriate behavior.
Several months into her internship, which Conyers offered to extend into the summer, Morse said the congressman started buying her presents and asking her to join him in the members’ dining room.
On two occasions, Conyers drove Morse from work to the house where she was staying during the internship, located about 30 minutes from Capitol Hill.
On the second trip, Conyers put his hand around Morse’s, which was in her lap. The congressman also told his intern he wanted to pursue a sexual relationship.
It was after Morse denied Conyers’ advances that he began discussing the investigation into Levy’s disappearance. Levy worked as an intern for the Federal Bureau of Prisons and disappeared in May 2001. She was allegedly having an affair with Rep. Gary Condit, D-Calif., though police said he was not involved in her disappearance.
“He said he had insider information on the case,” Morse, 36, told the Washington Post of Conyers. “I don’t know if he meant it to be threatening, but I took it that way. I got out of the car and ran.”
Matthew Salomon, whose family Morse was staying with during her internship, confirmed Morse’s details of the incidents with Conyers. Salomon said he tried to bring up the encounter in the car with Conyers, but the congressman drove away.
Morse quit several days later.
Morse is the latest woman to accuse Conyers of sexual misconduct. A growing number of women began sharing their experiences with the Michigan Democrat after BuzzFeed revealed Conyers settled a wrongful dismissal case with a former staffer.
The staffer, Marion Brown, said Conyers fired her after she rejected his sexual advances.
The allegations against the congressman ultimately led to his resignation from Congress, which the longtime congressman announced Tuesday. Conyers endorsed his son, John Conyers III, in the race for his now-vacant seat.
Despite his resignation, women have continued to share their experiences with sexual misconduct from Conyers.
Lawyer Lisa Bloom, who is representing Brown, released an affidavit from Elisa Grubbs late Monday detailing how Conyers inappropriately touched Grubbs on several occasions.
During one instance, Conyers ran his hand up Grubbs’ skirt and rubbed her thighs while the two were sitting side-by-side in the front row at a church.
Bloom released two more affidavits Tuesday from women accusing Conyers of sexual harassment.
One, Delores Lyons, said she volunteered for Conyers from 2010 to 2014. Lyons said the congressman twice placed her hand on his penis while she was driving him one day in either 2011 or 2012.
Lyons also accused the Michigan Democrat of rubbing her butt on two different occasions.
The former volunteer confirmed Grubbs’ recollection of the incident at the church, and said Conyers “blackballed” Brown and “ruined her political career because she rejected his inappropriate sexual advances.”
Here is another woman stepping forward to document her sexual harassment claims against John Conyers, who still denies sexually harassing anyone.
Conyers said he wasn’t getting due process but he knew our witnesses were prepared to testify before the Ethics Committee. pic.twitter.com/v7m6TlQCLv— Lisa Bloom (@LisaBloom) December 5, 2017
In the second affidavit, an unidentified woman who photographed Conyers during an event on Capitol Hill in 2001 said the congressman propositioned her for sex.
The woman introduced herself to Conyers and after a brief exchange, said Conyers told her he “had something as big and as black as that lens, if [I] wanted to see it some time.”
Here is another woman who wanted her sexual harassment story about John Conyers to be heard. pic.twitter.com/7KQEYj48wr
— Lisa Bloom (@LisaBloom) December 6, 2017
