Most of us are well aware that sexual harassment was a problem in America well before the Harvey Weinstein scandal erupted this summer. But there is no denying the Weinstein story has taken the wraps off of a massive number of alleged and confirmed cases of this kind of misconduct in Hollywood.
Now, the same thing could happen on Capitol Hill as the John Conyers case threatens to blow a longstanding congressional tradition of unethical secrecy and subterfuge sky high.
Just to recap, it first came to light earlier this month that Rep. Conyers signed off on a $27,000 payout to a former staffer who says she was fired for resisting the congressman’s sexual advances. Conyers acknowledged the 2015 payout after details of it leaked online. But he has denied he sexually harassed the employee. Conyers has been resisting calls to resign, but Sunday he did step down as the ranking member of House Judiciary Committee.