A towering figure in the Democratic Party for decades, the Michigan Democrat has suddenly become an albatross dragging down a party desperate to distinguish itself as a safe space for women. After days of dithering defenses that risked ruining any semblance of a moral high ground on sexual harassment, House Democratic leaders finally called on Conyers to resign on Thursday — just as the 88-year-old was reportedly admitted into a Detroit-area hospital for “stress-related” complications.
Conyers denied the allegations, and his attorney rejected calls for the congressman to step down on Thursday, challenging Pelosi’s decision to call for the resignation of Conyers, but not of Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn.
"What is the discernible difference between Al Franken and John Conyers?" attorney Arnold Reed asked at his own press conference shortly after Pelosi’s. "They’re not going to determine whether Congressman Conyers resigns . . . He will determine that when and if he makes that decision."
