House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi was hit with friendly political fire this week after comedian Seth Meyers found out about her reaction to sexual misconduct allegations against Rep. John Conyers.
NBC’s “Late Night” host ripped Mrs. Pelosi before a live studio audience Monday night as “shockingly tone deaf” over an interview she gave on “Meet the Press.” Mr. Meyers, who is outspokenly liberal, was dumbfounded how her “zero tolerance” policy could be dismissed because accusations were leveled against a fellow Democrat.
“We are strengthened by due process,” Mrs. Pelosi told NBC’s Chuck Todd on Sunday regarding the Michigan congressman. “John Conyers is an icon in our country. … He will do the right thing in terms of what he knows about his situation.”
Mr. Meyers said the California Democrat’s response was absurd, given that Mr. Conyers’ office settled a harassment case with a payment but no admission of guilt.
“No,” Mr. Meyers said, the Washington Free Beacon reported. “He’s in this position because he allegedly did the wrong thing. You can’t say the guy who did that wrong thing will do the right thing.”
Mrs. Pelosi released a statement Monday evening with a new response to the allegations after meeting with one of the lawmaker’s accusers.
“This afternoon, I spoke with Melanie Sloan who worked for Congressman Conyers on the Judiciary Committee in the mid-1990s,” Mrs. Pelosi wrote. “Ms. Sloan told me that she had publicly discussed distressing experiences while on his staff. I find the behavior Ms. Sloan described unacceptable and disappointing. I believe what Ms. Sloan has told me.
“I have not had the opportunity to speak with the other women, one of whom cannot speak publicly because of the secretive settlement process in place,” she continued. “That ridiculous system must be ended and victims who want to come forward to the Ethics Committee must be able to do so.”
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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