December 05, 2017 08:41 AM UTC

BREAKING: John Conyers Out Amid Sexual Harassment Allegations

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• by: Colorado Pols

A big development today in the ongoing cultural struggle over sexual harassment in the halls of celebrity and power–Democratic Rep. John Conyers, one of the nation’s longest-serving representatives and a civil-rights movement icon, will retire under a cloud as The Hill reports:

Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.), who for weeks has been the target of sexual misconduct allegations, announced on Tuesday that he will retire from the House.

Conyers, the lower chamber’s current longest-serving member, told a Detroit-area radio station that he is endorsing his son, John Conyers III, for his seat.

He said he was “retiring today.”

“This too shall pass. And I want you to know that my legacy will continue through my children,” John Conyers told host Mildred Gaddis.

He has remained defiant in the face of the accusations and insisted during the radio appearance that his “legacy can’t be compromised or diminished” by the allegations.

It’s tough to summarize the contributions of Rep. Conyers over the course of decades in a single sentence, but we’re sorry to say that how a man treats women he deals with professionally must inevitably affect his legacy. In fact, the only way the lesson can be learned that no one is above accountability…is for no one to be above accountability.

And if there’s any justice, it’s not going to stop with John Conyers.