Former Conyers staffer revivies allegations

The Grand Rapids Press reports:

A Holland-area woman is reviving charges of unethical conduct against U.S. Rep. John Conyers as the Detroit Democrat prepares to ascend to the chairmanship of the House Judiciary Committee.

Deanna Maher, retired chief of staff for Conyers' Downriver Region office near Detroit, alleges Conyers required her to work on political campaigns and to baby-sit for his children while on the government payroll, both violations of House ethics rules.

Conyers has, in the past, denied the allegations.



Maher, who lives in Park Township and has longtime connections to West Michigan, said Conyers is not fit to hold the important post.

"He's coming up for election for heading the Judiciary. I do believe the country needs better," she said.

Media reports about the allegations from Maher and at least three other staffers first appeared in 2003.

In early 2004, Maher sent documents she said substantiated her claims about Conyers to the House Ethics Committee, officially the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct.

She is frustrated the committee never took public action.

"To this minute, with all the documentation, not one person has been subpoenaed. Not one," she said.

Mary Boyle of Common Cause, a Washington-based government watchdog group, said the Ethics Committee has been "entirely ineffective for most of the last decade."

"This whole John Conyers thing is a perfect example of why and how it doesn't work for everyone, including the members (of Congress) and the public," said Boyle, a spokeswoman for the group.

It is unclear whether the Ethics Committee investigated the allegations and cleared Conyers, or whether the matter is an ongoing concern. A spokesman for the committee did not return a call seeking comment.

Maher was hired by Conyers in 1997 and retired from his office in May 2005.

She said Conyers sent staff members from Washington to work on the unsuccessful 2002 campaign of his wife, Monica Conyers, for the state Senate.

No word yet on whether Conyers went to Democratic Socialists of America meetings while staffers were forced to baby-sit.