Conyers: 'I Am Retiring Today', Endorses Son For His House Seat

DETROIT, MI – Longtime Rep. John Conyers announced Tuesday morning that will retire immediately and has endorsed his son, John Conyers III to run for his seat. Conyers, a Democrat from Detroit, has faced allegations from former staff that he behaved inappropriately around them.

"I am retiring today," said the elder Conyers during an interview on "The Mildred Gaddis Show" on WPZR-FM on Tuesday. The 88-year-old Democrat says he is endorsing his son to take his seat in Congress

"I'm in the process of putting my retirement plans together," he said from a hospital.

Despite calls for his resignation from the Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, a Wisconsin Republican, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Conyers has resisted and said he would defend himself. Conyers has been in the House since 1965 and is the longest serving congressman.

In a strange twist, there also appears to be some confusion in the Conyers family. Earlier in the day, the congressman's great nephew, Ian Conyers, a Michigan state senator, said he would run for the seat.

Ian Conyers, the grandson of the lawmaker's brother, earlier on Tuesday told The New York Times and ABC News that his grandfather would not seek re-election, and instead he would run for election in the district that includes part of Detroit. The younger Conyers said he believes voters still support his grandfather and that they will support his family.

The news of Conyers' retirement comes as yet another accuser has come forward with claims of misbehavior by the lawmaker. Lawyer Lisa Bloom on Monday posted to Twitter an affidavit from Elisa Grubbs, another former Conyers staffer, that described how she experienced "my own sexual harassment at the hands of Rep. Conyers."

Grubbs, in the affidavit, said Conyers would touch and stroke her thighs. One time, at his home while she was there, he walked out of the bathroom naked, she wrote. On once occasion, while Grubbs sat next to Conyers in the front row of a church, he "slid his hand up my skirt and rubbed my thighs," she writes in the affidavit.

Bloom represents Marion Brown, who last week went public with her allegations against Conyers. Bloom said in a tweet that her client "asks only for an acknowledgement and apology."

In an interview on NBC's "Today" show, Brown said Conyers "violated my body, he's touched me in different ways. It was very uncomfortable and very unprofessional." While they were in Chicago for an event in 2005, she said they were alone in a hotel room and he undressed down to his underwear, Brown said during the interview.

"He asked me to satisfy to him sexually. He pointed to genital areas of his body and asked me to touch him."
Last week, Conyers returned to Detroit from Washington, and was hospitalized for a stress-related illness. During a press conference Friday, Conyers' lawyer, Arnold Reed, defended the congressman and claimed Brown was an opportunist.

Below is Bloom's tweet:

>>>> This is a breaking news story. Refresh for updates.

Some information for this story came from the Associated Press. File photo by the Associated Press