Democratic Rep. Mike Quigley (Ill.) told CNN's Jim Acosta on Tuesday that Sen. Al Franken (D., Minn.) and Rep. John Conyers (D., Mich.) should "absolutely" step down if the allegations of sexual misconduct against them are proven true.
Acosta said that sexual misconduct is not a partisan issue and that it crosses party lines. He then referenced the allegations against Franken and Conyers, prompting him to ask Quigley whether he thought that Conyers should resign.
"Here's how I look at it," Quigley said after a long pause. "If these allegations are true, they should both go. They get their due process, but it's deeply disturbing that my colleague, Mr. Conyers, used his own resources within his office to make this some sort of settlement instead of going through the official process. This concerns me greatly."
"I think the Congressman needs to look at himself, and frankly if I was in his place, I would leave," Quigley added.
Acosta followed up to confirm whether he had heard Quigley correctly in his call for them to resign if the allegations were proven true.
"Absolutely," Quigley said.
"What is your sense of the accusations thus far? I mean, Senator Franken—you have a photograph of him apparently groping a woman and in the case of John Conyers, you have a payment made in that investigation. How much more evidence do you need?" Acosta asked.
Quigley reiterated his previous statement and said that they get their due process, but then continued to criticize Conyers for using his office's financial resources to settle the claim against him.
"I think what's most disturbing again about Mr. Conyers' allegations is the fact that he must have structured internally in his own office some sort of settlement," Quigley said. "To me, this is a greater sense of culpability on behalf of his office and himself."
"I think Mr. Conyers has to think about this very hard. My suggestion is that he leave," Quigley concluded.
Franken was accused last week by KABC anchor Leeann Tweeden of unwanted kissing and later groping while she was sleeping on the flight home from a USO tour in 2006. A second woman came forward on Monday to accuse Franken of groping her butt while she was taking a picture with Franken in 2010.
BuzzFeed reported on Monday that Conyers, 88, paid a former female staffer over $27,000 in 2015 to settle her complaint, which also required her to sign a confidentiality agreement. The report included multiple published affidavits of former staff members who said they witnessed Conyers touching female staffers in an inappropriate manner.
The AP went to Conyers' home in Detroit on Tuesday morning and asked him about the sexual harassment claims, prompting him to deny the allegations of inappropriate touching and to say he learned about the story a few hours earlier while watching television.
"I have been looking at these things in amazement," he said, referring to recent allegations of sexual harassment and assault being made against celebrities and politicians.
He later released a statement admitting that his office "resolved the allegations—with an express denial of liability—in order to save all involved from the rigors of protracted litigation."