Democratic Rep. Gregory Meeks (N.Y.) said on Wednesday that Rep. John Conyers (D., Mich.) should step down as the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee following reports that he settled sexual harassment claims.
BuzzFeed released a report on Tuesday detailing how the longest currently serving congressman settled in 2015 after complaints came forward that he made unwanted sexual advances toward female staffers.
Meeks, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus with Conyers, said "no one is exempt from bad behavior."
"No one is exempt from bad behavior, and I think that he's agreed and I clearly see where Leader Pelosi has said that there will be an immediate ethics committee review," Meeks said during an appearance on CNN. "I really think that probably the appropriate thing right now is that he should step down as the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee and be subject to this ethics investigation."
Meeks went on to say "we need to have a dialogue" about what he sees being the two important "isms" still taking place in the United States: sexism and racism.
Host John Berman asked Meeks if Conyers should step down as the ranking member even before the investigation. Meeks replied by saying it wouldn't be appropriate for Meeks to stay on given the extent of the accusations.
Should Conyers be able to prove his innocence, however, Meeks said he could return.
"If he defends himself and says and shows there is nothing there, then he could come back," Meeks said. "But you can't, in my estimation, just in the scenario that we're in to be the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee at this time. I think that he should step down."