Calling Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., "an icon," House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., broke from the notion of unilaterally believing accusers of sexual harassment — and her own "zero tolerance" — saying Sunday that Conyers deserves "due process."
"We are strengthened by due process," Pelosi told host Chuck Todd on "Meet The Press." "Just because someone is accused — and was it one accusation? Is it two?"
Rep. Conyers, a 27-term congressman, is the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, and he denied reports he settled with a woman in 2015 who claimed she was fired before she rejected his sexual advances.
"John Conyers is an icon in our country," Pelosi continued. "He has done a great deal to protect women — Violence Against Women Act, which the right-wing is now quoting me as praising him for his work on that, and he did great work on that. But the fact is, as John reviews his case — which he knows, which I don't — I believe he will do the right thing."
Both before and after the Conyers comments to Todd, Rep. Pelosi had used the phrase "zero tolerance" with regard to sexual harassment claims in Congress.
"Women have spoken out," she told Todd. "Their concerns will be addressed in a way that I think will give comfort as well as end of this behavior because it's disgusting, it's repulsive, and has to be zero tolerance."
Todd directly asked Pelosi if she believed Conyers accusers, a question she dodged.
"I don't know who they are? Do you?" she responded. "They have not really come forward.
"That's for the [House] Ethics Committee to review."
The questions from Todd to Pelosi come amid allegations of sexual misconduct claims against Alabama GOP Senate candidate Roy Moore, which many in Congress have said should disqualify him from Congress before the Dec. 12 special election against Democrat Doug Jones.
After Pelosi's NBC News appearance, Rep. Conyers announced via Twitter he is temporarily stepping down as the ranking member of the House Judiciary while the matter is being investigated.
Conyers' tweet preceded a series of seven others on the news. Rep. Pelosi also tweeted her response to Conyers' request to be temporarily removed as ranking member on the committee, writing "zero tolerance means consequences."