Pelosi stumbles on alleged harassment in her own ranks

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi's comments about sexual harassment allegations in her party's own ranks touched off a fierce blowback not only from Republicans, but also from progressives, who said they feared it muddled the Democrats' message on misconduct by putting politics ahead of protecting women.

In an interview Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press," Pelosi, D-Calif., offered supportive words for Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., who has been accused of sexually harassing former members of his congressional staff and who reached a taxpayer-funded settlement with one accuser who said she was fired for rejecting his advances.

Pelosi praised Conyers, who has denied the allegations, as an "icon," questioned the identity of his accusers and declined to call for his resignation — all within moments of having hailed the "zero tolerance" movement against sexual misconduct as "transformative ... so wholesome, so refreshing, so different."