I expect Otto to be all over this.
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http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0310/34001.html
Rep. Eric Massa to resign
By JOHN BRESNAHAN & GLENN THRUSH | 3/5/10 7:13 PM EST
Read more:
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0310/34001.html#ixzz0hLpkf12F
Democratic Rep. Eric Massa will resign from Congress on Monday, only
days after reports first surfaced that the freshman New York lawmaker
was under investigation by the House ethics committee for allegedly
sexually harassing a male staffer.
Massa was preparing the news in the Corning Leader, his local newspaper,
but several media outlets were already reporting the news Friday
afternoon.
In a statement released Friday, Massa directly addressed the ethics
issue for the first time, acknowledging that he used language that might
have made staffers uncomfortable. But he did not specifically address
any specific sexual harassment allegations.
ôI own this reality. There is no doubt in my mind that I did in fact,
use language in the privacy of my own home and in my inner office that,
after 24 years in the Navy, might make a Chief Petty Officer feel uncomfortable,ö Massa said. ôIn fact, there is no doubt that this Ethics
issue is my fault and mine alone. But in the incredibly toxic atmosphere
that is Washington D.C., with the destruction of our elected leaders
having become a blood sport, especially in talk radio and on the
internet, there is also no doubt that an Ethics investigation would tear
my family and my staff apart.ö
Massa, who was elected in November 2008, announced earlier in the week
that he would not be seeking a second term following a cancer scare in December.
He initially dismissed as ôunsubstantiatedö a POLITICO report that he
was being scrutinized for improper advances to a junior aide in his
office. In fact, he mentioned this report in his resignation statement
Friday afternoon.
ôAt no point prior to this had any member of the Ethics Committee
communicated with me directly - if fact I first read it on the
internet,ö Massa said.
The ethics committee formally announced on Thursday night that Massa was
under investigation by the panel, although Reps. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.)
and Jo Bonner (R-Ala.), the chairwoman and ranking member of the
committee, did not announce the reason for their probe.
Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) also publicly acknowledged that his
staff had told a former Massa aide that he should report the Massa
harassment allegation to the ethics committee or else Hoyer would take
it to the ethics panel himself. Ronald Hikel, MassaÆs former deputy
chief of staff and legislative director, was then interviewed twice by
ethics committee investigators.
MassaÆs assertion that he did not learn that he was under investigation
by the ethics committee until after making his retirement announcement
appears to contradict the facts of the case.
Joe Racalto, MassaÆs chief of staff, told a Rochester TV station on
Thursday that he was interviewed by ethics committee investigators
several weeks ago in regards to the sexual harassment allegations
against Massa, well before the case became a public scandal or Massa
announced his intentions to leave the House.
Read more:
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0310/34001.html#ixzz0hLpoI49E
CMPQwk 1.42-21 9999
Patriotism is not who can leak the most Secret documents to the NY Times ...
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