Rep. Eric Massa took to the the airwaves of his weekly radio program to vent about his recent troubles. Last week, amid rumors of sexual harassment allegations, Massa initially said that he would not seek re-election at the end of his term because of health concerns. He then suddenly announced a few days later that he would step down from his post (the resignation takes effect today) due to those allegations.Now Massa claims that he has been set up by high ranking members of the Democratic party so they are able to successfully pass the health care bill. He also revealed on his radio show some details about the alleged inappropriate behavior that he's been accused of. Massa recounts an incident that took place at a wedding:
“I sat down at the table where my whole staff was, all of them by the way bachelors. One of them looked at me and as they would do after, I don’t know, 15 gin and tonics, and goodness only knows how many bottles of champagne, a staff member made an intonation to me that maybe I should be chasing after the bridesmaid and his points were clear and his words were far more colorful than that,” Massa said. “And I grabbed the staff member sitting next to me and said, ‘Well, what I really ought to be doing is fracking you.’ And then [I] tossled the guy’s hair and left, went to my room, because I knew the party was getting to a point where it wasn’t right for me to be there. Now was that inappropriate of me? Absolutely. Am I guilty? Yes.”
He also described a steamy (of sorts) encounter he had with a naked Rahm Emanuel in the shower:
"Let me tell you a story about Rahm Emanuel… I was in the congressional gym… I went into the showers which, by the way, I for the life of me, can't figure out why they took all of the shower curtains off the shower stalls in the congressional shower…the last thing I want to look is fellow colleagues naked…I'm sitting there showering, naked as a jaybird, and here comes Rahm Emanuel, not even with a towel wrapped around his tush, poking his finger in my chest, yelling at me because I wasn't going to vote for the President's budget."
Former Rep. Massa Allegedly 'Groped Multiple Male Staffers'
Former Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY), who stepped down (effective yesterday) amid claims that he was being bullied over the health care bill while also the subject of a sexual harassment inquiry involving a male aide and some "salty language" (his words) is under investigation for allegedly groping multiple male staffers, the Washington Post now reports:
"The allegations surrounding the former lawmaker date back at least a year, and involve "a pattern of behavior and physical harassment," according to one source. The new claims of alleged groping contradict statements by Massa, who resigned his office on Monday after it became public that he was the subject of a House ethics committee investigation for possible harassment...According to two sources familiar with the probe, Massa's former deputy chief of staff Ron Hikel provided the information about the staffers' allegations to the House ethics committee three weeks ago. Hikel had earlier sought advice from Majority Leader Steny Hoyer's office about brewing internal complaints, the sources said, and had been urged to report the allegations to the committee."
Massa, who originally cited a recurrence of cancer as his reason for stepping down, was a first-term congressman. He is married to a woman.
Massa has said this on gay rights: "I know from personal experience in the military that the current policy, Don’t ask, don’t tell, doesn’t work. I fully support civil unions and equal legal rights for all Americans. Although civil unions do not provide all of the answers for the issues facing same sex couples, I believe they are a good start, and I support them. I do not support an amendment to the U.S. Constitution banning gay marriage; that is a wedge issue and a political ploy designed to distract voters from the massive failures of the Bush administration and Congress; it would also be the first amendment in our country's history to explicitly restrict rights."
The ladies of The View discussed Massa this morning, before the new "groping" allegations surfaced.
Nancy Pelosi Calls Former Rep. Eric Massa 'Poor Baby' and 'a Very Sick Person'
The Washington Post reports that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was alerted to concerns about former Rep. Eric Massa last October:"Joe Racalto, Massa's chief of staff, was uneasy that Massa, 50, was living with several young, unmarried male staffers and using sexually explicit language with them, one source said. But what finally prompted him to call Pelosi's director of member services, the source said, was a lunch date that Massa made with a congressional aide in his 20s who worked in the office of Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.). According to a person briefed on the call, Racalto was concerned that the lunch followed a pattern by Massa -- who is married and has two children -- of trying to spend time alone with young gay men with no ostensible work purpose. Racalto, according to this person, also alerted Frank's chief of staff. The sources spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the political sensitivity of the matter."
Pelosi appeared on Bloomberg to discuss Massa. Said Pelosi: "This is a sad case...This is a very sick person. He has been diagnosed with cancer. Perhaps his judgment is impaired because of the ethical issues that have arisen and he is no longer in the Congress. Poor baby. Poor baby. Sometimes we really exagerrate our own importance in a lot of these things."
Eric Massa a Proficient Navy 'Snorkeler'
The latest chapter in the Eric Massa story involves "snorkeling" while he was in the Navy:
"According to Peter Clarke, a Navy shipmate, Massa was notorious for making unwanted advances toward subordinates. He tells the story of his friend Stuart Borsch, with whom Massa shared a hotel room while on leave during the first Gulf War. "Stuart's at the edge of the bed," Clarke says Borsch told him at the time, "and [Massa] starts massaging him. Massa said, 'You'll have to get one of my special massages.' He called them 'Massa Massages.'" Ron Moss, a Navy shipmate and Borsch's roommate, confirmed that Borsch told him this story at the time...Clarke says that Massa's roommate, Tom Maxfield, was also assaulted. "Tom lived on upper bunk," Clarke say. "When you're on ship, you're almost exhausted 24-7. So a lot of times you sleep with your uniform on. Tom and Massa shared a stateroom together. Massa climbed up on the top of his bunk, which is hard to do--you never crawl up on somebody else's bunk. He wakes up to Massa undoing his pants trying to snorkel him."...Massa's shipmates didn't turn him in for fear that he would retaliate."
Bill Maher gave his analysis of Massa's saga on last night's Countdown.
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Jon Stewart On Beck's Massa Interview: Why The Night 'Wasn't A Total Loss'
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