Jim Burroway
Freshman congressman Eric Massa (D-NY) announced that announced Wednesday that he will not seek re-election in November, citing his battle with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and his doctors’ advice that he slow down. But Politico reports that while that may be one reason for Massa’s retirement, it may not be the only reason:
[S]everal House aides told POLITICO that the House ethics committee has been informed of allegations that the New York Democrat, who is married with two children, made unwanted advances toward a junior male staffer.
A more senior staffer — Ronald Hikel, Massa’s former deputy chief of staff and legislative director — took the complaints to the ethics committee and was interviewed about them twice. Hikel declined to comment about the situation, but House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) confirmed that the Democratic leadership had been informed of the allegations before the news broke.
We don’t know the nature of the allegations. Sexual harassment can take many forms, and they may not necessarily be physical. “Inviting” someone to perform a sexual act as an expression of anger could conceivably fit the definition. And that’s the defense Massa is going with:
“Do I or have I ever used salty language when I’m angry, especially in the privacy of my inner office or even at home? Yes, I have, and I have apologized to those where it’s appropriate,” Massa said. “But those kinds of articles, unsubstantiated, without fact or backing, are a symptom of what’s wrong with this city.”
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