A New York congressman, the subject of a harassment complaint by a male staffer, is stepping down from his seat, The Associated Press has learned.
Knowledgable Democratic officials told AP that Rep. Eric Massa, who has announced he will not seek re-election due to a recurrence of cancer, is resigning his seat, effective Monday.
The decision by Massa was another jarring setback for President Barack Obama and majority Democrats in Congress, coming at a time when the party is scrambling to save sweeping health care overhaul legislation that has been pending for well over a year. The Democrats also are still assessing a surging anti-incumbent fervor among the voters ahead of crucial November elections in which all House seats are up for grabs.
Republicans, sensing upsets, could focus their campaign on ethical issues, especially since after the leader of the House, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, had promised to drain the swamp of ethical problems that plagued Republicans when they ran the House.
Earlier in the week the powerful Democratic head of the House tax-writing committee stepped down temporarily over an ethics issue.
Massa's resignation comes as the House ethics panel was reviewing a harassment complaint by a male staffer who reportedly felt uncomfortable in a situation with Massa that had sexual overtones.
Massa, who had initially dismissed the rumors, will resign effective Monday, according to three Democratic officials with knowledge of his plans. They spoke on condition of anonymity because no formal announcement had yet been made.
The ethics committee issued a brief statement Thursday saying it is "investigating and gathering additional information concerning matters related to allegations involving" Massa.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said Wednesday that he was told the week of Feb. 8 by a staff member in Massa's office about allegations of misconduct. Hoyer directed Massa to report the allegations to the House ethics committee within 48 hours. Hoyer said he got confirmation within that time frame that the committee received the report and would review the allegations.
Massa, who is married, was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in 1996. He was elected in 2008, winning a district in the southwestern corner of New York that has been dominated by Republicans since the party's founding in 1854. It's a largely agricultural district.
Citing his cancer, Massa, 50, said Wednesday he would retire at the end of his term. During a conference phone call with reporters that day, Massa dismissed a Politico newspaper story that cited unidentified House aides in reporting that the congressman had been accused of harassing a staffer.
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Associated Press writers Andrew Miga and Liz Sidoti contributed to this report.
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