About | RSS

TPMDC

Massa: 'I Wasn't Forced Out. I Forced Myself Out. I Failed' (VIDEO)

Eric Kleefeld | March 9, 2010, 5:29PM

Former Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY)

Eric Massa, Glenn Beck, NY-29

Send to a friend!

Appearing on Glenn Beck's TV show, former Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY) bluntly admitted that his resignation, over allegations of sexual harassment, was his own fault.

"I wasn't forced out. I forced myself out. I failed," said Massa. "I didn't live up to my own codes. I own this. I take full and complete responsibility for my misbehavior. And goodness only knows what allegations they're gonna throw at me. There's even new ones today and we're gonna talk about that."

"Now they're saying I groped a male staffer. Yeah, I did," Massa also said. "Not only did I grope him. I tickled him 'til he couldn't breathe and then four guys jumped on top of me. It was my 50th birthday."

"I should have never allowed myself to be as familiar with my staff as I was, I never translated my days in the Navy to being a Congressman," Massa said.

Beck asked Massa whether he ever groped members of his staff sexually. "No," said Massa. "When you take things out of context in D.C., this is what it's all about"

Massa also stood by his descriptions of lewd conduct that he has said routinely occurs in the Navy. Beck joked that perhaps Massa could show him a "tickle fight" in the Navy.

"I'm gonna show you a lot more than tickle fights," said Massa. He also added: "Can you imagine transporting back to this today? It looks like an orgy in Caligula. And anybody that's been in the Navy knows it."

Massa maintained that he had initially decided not to run again for Congress due to health concerns. He also showed recent x-rays, saying that it was not known whether spots in the x-rays were scar tissue or tumors: "My wife, doctors have been asking me from day one not to run." It was then the increasing level of accusations regarding alleged harassment that caused him to resign, he said.

Massa also complained that the investigations against him have not followed any standards of secrecy: "It's the Potomac two-step."

Late Update: Massa began to give Beck the kinds of answers he would like to hear -- for example, calling for campaign finance reform, complaining about the party whip operation, and labor unions pressuring members to vote their way or else not receive campaign contribution -- which Massa said amounts to bribery -- and insisting that Rahm Emanuel tried to intimidate him in the House gym showers, etc.

When asked by Beck whether there were witnesses to the alleged shower event, which the White House has denied ever happened, Massa said: "I have no idea, I wasn't looking around."

But then he turned the tables on Beck. "Stop calling fellow Americans names. Calling fellow Americans names. Pejorative, insulting, socialist, communist, whatever the case may be - colorful names designed to emote emotion (sic)," said Massa.

Beck offered up the term "progressive" as a helpful example of another term he uses as an epithet.

"You can be a progressive and a fiscal conservative. I know we're going to have an argument, but you can be," said Massa. "But you can't show up at a Tea Party rally and claim that the entire budget deficit happened this year."

Beck eventually became very exasperated with the answers he was getting. "America, I've got to shoot straight with you. I think I've wasted your time. I think this is the first time that I've wasted an hour of your time."

During his closing remarks for the hour, Beck said: "This is why I said, 'I'm sorry, I wasted your time.' We learned a lot, I think. But what we learned I don't think affects you at all. From New York, good night America."