In a sign that the Eric Massa controversy may not go away any time soon, the House on Thursday advanced a Republican measure calling for the ethics committee to “investigate fully” what House Democratic leaders and their staffs knew ahead of time about the ex-congressman’s alleged misconduct.
The resolution, introduced by House Minority Leader John Boehner, calls for the committee to finish its report into the married former Democratic Congressman – accused of groping a male staffer – by the end of June.
It is not yet clear what the committee will do. Despite media reports that the panel was planning to close its probe into 50-year-old Massa’s behavior after the New York Democrat resigned Monday, the inquiry was still technically open.
The House voted Thursday not to approve or deny Boehner’s proposal but refer it to the committee – which will in turn decide what to do with the request.
The vote was 402-1 with 15 lawmakers voting “present.” The one vote in opposition came from Rep. Chaka Fattah, D-Pa.
Boehner appeared to count Thursday’s vote as a victory.
“The resolution that passed the House with a strong bipartisan majority today is a clear signal that an investigation to examine and answer the very serious questions arising from Democratic leaders’ response to their former colleague’s conduct is necessary,” Boehner said in a written statement. “These questions must be answered to begin repairing the broken bonds of trust between the Congress and the American people.”
He and other Republicans say more needs to be uncovered about how the matter was handled by congressional Democratic leaders.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s staff knew as far back as October about concerns of Massa’s living arrangements with other male staffers, Fox News has learned.
Pelosi’s staff also learned about allegations of groping in early February. Pelosi said she personally learned nothing of the complaints until March 3, the day Massa announced he would not seek another term.
Former navy man Massa has admitted to using inappropriate language – dubbing himself a “salty old sailor” – in front of staff as well as groping, though not sexually, a male aide.
Ex-naval colleagues this week claimed he had acted sexually towards other men in the service.
The Boehner resolution calls for a probe into “which House Democratic leaders and members of their respective staffs had knowledge prior to March 3, 2010 of the aforementioned allegations concerning Mr. Massa, and what actions each leader and staffer having any such knowledge took after learning of the allegations.”
The measure calls for Congress to preserve all relevant records and for the ethics panel to determine in 10 days whether to establish a formal “investigative subcommittee.”
Investigative subcommittees are the equivalent of a grand jury in Congress – one has not yet been created in the Massa matter.
– Fox News’ Chad Pergram contributed to this report.