As Obama Speaks, Another Endangered Democrat Announces Retirement; Update: Sexually Harassed Male Staffer?

Mere minutes before the Clown-in-Chief walked out with his props dressed in lab coats today to lie through his teeth some more, word leaked an endangered Democrat announced his retirement.

Rep. Eric Massa is poised to announce this afternoon that he will not seek re-election in the 29th Congressional District this fall as planned, a Democratic source confirms.

The freshman congressman is going to make his announcement at 3 p.m., according to the source. It's unclear if that event is taking place in the district or in Wahsington, D.C. A call to Massa's spokesman has so far not been returned.

UPDATE: Massa's office says he will be speaking with the press on a "very important" conference call at 3:30 p.m. He's in Washington.

Massa is calling around the district to inform party leaders and supporters of his decision.

The source said he assumed that Massa's move is "health related," but said the congressman also gave him a rather nebulous warning that he would be "hearing things that aren't true."

Sources close to the congressman say there has been talk of an ethics investigation, but a staffer in Massa's district office contacted yesterday insisted he had no knowledge of that.

Ironically a guy who might have ethics problems announces he's leaving while a bum like Charlie Rangel plans apparently to die in office. Curious how Massa has filled his campaign coffers with donations from Rangel.

Citing federal Election Commission records, former Corning mayor Tom Reed said in a news release that Massa accepted a total of $67,822 from several of Rangel's fundraising committees during the 2008 and 2010 election cycles.
Last week, a House Ethics Committee report found Rangel guilty of violating gift rules by accepting corporate-sponsored trips to the Caribbean in 2007 and 2008.

Massa is one of many to accept money from Rangel.

Update: Oh my.

According to several House aides – on both sides of the aisle – the House ethics committee has been informed of allegations that Massa, who is married with two children, sexually harassed a male staffer.