Democrats Blast Massa Conspiracy Theory: 'Absurd,' 'Totally Untrue'

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland did not mince words Tuesday when he denied Eric Massa's accusations that Hoyer and other Democrats forced him from the House because he had planned to vote against health care reform.

"That's absurd. That's absolutely untrue," Hoyer said. "Definitively untrue."

During an interview on a western New York radio station Sunday, Massa, a former Democratic congressman from New York, defended himself against rumors of sexual misconduct and lashed out at Hoyer and other Hill leaders.

"Mine is now the deciding vote on the health care bill," he said on WKPQ. "And this administration and this Democratic leadership have said they will stop at nothing to pass this bill. Now they've gotten rid of me and it will pass. You connect the dots."

Massa announced last week that he would retire from Congress at the end of his first term rather than run for re-election because he had a third cancer scare after two bouts of lymphoma. On Thursday, the House Ethics Committee confirmed that it had opened an investigation into allegations that the congressman sexually harassed a male staff member. A day later, Massa announced he would resign effective Monday, saying he is leaving not because he is guilty of an ethics violation, but because an investigation "would tear my family and my staff apart."

Hoyer said several times that Massa's contentions about the health care bill were unfounded. "It's absolutely untrue -- I want to reiterate it to you -- that there was any relationship between actions and the health care bill. Period. Is anybody confused? Do I need to clarify that?"

He also said his office's involvement in the matter, which sent a Massa staffer's complaint against the former congressman to the Ethics Committee, was entirely at the staff level.

"A Massa staffer talked to one of my staffers. When I heard the information, my staffers asked what to do. I believed the issues being raised sounded to me serious. I therefore said the appropriate venue for dealing with these issues was the Ethics Committee, and my staffer then conveyed that to Mr. Massa's staffer and said that if you don't take action within 48 hours, we will."

Earlier in the day, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs cited Massa's allegations about the House leadership on Good Morning America. "I think this whole story is ridiculous," Gibbs said. "Silly and ridiculous."

By the afternoon, The Washington Post reported that Massa had been under investigation for at least a year for allegedly groping male staff members, a charge that goes well beyond what Massa called his use of "salty language" with staff when he announced he would resign. A source told the Post that the allegations against the former congressman exhibit "a pattern of behavior and physical harassment."