Glenn Beck to Eric Massa: Bull Crap, Sir!

Former Rep. Eric Massa appeared for the full hour on Glenn Beck's Fox News program Tuesday afternoon, denying he groped anyone, but taking "full and complete responsibility for my misbehavior."

Beck promised to give the former Democratic New York congressman a fair hearing and told his viewers he'd press Massa to shed light on a frequent Beck target -- alleged corruption in the capital.

As the hour unfolded, Massa claimed to be both the victim of a Washington smear campaign and guilty of inappropriate behavior toward male members of his staff. He accused Rahm Emanuel of trying to intimidate him, but later apologized for saying the White House chief of staff would tie his own children to railroad tracks. "That was over the top," he said.

Massa announced last week that he would retire from Congress at the end of his first term 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."

Beck began the show by talking about the ethics allegations, which Massa said over the weekend were part of a smear campaign in retribution for his vote against health care reform -- a charge hotly denied by House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland.

But, Massa acknowledged to Beck, "I wasn't forced out, I forced myself out. . . . I own this. I take full and complete responsibility for my misbehavior."

Massa also responded to new details reported by The Washington Post that he had been under investigation for allegedly groping male staff members, not just for using "salty language," as Massa had said before.

"Now they're saying I groped a male staffer; yeah, I did," Massa told Beck. "I tickled him until until he couldn't breathe and then four guys jumped on top of me. It was 'Kill the Old Guy.' You can take anything out of context."

To illustrate his point, he then presented Beck a yearbook from his Navy days with photographs of an initiation ceremony for sailors who crossed the equator for the first time, a ceremony which Massa has described as "grossly obscene."

"It looks like an orgy in 'Caligula,' " Massa told Beck.

"Did you ever grope anybody sexually?" Beck asked.

"No. No. No. No. No," Massa insisted, explaining that he now feels he never fully made the transition from his Navy days to running a congressional office.

"They have tickle fights in the Navy?" Beck asked.

Beck also asked specific questions about Massa's allegations of political corruption behind his ouster, but Massa provided no details. When Beck asked what people need to know about the system, Massa suggested that they call their members of Congress and demand better from their representatives, because he can't change the system.

"Bull crap! Bull crap, sir!" Beck said angrily.

What seemed to perplex Beck the most, though, was Massa's willingness to leave Congress so quickly when no charges against him have been proven.

"Your honor is at stake. I don't buy the fact that you're leaving over tickle fights," Beck pressed.

Massa said he is not guilty of any criminal or sexually inappropriate behavior, but that he's simply too tired to fight. "For 30 years I've been doing it. I can't fight this. I can't fight cancer. I can't fight the White House. I can't fight the Democratic Party. I can't fight the Republicans. I can't fight anymore."

With few new details from Massa, Beck issued his verdict on Massa straight to his audience.

"America, I think I've wasted your time. I think this is the first time I have wasted an hour of your time and I apologize for that."