Jon Ward and Mike Riggs
The Daily Caller
3/10/2010
House Republicans are considering whether to ask Thursday for the Ethics Committee to investigate House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer for their handling of information about misbehavior by former Rep. Eric Massa, who resigned Monday for sexually harassing male staffers.
Democratic aides scoffed late Wednesday at the idea, saying Pelosi and Hoyer acted properly and there are no grounds for an investigation.
But Republicans want to know why Pelosi was not told earlier of allegations that Massa groped his aides. The speaker’s staff learned of Massa’s misbehavior from Hoyer’s staff in early February, and did not inform her until early March, Pelosi told reporters last week.
A Pelosi aide also told The Daily Caller late Wednesday that her office was informed in October by Massa’s chief of staff, Joe Racolto, of concerns that the congressman was living with a number of male staffers, that he had hired too many staff, and that he was using profanity around them.
Racolto said at the time that he had asked the congressman to move out of the row house he was sharing with the aides. Massa recounted this conversation during a TV interview Tuesday, and said he moved into his office at the time.
House GOP weighs call for probe into Pelosi and Hoyer’s handling of Massa scandal
By Jon Ward and Mike Riggs – The Daily Caller 03/10/10 at 10:15 PM
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House Republicans are considering whether to ask Thursday for the Ethics Committee to investigate House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer for their handling of information about misbehavior by former Rep. Eric Massa, who resigned Monday for sexually harassing male staffers.
Democratic aides scoffed late Wednesday at the idea, saying Pelosi and Hoyer acted properly and there are no grounds for an investigation.
But Republicans want to know why Pelosi was not told earlier of allegations that Massa groped his aides. The speaker’s staff learned of Massa’s misbehavior from Hoyer’s staff in early February, and did not inform her until early March, Pelosi told reporters last week.
A Pelosi aide also told The Daily Caller late Wednesday that her office was informed in October by Massa’s chief of staff, Joe Racolto, of concerns that the congressman was living with a number of male staffers, that he had hired too many staff, and that he was using profanity around them.
Racolto said at the time that he had asked the congressman to move out of the row house he was sharing with the aides. Massa recounted this conversation during a TV interview Tuesday, and said he moved into his office at the time.
The Washington Post reported Wednesday evening that Racolto’s call was prompted by Massa’s advances toward a young, gay congressional staffer who worked on the staff of Rep. Barney Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat who is himself openly gay.
The article continues at The Daily Caller.
