The Daily Caller reports that House Minority Leader John Boehner will offer a resolution that calls for an investigation of Democratic leaders’ handling of the case of former Rep. Eric Massa.
The Caller suggests that Republicans want the ethics committee to look at how Speaker Nancy Pelosi — whose staff was reportedly told in October that Massa lived with staffers and used sexually explicit language — handled the Massa case.
The AP adds:
A Boehner spokesman said Thursday that the congressman’s resolution will direct the ethics panel to fully investigate what House Democratic leaders and their staffers knew prior to March 3, 2010 about the allegations against Massa, and what actions they took after learning of the charges.
Late Update: The resolution has overwhelmingly passed the House, The Hill reports.
Later Update: The Post reports that the resolution was not approved outright, but rather referred to the ethics committee.
And here’s the text of the resolution:
H. Resolution______RESOLUTION
Raising a question of the privileges of the House.
Whereas, on March 8, 2010, Representative Eric Massa resigned from the House;
Whereas, numerous newspapers and other media organizations reported in the days before and after Mr. Massa’s resignation that the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct was investigating allegations that Mr. Massa sexually harassed Members of his congressional staff;
Whereas, on March 3, 2010, Majority Leader Hoyer’s office issued a statement saying, “The week of February 8th, a member of Rep. Massa’s staff brought to the attention of Mr. Hoyer’s staff allegations of misconduct that had been made against Mr. Massa. Mr. Hoyer’s staff immediately informed him of what they had been told”;
Whereas, on Thursday, March 4, Roll Call newspaper reported, “Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she only learned Wednesday of misconduct allegations against freshman Rep. Eric Massa, though her staff had learned of it earlier and decided against briefing her. ‘There had been a rumor, but just that,’ Pelosi told reporters at her weekly news conference. ‘A one-, two-, three-person rumor that had been reported to Mr. Hoyer’s office and reported to my staff which they did not report to me because you know what? This is rumor city. There are rumors.’”;
Whereas, on March 11, 2010, The Washington Post reported, “House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office was notified in October by then-Rep. Eric Massa’s top aide [Joe Racalto] of concerns about the New York Democrat’s behavior”;
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