New York congressman Eric Massa resigned his House seat this week under a sexual harassment cloud, claiming fellow Democrats forced his ouster, to keep him from voting against their health care bill.

It’s the latest claim in a changing stream of explanations that have propelled him from a relatively obscure Democratic lawmaker to darling of conservative talk show hosts.

But his explanation leaves out a key fact: The decision and timing of his resignation were Massa’s alone.

Massa could have stayed in Congress and cast votes on health care in the coming weeks even as he awaited the results of a House ethics panel probe into allegations he harassed a male staffer. Most lawmakers facing congressional ethics investigations remain in office.
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Massa says he was targeted by Democrats who will “stop at nothing” to advance their health care overhaul. On a New York radio station Sunday, Massa blamed Democrats for his downfall, saying, “I was set up for this from the very, very beginning.”