David Duprey / AP Photo
Looks like Rep. Eric Massa has fast-tracked his retirement from Congress: The New York Democrat will retire effective 5 p.m. EST on Monday. Massa is under investigation by the House Ethics Committee after a male staffer charged him with sexual harassment. He had originally announced that he would serve out the remainder of his term and retire in November. In a letter, Massa says he is retiring due to his health. "After I decided not to run again I was told, for the first time, that a member of my staff believed I had made statements that made him feel 'uncomfortable,'" Massa wrote. "There is no doubt in my mind that I did in fact, use language in the privacy of my own home and in my inner office that, after 24 years in the Navy, might make a Chief Petty Officer feel uncomfortable. In fact, there is no doubt that this Ethics issue is my fault and mine alone. But in the incredibly toxic atmosphere that is Washington D.C., with the destruction of our elected leaders having become a blood sport, especially in talk radio and on the internet, there is also no doubt that an Ethics investigation would tear my family and my staff apart."