Being guilty doesn't prevent one from being blackmailed. Quite the opposite in fact. Being guilty of something increases the potential threat from the blackmail.
Sure but my point was that the guilt he's being honest about can be verified, his other claims however not so much.
I think that the probability is that Massa is a closeted gay predator and crazier than a shithouse rat.
At the same time, that doesn't mean Pelosi didn't try to use the former to blackmail him and, in fact we now have
this from the Associated Press:
- A Democratic leadership aide...confirmed Wednesday night that in October, Eric Massa's chief of staff met with a staff member in Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office to discuss problems with the lawmaker.
The Massa aide pointed out a negative story about the lawmaker in a local newspaper that described Massa's living arrangements with staff members. The Massa aide told the speaker's office that he asked the congressman, who is married, to move out.
Massa's aide also discussed Massa's use of strong language and the way he ran his office.
Pelosi's spokesman, Brendan Daly, said the harassment allegations didn't surface until last month.
It appears that Pelosi's office lied about when they first learned of the allegations against Massa. It was nearly six months earlier than when they claimed.
While not a smoking gun, that would tend to support Massa's story and not Pelosi's.
Furthermore, it is reasonable to assume that Pelosi is in frequent contact with Rahm Emanuel and other members of Obama's staff.
Therefore, there's a good chance that Rahm, et al, knew about these allegations last fall and this winter.
So, while Massa might be nuts, the outside sources are tending to confirm, not disprove, his allegations.
