WASHINGTON – Rep. Eric Massa, D-N.Y., will resign from Congress on Monday, but for what reason?

The freshman congressman from western New York initially said that he would not seek re-election because of a cancer scare in December. He continues to stick by that story, despite new accusations that he is embroiled in a sex scandal.

News surfaced late last week that Massa was under investigation by the House Ethics Committee on allegations that he had sexually harassed a junior male staffer, and he announced Friday that he would resign instead of finishing out his term.

Massa acknowledged an ethics inquiry – but not a sex scandal - in a statement he released Friday:

“I own this reality. 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.”

Apparently a number of people in Washington were aware of the sexual harassment allegations, including House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md.

Hoyer has said publicly that he told the junior male staffer, who no longer works for Massa, that he should report the allegations to the ethics panel _ or else he would do it himself.

Massa faced immense pressure from the Democratic Party to resign. Party insiders told various news organizations this weekend that they feared the Massa sex scandal could have rivaled that of Republican Rep. Mark Foley, whose lurid text messages with young male pages become titillating public knowledge.

By resigning, Massa might avoid further public humiliation.

Massa is the second Democrat facing a lot of party pressure in Washington this month.

Rep. Charlie Rangel, D-N.Y., was forced last week to give up his powerful post as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. The ethics panel admonished Rangel for taking corporate junkets to the Caribbean in 2007 and 2008, and continues to examine Rangel’s personal finances.