In a two-and-a-half minute statement to dozens of reporters on a conference call this afternoon, Rep. Eric Massa (D-N.Y.) denied that harassment charges led him to his decision to not seek re-election to a second term this year. Massa said he was "briefly hospitalized" in December after "a third major cancer reoccurrence scare."

"I'm a very salty guy. I'm a very direct guy. And I run about a hundred miles an hour. And my doctors have made it clear to me that I can no longer do that," he said.

Massa directly attacked blogs that helped spread a rumor that he was resigning because of a sexual harassment charge against him, which Politico reported earlier this afternoon.

"Do I or have I ever used salty language when I'm angry, especially in the privacy of my inner office or even at home? Yes I have, and I have apologized to those where it's appropriate," he said. "But those kinds of articles -- unsubstantiated without fact or backing -- are a symptom of what's wrong with this city."