NEW YORK STATE -- Fellow democrats are distancing themselves from Congressman Eric Massa, the freshman lawmaker who quit his seat in the 29th District amid an ethics investigation.

Massa had admitted to using "salty language" in his office, but denied claims of sexual harassment of male staff workers. He has since claimed he was pressured to leave by the White House in an attempt to block his plan to oppose health reform legislation.

Syracuse area Congressman Dan Maffei has worked and campaigned alongside Massa for several years.

"The Massa scandal, the biggest problem is the distraction, frankly. Not so much what he says. I'm not sure if he's particularly credible at this point. But that it takes attention away from the real issue we need to work on," said Maffei.

Maffei says he was surprised by almost every turn in the Massa story in recent days.