Randy Kuhl
voted against the latest version of the
Energy Bill yesterday. The Washington Post has a
good summary of the major components of the bill. This bill was
originally passed by the House in January. Kuhl voted for it at that time, but the current version of the bill contains Senate amendments, and House amendments to those amendments. I assume the bill will now go back to the Senate for another tune-up, so this story isn't finished yet.
The Hornell Evening Tribune has a
story on the whole
"apology" issue, which says that both parties agree that Massa did not apologize. Massa says he called Engel's office to verify details of the trip. Kuhl says he called Engel's office to apologize, but didn't since he didn't get Engel on the phone, he didn't do it. How Kuhl knows what Massa was going to do isn't explained in the article, but it certainly assumes "facts not in evidence" (as lawyers say on TV).
Comments
Kuhl is not suggesting that he knows what Massa intended to do. Instead, Kuhl is saying that Engel's office received a call from Massa, which stated something along the lines of "This is Eric Massa, and I'm calling so I can apologize to Eliot Engel," and then Engel's office relayed that information to Kuhl.
No controlling legal authority has determined this was a true retraction, OR?
Kuhl's press release was designed to mislead. It said that Massa called "to apologize" not "Massa called with the intent to apologize". The wording clearly implied that Massa called and apologized.
Your spin -- that Massa called to say that -- is pure speculation, based on what Kuhl was told by Engel in Brazil. Engel has since decided to shut his mouth. This is a wise decision, because he seems apt to utter foolish things.
The real refutation lies in Massa's behavior during the last few days. He continues to stand by everything he says. If he really was meekly calling to apologize, he would have dropped the story, instead of flogging it for all it's worth.
Finally, Kuhl's office is clearly trying to distract everyone with this silly apology red herring, but it's backfired, because it's only giving Massa more media time.