An embattled politician who resigned on Monday amid claims he sexually ha****ed a male staffer has finally detailed what happened - and told a bizarre tale about being approached by a key White House aide in a naked shower-room confrontation.

Rep. Eric Massa used his final hours in office to settle scores with White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and other Democrats he claims are pushing him out of office to clear the way for health care reform, Fox News reported.

Massa - who last week denied the allegations of sexual ha****ment, referring to himself as "a salty old sailor" who used "salty language'' - said he was just fooling around at a boozy party with his wife present when he grabbed an aide, made an "inappropriate" joke then tousled the man's hair and left.

He told the story on his 90-minute local radio show on WKPQ-FM on Sunday.

But he reserved his most excoriating stuff in the radio slot for Emanuel, whom he called "son of the devil's spawn".

"He is an individual who would sell his mother to get a vote. He would strap his children to a front end of a steam locomotive," Massa said.

Illustrating his point, he told the story of how he wound up in an argument with the chief of staff while they were both naked in the congressional gym showers.

Massa said Emanuel came up to him last year, shortly after he entered Congress, while he was trying to clean himself to give him grief about a budget vote.

"I'm sitting there showering, naked as a jaybird, and here comes Rahm Emanuel, not even with a towel wrapped around his tush, poking his finger in my chest, yelling at me because I wasn't gonna vote for the president's budget," Massa said.

"Do you know how awkward it is to have a political argument with a naked man?... It's ridiculous."

He continued, "By the way, what the heck is he doing in the congressional gym? He goes there to intimidate members of Congress."

Massa, 50, announced last Wednesday that a recurrence of cancer made him decide not to seek re-election in the fall.

But two days later, following persistent reports about an Ethics Committee inquiry into inappropriate remarks made to a male staffer, he announced he would resign.

On Monday night Fox obtained a copy of his resignation letter, dated March 5 and addressed to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).

It read:

"Dear Madam Speaker, I write to inform you that as of 5 pm Monday March 8th, I will resign my position as the Federal Representative for the 29th Congressional District.