If you haven’t been following this fast moving story, here are the facts to get you up-to-speed:
- Last week, local Oregon news reports indicated that Congressman David Wu had an unwanted sexual encounter with a possible minor. Wu denies that the sexual relations were nothing but consensual.
- On Sunday, Democratic House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi was officially informed of Congressman Wu’s allegations and calls for an official Ethics investigation. Wu is called upon to resign by many of his Democratic colleagues, but he only issues a statement on Sunday or Monday that he will no longer seek re-election in 2012.
- And on Tuesday, Wu announced that he will leave his office as soon as possible:
“The well-being of my children must come before anything else,” he wrote in his statement. “With great sadness, I therefore intend to resign effective upon the resolution of the debt ceiling crisis. This is the right decision for my family, the institution of the House, and my colleagues.”
Prior to Wu’s re-relection in 2010, he had had a divorce from his wife. This, along with his competitive race during the campaign with a wealthy and a partially self-financed Republican lead many to speculate that his odd behavior during the campaign caused many to question Congressman Wu’s mental health. When such reports became public many months afterwards after he won re-election, there were many calls for Wu to resign.
I’m really saddened to hear about this incident regarding what has happened to Congressman Wu. I’ve met him a few times for a fundraiser for him in the Bay Area, and have blogged about him in the past. Wu was the first Taiwanese American ever elected into Congress; while many have reported that he was also the first Chinese American, Daniel Kahikina Akaka of Hawaii was elected to the House in 1976, appointed to the Senate in 1990 and subsequently has been elected and re-elected since.
Politicians, no matter what your color, are complicated flawed humans. Given recent weird Congressional scandals such as Representative Weiner- I wouldn’t be surprised if the Wu allegations were true. I don’t know where Wu goes from here, but hopefully in time he can get his life back in order and move on.
