Rep. David Wu resigns amid allegations of sexual misconduct with 18-year-old
David Wu (D) of Oregon will resign after the resolution of the debt ceiling debate, he announced Tuesday. A young woman alleges Representative Wu had an unwanted sexual encounter with her last Thanksgiving.
Congressman David Wu of Oregon, seen here speaking in Hillsboro, Ore., on March 7, is calling a published report about an alleged unwanted sexual encounter with a young woman 'very serious' but has not yet said whether the accusation is true. The Oregonian reports that a young woman from California has accused the Democrat of an unwanted sexual encounter last November.
Don Ryan / AP / File
Washington
Rep. David Wu (D) of Oregon announced Tuesday that he will resign his seat, after allegations of an unwanted sexual encounter with a young woman.
Skip to next paragraph
“The well-being of my children must come before anything else,” said Representative Wu in a statement. “With great sadness, I therefore intend to resign effective upon the resolution of the debt-ceiling crisis," said Wu, who was elected to Congress in 1998 as the first Chinese-American in the House.
On Friday, Wu's hometown newspaper, The Oregonian, broke the story about his alleged encounter with an 18-year-old over Thanksgiving weekend last year. Wu told his senior aides that the encounter was consensual, the story reports.
Wu, who is separated from his wife, thus becomes the second House Democrat in the last six weeks to be forced from office as a result of a sex scandal. New York Rep. Anthony Weiner resigned June 16, after admitting he had sent lewd photos of himself via Twitter.
After the Oregonian story broke, many called for Wu's resignation. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chair Steve Israel called for an immediate Ethics Committee investigation. The two Democratic senators from Oregon, Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, told Wu’s chief of staff Tuesday morning that they were going to call on him to step down, Politico reports.
Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber, a Democrat, will set the date for a special election to fill Wu’s seat. Wu was already expected to face a challenging battle for re-election in 2012, given published reports of erratic behavior, including sending a photo of himself in a tiger costume to staff members.
These comments are not screened before publication. Constructive debate about the above story is welcome, but personal attacks are not. Please do not post comments that are commercial in nature or that violate any copyright[s]. Comments that we regard as obscene, defamatory, or intended to incite violence will be removed. If you find a comment offensive, you may flag it.