U.S. Congressman David Wu resigns over sex scandal
U.S. Rep. David Wu (D-WA) waits for an elevator while he is on his way for a vote on the House floor July 26, 2011 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Wu announced earlier in the day that he will resign from his position after accusations of an ‘unwanted sexual encounter’ from the 18-year-old daughter of a donor.
U.S. Congressman David Wu has resigned amid allegations he had an "unwanted sexual encounter" with the teenage daughter of a campaign donor.
He is the third U.S. congressman to resign over a sex scandal so far this year.
Wu, a 56-year-old Democratic congressman from Oregon, said he would step down to fight the “serious allegations” after the resolution of the debt ceiling crisis in Washington.
He said he was resigning to protect his family after a liaison with a young woman, the daughter of a childhood friend and campaign donor, was reported Friday by the Oregonian newspaper.
Wu, a father of two who is in the midst of a divorce, does not face any criminal charges in the incident, which reportedly took place last fall shortly after Wu was elected to his seventh term.
He at first resisted calls to step down and insisted he had “done nothing illegal” with the 18-year-old, the Telegraph reports.
"It has been the greatest privilege of my life to be a United States Congressman," said Wu, the son of Taiwanese immigrants and the first Chinese-American elected to Congress.
"Rare is the nation in which an immigrant child can become a national political figure. I thank God and my parents for the privilege of being an American," he said in a statement.
Wu admitted earlier this year to undergoing psychiatric treatment after his staff complained of strange behavior after he emailed a picture of himself dressed in a tiger costume to a female aide.
Republican Representative Christopher Lee of New York stepped down in February after a shirtless photograph surfaced that he had sent to a woman he met on an online classified listings website.
In June, Democrat Anthony Weiner, also of New York, resigned after it was revealed he had sent numerous lewd photographs of himself — include one of his crotch in grey underwear — to women he had met online, and then lied about it.
Every day, reporters and producers at The World are hard at work bringing you human-centered news from across the globe. But we can’t do it without you. We need your support to ensure we can continue this work for another year.
Make a gift today, and you’ll help us unlock a matching gift of $67,000!