Colorlines, News Report, Posted: Jul 26, 2011

Contrary to original statements from Rep. David Wu’s camp, it was announced today that the congressman will resign. The Oregon Democrat said he is leaving office so that he can devote attention to his family while he responds to the “very serious allegations” that he had an unwanted sexual encounter with a teenager.

There has been no official date given for Wu’s withdrawal. In a statement released by his office, the seven-term Representative said that he “intend[s] to resign effective upon the resolution of the debt-ceiling crisis.” Prior to today’s announcement, Oregon Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley issued a joint statement calling for David Wu’s resignation, saying the Congressman, who represented most of Portland, could “no longer be an effective representative for [their] shared constituents and should, in the best interest of Oregon, step down.”

Over the weekend an investigation by the House Ethics Committee seemed imminent, with fellow Democrat and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi calling for a probe of Rep. Wu. Even though the debt-ceiling crisis seems farther from resolution with each day that passes, based on the Ethics Committee’s track record, the congressman is still taking the quick way out.

As previously reported, Wu’s sex-scandal, which took place over Thanksgiving weekend last year with the daughter of a close friend and campaign donor, is not the first controversial situation the Representative has found himself a part of. Immediately following the 2010 Congressional Election, some of Wu’s key staffers quit because of their boss’ supposedly erratic behavior during the campaign, which included Wu emailing pictures of himself in a tiger suit. We’re all for keeping Portland weird, but somehow we don’t think this is what the city’s residents had in mind.