Oregon Democrat Will Resign From Congress in Wake of Sex Scandal

UPDATE: Rep. David Wu announced Tuesday that he will resign from Congress after the debt ceiling crisis is resolved.

The Democratic congressman had been under mounting pressure from within his own party to step down in the wake of allegations that he had an "unwanted sexual encounter" with the 18-year-old daughter of one of his friends.

“I cannot care for my family the way I wish while serving in Congress and fighting these very serious allegations,” Wu said in a statement. “The wellbeing of my children must come before anything else. 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.”

Here is David Weigel's take:

Wu will stick around to take what will be, for everyone else, a tough vote. Wu probably dug his own grave when he started disclosing his mental health history but didn't disclose the rest of his mistakes. Two Democrats were already running to replace him; they start a special election in this district, in Portland's liberal-leaning suburbs, with an advantage.

Original Post Monday at 3:37 p.m.: Here we go again.

Congressional Democrats are calling for an ethics investigation into one of their own as they look to force another congressman out of office before his alleged sex scandal can cause the latest PR headache for the party.

The embattled congressman in question this time is Rep. David Wu of Oregon, who has been accused of having an “unwanted sexual encounter” with the teenage daughter of one of his friends.

Wu’s office announced late Sunday night that he would not seek re-election in 2012, but said that he had no plans to step aside as Anthony Weiner did earlier this summer.

"He isn’t going to be running for reelection," an unnamed adviser told Politico. "But he hasn’t done anything that rises to the level of requiring him to resign."

After learning of Wu's decision to remain in office, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi called on the Ethics Committee to launch an investigation into the allegations. “With deep disappointment and sadness about this situation, I hope that the Ethics Committee will take up this matter,” Pelosi said in a statement.

The allegations against Wu were first reported this past Friday by the Oregonian. The paper reported that a young woman—the daughter of one of Wu's friends and donors—called the congressman's office and left a voice mail accusing him of an unwanted sexual encounter. One source familiar with the message described the young woman as "distraught."

According to the article, Wu admitted to his staff that he had a sexual encounter with the woman, but he insisted that it was consensual.

In response to the firestorm, Wu released a brief statement on Friday, which said, simply: “This is very serious, and I have absolutely no desire to bring unwanted publicity, attention or stress to a young woman and her family.”

Several Democratic leaders have urged Wu to step down, Politico reports, making it clear that they have "no support" for his efforts to continue as a congressman.

No charges have been brought against Wu so far, but the Ethics Committee has the power to subpoena Wu and members of his staff, and Congress can pass any findings of criminal behavior on to the Justice Department.