WASHINGTON — House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) formally asked the House Ethics Committee on Monday to investigate allegations of sexual impropriety against Rep. David Wu (D-Ore.), who has refused to step down despite calls for his resignation.
The Oregonian newspaper reported Friday that a young woman left a distraught voicemail message at Wu’s Portland office accusing the seven-term congressman of aggressive sexual behavior.
According to the Oregonian, sources said Wu told aides that the encounter — which reportedly took place in November 2010 with the daughter of a longtime friend — had been consensual.
After conversations with Pelosi and other House leaders over the weekend, Wu said late Sunday that he will not resign for office, but also will not seek re-election in 2012. Pelosi responded that she would call for an ethics investigation, Politico said.
“He isn’t going to be running for re-election,” a Wu adviser told Politico on Sunday. “But he hasn’t done anything that rises to the level of requiring him to resign.”
Following the revelations, some Democrats within Wu’s district have called for his resignation. Washington County Democrats are expected to vote on a no confidence measure against the congressman on Wednesday, the Oregonian reported.
A House Ethics Investigation will only add to that mounting pressure.
“Recent press reports and statements attributed to our colleague, Representative David Wu, indicate that he may have engaged in inappropriate activities,” Pelosi wrote in her letter to the ethics committee on Monday.
“An investigation by the Ethics Committee to determine if the Rules of the House of Representatives have been violated is warranted,” she said.
Wu, 56, issued a short statement to the Oregonian late Friday in response to questions about the allegations. “This is very serious, and I have absolutely no desire to bring unwanted publicity, attention, or stress to a young woman and her family,” it said.
The latest allegations are not the first suggestions of inappropriate behavior from the congressman.
His erratic conduct prior to his re-election in 2010 prompted his staff to stage two interventions urging him to seek psychiatric care.
His strange behavior last year included emailing staff a photo of himself in his Halloween costume as a tiger and delivering an aggressive, rambling 19-minute speech.
The congressman later said in an interview that he had sought professional help and was capable of doing his job.