Wu holed up, talking to congressional colleagues, still considering resignation

Kari Chisholm

On Monday, Congresssman David Wu was on Capitol Hill - but generally avoided reporters, choosing to huddle with a few congressional colleagues in areas off-limits to media.

Politico notes the press gaggle outside his office:

Four cameramen and two reporters staked out Wu's office in the Rayburn House Office Building on Monday morning. Several staffers went in and out of Wu's third-floor office near an elevator bank, including [spokesman Erik] Dorey and another young man who said it was "pretty quiet" inside. Other passers-by, noticing the cameras, slowed to read the wall sign bearing Wu's name. It was an unusual scene, but far more subdued than the media circus Rep. Anthony Weiner drew last month when a Twitter scandal unfolded around the New York Democrat.

Frankly, I don't get why there was so much more attention paid to Anthony Weiner's sexting tweets - than to an allegation of sexual assault. Is it because Weiner was from New York? Is it his name? Is it the debt ceiling fight? Is it the overbearing heat in DC? (On NPR, crisis management expert Eric Dezenhall says it's about hard proof, but I'm not sure I buy that.)

The Oregonian's Charlie Pope reports that Wu is thinking out loud with his colleagues about resigning. In particular, Pope names Rep. John Larson (D-CT) as a member of the leadership that's been talking with Wu about his future.

"What he said to me is, he's taking it one day at a time, and I said, 'Dave, you have to do what's in the best interest of your young family and yourself and then the institution, in that order'." Larson said in an interview.

"He said this was weighing heavy on his mind and he hadn't made up his mind. He was obviously quite troubled by the whole thing and insisting that when everything comes out, 'I'll be vindicated.' I told him, 'Dave, there are no good answers to this,'" said Larson, the No. 4 ranking official in the Democratic leadership.

(Incidentally, you can feel free to contrast Larson with Wu. They were both first elected in 1998. Larson is now the 4th-ranking Democrat in the House, and Wu is described by the National Journal as a "back-bencher".)

In another story, Politico names Rep. Mike Honda (D-CA) as another Wu confidante.

“I’m trying to take care of the interests of my family,” Wu said. He then drove off in the car of Rep. Mike Honda (D-Calif.). ... Honda told Fox News that Wu shared “very personal things” during their conversation.

Meanwhile, Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY) became the first Member of Congress - by my count - to explicitly call for Wu's resignation. According to The Hill:

Slaughter said she was appalled by the allegation. There have been too many ethical scandals in Congress recently, she said.

“I’m tired of people coming to the Congress of the United States who can’t behave themselves, who are not obviously fully grown, and it’s a shame,” she said in an interview. “I have no idea what really happened here, I’ve not heard anything, but it certainly sounds bad. We’ve had too much of that in the House.”

Asked whether he should resign from office, Slaughter said, “Yes.”

Incidentally, the Oregonian's Janie Har confirms that the young woman who has alleged sexual assault by Wu was 18 years old at the time.

There's more from the Wall Street Journal, Slate, Time, and the Associated Press.

Update: KATU and SurveyUSA released a poll late Monday night on Wu's future. Check it out here.

By Kari Chisholm July 25, 2011