The federal investigation is the latest issue for the troubled Chicago Democrat. In June Jackson, the son of civil rights leader Jesse Jackson, suddenly left Congress, causing rumors to swirl surrounding his situation. At first, his office said Jackson was seeking treatment for “exhaustion,” but two weeks later they noted that his condition was “more serious” than initially thought. Jackson, whose district includes a large portion of Chicago’s South Side and southeast suburbs, spent some time at a treatment facility in Arizona before moving to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. Finally in August the clinic said Jackson was being treated for bipolar disorder and was “responding well” and “regaining his strength.”
In early September Jackson returned home to his family in the nation’s capital. A source told ABC News that day that Jackson “sounded good,” but despite the Congressional summer recess ending a week later, Jackson did not return to work.
On Monday Jackson was spotted by The Daily smoking a cigar at his Washington home near Dupont Circle, telling a reporter that he is “not well” and goes to doctor appointments twice a day at George Washington University Hospital.
In the midst of all his troubles, Jackson is currently embroiled in a re-election fight and the target of an investigation by the House Ethics Committee. The Congressional panel is probing how President Obama’s old Senate seat – now held by Sen. Mark Kirk – was filled after the 2008 election.
Jackson has also seen one of his former fundraisers, Raghuveer Nayak, arrested by the FBI on charges of paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to doctors. In addition, the Illinois congressman has faced marital problems with his wife Sandi last year revealing that he had had an affair.
Article First Appeared @http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/feds-probing-jesse-jackson-jr-finances/story?id=17492076