Congressman Chaka Fattah Facing Pressure To Resign
By Steve Tawa
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- After his racketeering conviction on all counts at his corruption trial, Congressman Chaka Fattah is likely to be pressed to resign before his term ends.
Fattah is scheduled to be sentenced in October.
The 11-term congressman's time is limited since he lost his seat in the April Democratic primary to State Representative Dwight Evans.
Fattah's conviction means that he cannot vote in committee or on the floor of the House, but his staff is still handling constituent services.
We are told that he is due to have a meeting with House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, who has not made a public statement on his situation. When Fattah was indicted in the summer of 2015, she called the charges "deeply saddening," and said he "rightly stepped down as a ranking member on the House Appropriations Subcommittee."
Noah Bookbinder of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, or CREW, expects party and Democratic leaders to urge him to step down.
"It does not reflect well on Congress or the Democratic party to have somebody serving in Congress who has been convicted of multiple felony counts."
He expects Nancy Pelosi to send Fattah that message.
"I don't have any inside knowledge of that, but that seems how it's likely to go."
Congressman Fattah's office put out a statement, which reads: "There is House protocol regarding issues of this matter, and we will begin conversations in the coming days as dictated by the rules of Congress."
