• Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. Takes Mystery Leave of Absence From House





Jesse Jackson Jr. in the Senate Hot Seat

VIDEO AT LINK

By RUSSELL GOLDMAN

June 26, 2012

Staffers for Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr., son of an African-American icon and the subject of a House ethics investigation, said today they do not know when their boss will return to work after announcing that he has quietly been on a leave for the past two weeks because of "exhaustion."

The statement was released by Jackson's office late Monday night. His office has been open during that time, but the congressman had not been appearing on the Hill or on the House floor for votes.

"On Sunday, June 10th, Congressman Jesse L. Jackson, Jr. went on a medical leave of absence and is being treated for exhaustion. He asks that you respect his family's privacy. His offices remain open to serve residents of the Second District," read a statement from his office.

Asked if staffers had received any word on Jackson's condition or when he planned to return to work, a spokesman said, "No

Jackson's Twitter account remained active on Monday, twice posting about the Affordable Care Act, but it was unclear if Jackson had personally sent the messages.

Jackson, a Democrat from Chicago first elected to Congress in 1995, is running for re-election this years. Calls to his campaign to determine the status of his race were not immediately returned.

The House Ethics Committee is investigating allegations that Jackson offered to donate money to then Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's gubernatorial campaign in exchange for the Senate seat vacated by President Obama.

A witness in Blagojevich's 2010 corruption trial linked Nayak to Jackson's alleged attempt to buy Obama's seat from Blagojevich.

Blagojevich was found guilty of corruption and began serving a jail term earlier this year.

Jackson has denied the accusation.

Jackson is also being investigated for allegedly directing Raghuveer Nayak, a political donor and friend, to pay for air fare and travel accommodations for a woman Jackson calls a "social acquaintance."

Nayak last week was found guilty on different fraud charges related to outpatient medical clinics.

Jackson's father is the Rev. Jesse Jackson, a civil rights leader and one-time presidential candidate.

Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. Takes Mystery Leave of Absence From House - ABC News
Giovana Huidobro, the woman at the center of the scandal: Nightclub hostess, Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.'s "social acquaintance."



Ozio Restaurant and Lounge, 2010. (Aaron Leitko/The Washington Post)
The scandal now surrounding Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. is mostly a scandal about money. But as with so many other political imbroglios, there is also a woman in the story.

U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) (Charles Rex Arbogast/AP)


Giovana Huidobro


She is Giovana Huidobro, a hostess at Ozio lounge on M Street NW, whom -- according to a new report from the Chicago Sun-Times -- the FBI interviewed last year while trying to determine if the Chicago Democrat asked a major fundraiser to pay then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich in exchange for appointing him to a U.S. Senate seat.

Why Huidobro? Because the fundraiser, Raghuveer Nayak, told investigators he twice paid for Huidobro to fly from Washington to Chicago at Jackson's request, the Sun-Times reported.


After the story broke Tuesday, Jackson released a statement strongly denying Nayak's claim that the congressman asked him to offer Blagojevich millions in exchange for the Senate seat. He called the allegations old news and "preposterous."


As for the Huidibro connection, though, Jackson said it was "a private and personal matter between me and my wife that was handled some time ago," and asked that reporters respect their privacy.

But who is she? Colleagues and patrons described her to us as a petite, eye-catching Latin American blonde whose presence at Ozio's front door was a potent lure at the martini-and-cigar bar that's seen better days. (A big hit when it opened in the mid-'90s just ahead of the cocktail revival, Ozio lost much of its buzz as newer nightspots opened.) Her unusual name Google-Trended in a big way once the Sun-Times story hit, and desktop detectives quickly found some impressive swimsuit shots on a Peruvian Web site. Home, though, is far from Capitol Hill or the D.C. club scene: She lives in a modest brick-front townhouse in Germantown with what appears to be a Spanish-speaking family group, neighbors told us -- older parents, grown children, a few small kids. She's a runner, sometimes seen walking a little dog.

Huidobro declined to talk to the Chicago paper, and we couldn't catch up with her Wednesday. When we asked about her at Ozio, a manager just smirked at us. "I don't follow the news," he said.

Reliable Source - Giovana Huidobro, the woman at the center of the scandal: Nightclub hostess, Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.'s "social acquaintance."