Rep. Chaka Fattah is attempting to keep his office for three more months before resigning after he was convicted this week on 23 federal corruption charges.
Fattah, a Philadelphia Democrat, is due to be sentenced on October 4. He sent told House Speaker Paul Ryan in a letter Wednesday he’d resign — but not until October 3, the day before.
“Earlier today I submitted my resignation from Congress to the speaker of the House Paul Ryan and Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi,” he said in a statement. “In that letter, I indicated an effective date of October 3, 2016. This date was selected in order to provide enough time to ensure the proper transmission of information and archiving of government documents after more than two decades in service.”
His letter to Ryan was first reported by Politico.
Ryan said in a statement Wednesday he wants Fattah out immediately.
“Mr. Fattah has betrayed the trust of this institution and the people of Pennsylvania, and for that he should resign immediately from the House of Representatives,” Ryan said. “We must hold members to the highest ethical standard, and I hope that Democratic leaders will join me in seeking his immediate resignation.”
Fattah, 59, was convicted Tuesday on racketeering, money laundering and fraud charges stemming from a scheme to repay an illegal $1 million loan through government contracts and non-profit organizations.
That loan came during his failed 2007 run for Philadelphia mayor.
Fattah’s tenure in Congress was months away from ending, anyway. He was defeated in an April primary by state Rep. Dwight Evans.