WASHINGTON — Democratic Rep. Chaka Fattah of Pennsylvania stepped down from his congressional seat on Thursday.
"Upon reflection, I hereby make official my resignation from the U.S House of Representatives effective immediately," he wrote in a one-page letter to House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis.
The announcement came two days after a federal jury convicted the 11-term congressman of 22 corruption charges related to repayment of an illegal $1 million campaign loan for his unsuccessful run for mayor of Philadelphia in 2007
Fattah, 59, has maintained his innocence, and his lawyers blamed two political consultants who acted without the congressman's knowledge. Both consultants pleaded guilty to related charges.
