House Republican Resigns After Craigslist Scandal

Rep. Chris Lee (R-N.Y.) announced his immediate resignation Wednesday evening after he was caught responding to a Craigslist personal with a racy photo.

“The challenges we face in Western New York and across the country are too serious for me to allow this distraction to continue,” Lee said in a statement. “I regret the harm that my actions have caused my family, my staff and my constituents. I deeply and sincerely apologize to them all. I have made profound mistakes and I promise to work as hard as I can to seek their forgiveness.”

The picture features Lee in front of a mirror without a shirt on. The Congressman told its recipient that he was a divorced lobbyist. Lee is married.

Lee was elected in 2008 and was a member of the House Ways and Means Committee. The story was broken Wednesday by the gossip site Gawker.