Jesse Jackson Jr.'s Undisclosed Ailment 'More Serious' Than Initially Believed

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A Thursday statement from Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr.'s congressional office says that the congressman's undisclosed physical ailment 'is more serious than we thought and initially believed.' Late last month, Jackson's office announced he was in the middle of a leave of absence, after people noticed he was out-of-sight on the House floor for nearly two weeks. They had originally said he was being treated for exhaustion, but now his office says he will need more time away from work, for something more serious:

'Recently, we have been made aware that he has grappled with certain physical and emotional ailments privately for a long period of time. At present, he is undergoing further evaluation and treatment at an in-patient medical facility. According to the preliminary diagnosis from his doctors, Congressman Jackson will need to receive extended in-patient treatment as well as continuing medical treatment thereafter. We ask that you keep Congressman Jackson and his family in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult period.'

The statement did not disclose any information about where he is being treated, what this 'more serious' illness is, and when he will return to his duties in Washington.

In June, Jackson had mysteriously disappeared for several weeks before his office confirmed the leave of absense. 'I know he has been under a lot of pressure,' one Jackson friend told the Chicago Sun-Times. 'He's been fighting really hard to save his marriage. And he had a tough election. There's been a lot of stuff.' That same friend last saw Jackson in early June at the Capitol, where he allegedly looked withdrawn and distracted.

The son of famed civil rights leader Jesse Jackson is currently in the midst of not only marital issues, but a Congressional ethics investigation concerning allegations that he was the un-named person attempting to buy a congressional seat from disgraced Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich. Jackson has repeatedly denied such allegations.

Also last month, Raghuveer Nayak, a fundraiser close to Jackson was arrested by federal authorities in an alleged fraud scheme. Jackson's attorney, Paul Langer, said the leave of absence has nothing to do with Nayak's arrest. But as the Sun-Times wrote: 'For the last several years, Nayak has been the aching thorn in Jackson's side after Blagojevich was heard on tape saying that Jackson's emissary ' Nayak ' offered what Blagojevich believed was a $1.5 million offer in exchange for the Senate seat that was about to be vacated by Barack Obama following his 2008 election as president.'

(H/T NBC Chicago)

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