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Calls for Vito Fossella to resign after 'love' baby admission

The Associated Press

6:15 PM EDT, May 9, 2008

WASHINGTON - Embattled and embarrassed by the confession he fathered a child from an extramarital affair, New York Rep. Vito Fossella is facing public calls to resign.

Secluded with his family Friday, he had to grapple with the prospect of lingering fallout from the scandal, including questions about whether taxpayer money was used in pursuit of the romance.

The Republican lawmaker indicated Thursday he planned to stay in Congress for months to come, but there were signs he could be out much sooner: House Minority Leader John Boehner said he expected Fossella to make a decision this weekend.

Fossella's personal life came apart at the seams after police stopped him for running a red light last week and charged him with drunken driving. The arrest led to revelations of an affair with a former Air Force officer and the 3-year-old daughter he fathered with her.

Political consultant Mike Paul, a former aide to Republicans including former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and New York Sen. Alfonse D'Amato, said the pressure will be intense for Fossella to make some decision by Monday.

"This weekend for him is a lot of soul-searching," said Paul, adding that the decision was complicated by the fact he was trying to save his family as well as his career.

The Staten Island Advance, the paper that speaks directly to the bulk of Fossella's constituents, declared Friday that he "is finished" and must resign immediately. The New York Post declared it's "time to go."

But go where? Back to the home he shares with his wife and three children on Staten Island? Or back to his other child and her mother in Virginia? If Fossella tries to hang on -- as many lawmakers have done in recent scandals -- he will have some rocky times ahead.

+ He could face a mandatory five days in jail if convicted of the drunken driving charge against him.

+ His wife will be under scrutiny, with questions about whether she knew he had a child with another woman, and whether she plans to stand by his side.

+ The congressman may face further scrutiny over whether he mixed business with pleasure with the New York Daily News reporting that the other woman, Laura Fay, socialized with Fossella while the two were on congressional junkets to Europe.

Fossella's spokeswoman said Friday that he was in Staten Island with his family, and provided no further details.

If Fossella did step down, and the resignation took effect before July 1, New York Gov. David Paterson, a Democrat, would have the option of calling a special election to fill the seat for the rest of the year.

That would force the financially strugging House GOP campaign committee to plow a large amount of money into an extra election in New York City, one of the most expensive places in the nation to campaign.

If Fossella made his resignation effective after July 1, then there would be no special election, the seat would be empty for the remainder of the year, and the normal primary and general election process would take place.

Fossella's district includes all of Staten Island and a chunk of Brooklyn. For decades, it has been reliably conservative, dominated by Catholic voters who sent Catholics to Congress.

Democrats, however, have been chipping away at such seats across the state, and even before the scandal, were expected to intensify their efforts to oust Fossella this time around.

Yet there are plenty of recent examples of lawmakers who didn't leave Congress after a scandal.

Sen. David Vitter, R-La., has stayed on after being linked to a D.C. prostitution ring; Larry Craig, R-Idaho, remains in Congress after pleading guilty to disorderly conduct resulting from a sex sting in a Minneapolis airport bathroom; and Democrat William Jefferson has pleaded not guilty in a bribery investigation and continues to represent his Louisiana district.