Jesse Jackson Jr. Still In Hiding

Leave of absence, or left the country?

When asked when Jackson would return to work, Watkins said, "We don't know at this point."

Jackson, 47, who entered Congress is 1995 and sits on the powerful House Appropriations Committee, has been under scrutiny over his attempts in late 2008 to get then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich to appoint him to President Barack Obama's Senate seat. He predicts that a House Ethics Committee investigation will vindicate him.

Nayak, a political fundraiser central to the question of whether Jackson tried to steer millions in campaign contributions to influence the Blagojevich appointment, was indicted last week on unrelated federal counts. The Oak Brook resident is accused of bribing doctors to send patients to his surgical centers.

Chicago attorney Paul Langer, one of Jackson's lawyers, said he does not know where the lawmaker is but that he "is suffering from exhaustion" and "I can tell you unequivocally it has nothing to do with the arrest of Mr. Nayak."