Consumed by an influence-peddling scandal, John Kitzhaber, Oregon's only four-term governor, has resigned.
Oregon Public Broadcasting reports that Kitzhaber made the announcement in a statement. The station reports:
Kitzhaber, a Democrat, had for weeks resisted calls for his resignation, but, yesterday, he lost the support of two of the state's most prominent Democrats — Senate President Peter Courtney and House Speaker Tina Kotek.
Kitzhaber's resignation is in a lot of ways the climax of a strange political storythat began last fall, when the first ladyadmitted that she had received $5,000 to marry a an Ethiopian man who wanted a green card.
Since then, report after report has emerged about how the first lady may have used her access to the governor's mansion to make money. Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum has started investigating Kitzhaber and Hayes.
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