Brennan: Fattah's exit shows he just doesn't get it

A very smart guy who has worked in Philadelphia politics since I was in short pants once explained how ethical lines get crossed in this city.

Politicians don't typically walk up to the line, give it a long look, and then step over, he told me.

What really happens is they stop and look back, see the line in their distant tracks, and then realize they crossed it without much thought at all.

If Chaka Fattah is looking back these days, he's keeping that to himself.

How else can we explain Fattah's tortured exit from the U.S. House of Representatives last week, six months before the end of his 11th term and two days after his conviction on every single count of corruption leveled against him?

Anybody who can count higher than 10 knows Fattah has been dealing with serious money trouble. That is at the very root of his downfall in court.

Fattah's first stab at a resignation, telling House Speaker Paul Ryan - a Republican from Wisconsin - in a letter Wednesday that he would step down on Oct. 3 was greeted with immediate derision.

Fattah, who is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 4, was paid $174,000 a year to represent the people in the Second Congressional District. His attempt to remain in office for 103 more days was obviously all about the $49,101 in pay he would have collected during that time.

Fattah has been angry for years about the attention he drew from the public and the media as the federal investigation was exposed a little bit at a time. He complained that his long record of public service was being trampled by all the corruption talk. And he never missed an opportunity to spell out his legislative resume.

His first letter to Ryan included six bullet points listing "legislative initiatives" he was proud of. This from a guy who had just been convicted of racketeering and bribery.

Maybe this was not the best opportunity to brag to a guy actively organizing the end of your career.

Fattah must have known the Republicans were preparing to oust him in a vote, which would have made him just the sixth member of the House to be tossed out in its 229-year history.

His second stab at resignation, in a letter Thursday, started with "Upon reflection," and made his exit effective immediately.

Fattah claimed his effort to stick around for 31/2 more months had been motivated by his desire for "an orderly transition of my office."

The bulk of that letter is two paragraphs of legislative braggadocio, with Fattah once more listing his many accomplishments.

This is a guy reflecting upon all the wrong things.

In his first letter, Fattah said he was "working to clear my name of these charges and plan an appeal."

In the second, Fattah says he sped up his exit to avoid being a "distraction" in the House.

Here is what was missing in both missives - any recognition or sense of the disgrace Fattah has visited upon his office and his family name, and a plea for forgiveness from the voters who sent him to Washington 11 times to look out for them.

Can this be more than arrogance? Is there a more troubling pathology at work? Is it possible Fattah just doesn't see the ethical lines he crossed so many years ago, even after they were put on display so effectively for a jury of his peers?

Fattah is going to stand in front of a judge in 99 days. Anything less than a lengthy prison sentence would be astounding.

I'm betting Fattah will be talking about his many accomplishments right up until they lead him away.

brennac@phillynews.com

215-854-5973

@ByChrisBrennan