Mystery swirls around US lawmaker Jesse Jackson Jr

US Representative Jesse Jackson Jr’s office has disclosed he is receiving treatment for a “mood disorder,” but that failed to tamp down swirling speculation Thursday over his month-long leave of absence.

The office of the nine-term congressman, son of civil rights leader Jesse Jackson and a one-time rising star in the Democratic Party, has offered stern denials to conflicting reports about the lawmaker’s condition, including an NBC News story that he is being treated for an alcohol problem.

But his office, citing privacy laws, has refused to say where he is and has offered scant — and shifting — information about Jackson.

House leaders on Thursday said little about his absence other than to wish him well, even as concerns rose about whether he will stand for re-election in November.

The office released a statement late Wednesday saying Jackson “is receiving intensive medical treatment at a residential treatment facility for a mood disorder (and) is responding positively to treatment.”

It originally released a statement — two weeks after Jackson’s leave began on June 10 — that he was being treated for exhaustion.

Then on July 5 it was revealed his medical condition was more serious than first thought.

“Recently, we have been made aware that he has grappled with certain physical and emotional ailments privately for a long period of time,” his office said.

Asked if constituents in Jackson’s heavily Democratic district in Illinois were being provided with sufficient explanation, House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi deferred.

She said she believed that when Jackson’s team “had a handle on what the evaluation was, that they would make it known, and they have.”

Pelosi acknowledged she had not spoken recently with Jackson.

“Our prayers and thoughts are with him and with his family,” she said.

House Speaker John Boehner said he wanted to see Jackson recover and return to Congress soon, but “I think this is an issue between he and his constituents.”

Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois suggested this week that Jackson may soon have to provide more detail.

“I want him to get well, that’s the highest priority,” Durbin said. “But I also understand that he will soon have to report, or his office will have to report, on his situation.”

On Tuesday, the elder Jackson told WBEZ radio that his son was “regaining his strength,” but that it was “not appropriate” for people to speculate on what happened.

Jesse Jackson Jr was first elected in 1995 and became a prominent young lawmaker in the House.

In 2008 reports tied him to the corruption probe of Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich, who was impeached and then jailed over bribery in the process to fill Barack Obama’s Senate seat after he won the presidency.