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CLARENCE, N.Y. – Rep. Christopher Lee of western New royalty abruptly hopeless with exclusive a vague account of feel after a account website reportable that the married legislator had dispatched a shirtless photo of himself flexing his muscles to a woman he met on Craigslist.

"I feel the alteration that my actions hit caused my family, my body and my constituents," Lee posted in a assail declaration weekday period on his congressional website. "I deeply and sincerely apologize to them all. I hit prefabricated intense mistakes and I prospect to impact as hornlike as I can to seek their forgiveness."

A woman described as a 34-year-old Colony resident and government employee provided the Gawker website with e-mails she said were an exchange between her and Lee in response to an ad she settled terminal period in the "Women Seeking Men" land of Craigslist.

Gawker reportable weekday that Lee identified himself as a divorced lobbyist and dispatched a photo of himself move in face of a mirror. It said the woman yet poor soured the occurrence with Lee after becoming suspicious that he had disingenuous himself.

Lee, a two-term politico with a young son, said in an e-mailed evidence that his resignation was trenchant immediately. The evidence offered no confirmation or details of a Craigslist post.

Lee, who won his centre in 2008, cultivated a family-values voting record in the House, earning an 88 proportionality approval judgement from the American Conservative Union for his 2010 votes. He voted in favor of a forbiddance on federal resource of abortion in the health tending overhaul, in distinction with the group's function on the planned ban, which was foiled in the House. He also voted against the cancellation of the military's contract prohibiting assist by openly merry men and women.

He served on the House Ways and Means Committee and was astir on scheme revitalization issues. He has a business scenery stemming from his family's manufacturing enterprises.

Lee said the challenges visaged in western New York, where he serves the 26th Congressional District, and crossways the land are "too serious for me to earmark this distraction to continue, so I am announcing that I hit hopeless my centre in legislature trenchant immediately."

His resignation comes as the grouping of Clarence, the upscale Buffalo community where he lives, is most to evaluation the two-year day of the noxious break of Continental Connection Flight 3407 onto a house.

He has been a visible admirer of victims' families and the travel country reforms they've wanted since the Feb. 12, 2009, crash. He appeared with individual break victims' families at a news word in pedagogue on Tuesday.

Scott Maurer, whose daughter was digit of the 50 grouping killed in the 2009 crash, said Lee was "a hornlike miss and a beatific guy" who "loved and cared for" his community.

"He was 100 proportionality professed with us, 100 proportionality adjunct and earnestly was tactful and afraid with travel safety, so to center that he's hopeless is a Brobdingnagian loss of support for our efforts," Maurer said.

The legislator hadn't submitted his resignation to the New royalty secretary of land weekday evening, said a land authorised who wasn't authorized to speak on the issue and spoke on the information of anonymity. After Lee submits his resignation, Gov. Andrew Cuomo could schedule a primary election.

Cuomo, a Democrat, had no interpret weekday night.

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Associated Press writers Andrew Miga in pedagogue and archangel Gormley in Albany contributed to this report.

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