*** UPDATE *** We may be getting close to closure…

Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. has left the Mayo Clinic, where he has been receiving treatment for bi-polar depression.

Mayo Clinic spokesman Nick Hanson confirmed to NBC Chicago that Jackson Jr. was no longer a patient at the Rochester, Minnesota hospital.

Jackson Jr. spokesman Frank Watkins, who is located in Washington D.C., said he wasn’t aware the congressman had left the clinic.

“I know nothing,” Watkins said. “I was informed by the Trib.” The Chicago Tribune reported that Jackson Jr. had left the clinic at around 11:00 a.m.

[ *** End Of Update *** ]

* This is why you never, ever want the feds on your tail…

The Justice Department probe into Democratic Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (Ill.) over alleged misuse of campaign funds has broadened to include his wife, Chicago Alderwoman Sandi Jackson, The Wall Street Journal reports.

In a report Tuesday, the Journal said prosecutors are investigating whether Sandi Jackson was complicit in the alleged use of campaign money to redecorate the family’s Washington, D.C., home.

Prosecutors have not decided whether they will press criminal charges against Sandi Jackson, and sources in the report suggested that federal lawyers are using the threat of charges to pressure Jesse Jackson to accept a plea deal.

Unlike the mob, the feds will target your family. They’ll go after your friends. They’ll do whatever it takes to convince you to play ball.

* And the pressure appears to be working…

Just days after winning a handy reelection to his Chicago-area district, 17-year Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr., D-Ill., has entered negotiations for a plea deal that would include his resignation from Congress and likely jail time.

Jackson, Jr., the son of civil rights activist Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr., and husband to Chicago Alderman Sandi Jackson, has not yet pleaded guilty to alleged misuse of campaign funds to decorate his house and purchase a $40,000 Rolex watch for a female friend. But CBS Chicago reports the congressman’s lawyer, white-collar criminal defense attorney Dan Webb, is negotiating with the federal government a plea bargain that will likely be reached by year’s end.

The tentative deal includes Jackson, Jr.’s resignation from Congress for health reasons, a “guilty” plea involving misuse of campaign funds, and repayment of any contributions that were converted to personal use. At least some jail time is expected. Jackson, Jr.’s pension, which would pay out between $65,000 and $80,000 a year when he turns 62, is also part of the talks.

* Related…

* Cellini gives up bid to remain free, will go to prison Jan. 4: Defense attorney Thomas Kirsch II told The Associated Press that Cellini also is considering forgoing any appeal, even though Cellini believes he would prevail, Kirsch said. The appeals process would take longer than Cellini’s sentence, he said, and Cellini and his family want to put the legal saga behind them as quickly as possible.

* Kadner: Jesse Jackson Jr.’s saga of failure and betrayal

* Chicago mayor: Jackson should tell his intentions