Michele Bachmann to leave Congress, insisting departure has nothing to do with ongoing ethics investigation

Accompanied by odd digitized theme music, Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann announced early Wednesday morning via YouTube that she would not seek a fifth term in Congress. At this writing, comments for the 'Team Bachmann' video have been disabled.

During her video presentation, Bachmann (R-Minn.) insisted that her announcement was not related to the ongoing ethics investigation regarding alleged misconduct during her failed attempt to win the 2012 Republican presidential primary.

“Be assured: My decision was not in any way influenced by any concerns about my being reelected to Congress," Bachmann said. "I have every confidence that if I ran, I would again defeat the individual who I defeated last year, who recently announced he is once again running."

“And rest assured, this decision was not impacted in any way by the recent inquiries into the activities of my former presidential campaign or my former presidential staff. It was clearly understood that compliance with all rules and regulations was an absolute necessity for my presidential campaign."

Watch the video of her announcement below:

This is a breaking news item. This story will be updated as new information becomes available.