U.S. Congressman Weiner Not Resigning Over Lurid Twitter Pics
So far, House Democratic leaders haven’t publicly demanded Democrat New York Congressman Anthony Weiner resign after admitting he sent suggestive photos of himself in his underwear via Twitter and then lied about it to everyone within earshot. But they’ve made it clear they’d appreciate it if he’d go away. And soon.
In statements within an hour of Weiner’s stunning admission on Monday, not a single Democrat volunteered support for the man long mentioned as a possible future mayor of New York. And notably, none chose to comment on his defiant vow: “I am not resigning.”
The immediate precedent for Weiner’s behavior in the House concerns former Congressman Chris Lee, a Republican who resigned in February after shirtless photos he sent to a woman he had met on Craigslist were published online. Lee was gone virtually before his transgression became known publicly, shown the door by the Republican leadership.
Nancy Pelosi, the party leader, said she was “disappointed and saddened.” She and other Democrats called for an ethics committee investigation to determine whether Weiner had broken any House rules. Purely in political terms, violating House rules would be the least of the woes Weinerhas inflicted on his party, currently trying to make the case that Republican policies fall harshly on female voters.
By his own admission, he behaved badly toward women, describing a series of sexually-infused exchanges via Twitter over the past three years.
“I have engaged in several inappropriate conversations conducted over Twitter, Facebook, e-mail and occasionally on the phone with women I had met online,” he said at his news conference in New York. “I’ve exchanged messages and photos of an explicit nature with about six women over the last three years,” he added, although he quickly added he had not met any of the women or “had physical relationships at any time.”
He apologized repeatedly and profusely to his wife, who was not in attendance.
However much lying may be invoked as a betrayal of trust, it also raises questions about what other damaging information may not yet be known.
Weiner was asked about Andrew Breitbart, a conservative who had materialized before the news conference and implied he had an X-rated photo of the congressman.
“Can you say that is not true?” Weiner was asked.
“No, I cannot,” he said.
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