A disheveled and emotional Rep. Anthony Weiner (D., N.Y.) finally admitted this afternoon what most fair-minded individuals had long-suspected. “The picture was of me, and I sent it,” he told reporters gathered at the Sheraton hotel in Manhattan, revealing that he intended to send the infamous “randy photo” to a 21-year-old female college student in a private message “as a joke,” but “panicked” once he realized the image had been made public. “I regret not being honest about this,” he said. “I was embarrassed, I was humiliated, I was trying to protect my wife, I was trying to protect myself from shame.”
Weiner admitted to having “several inappropriate conversations” with “about six” different women over the past three years, both online and over the phone, and confessed to having exchanged illicit photographs. He said he has never met any of the women and the relationships never became physical. Fighting back tears, the Democratic congressman apologized to his wife, his family, his staff, the media and even offered a personal apology to Andrew Breitbart, who appeared at the press conference in person and took questions from reporters shortly before Weiner took the podium.
Breitbart essentially forced Weiner’s hand today by releasing a number of photos alleged to have been sent by Weiner to a young woman, and claimed to be in possession of an “X-rated” photograph that he did not intend to release. When questioned about the existence of such a photo, Weiner said he could not deny it. He described his dalliances with the young women as “a frivolous exchange among friends,” and said that all of the women were of adult age “at least to the best of my knowledge.”
Despite the confession, Weiner said he had no plans to resign, explaining that it would be up to his constituents to decide whether his behavior renders him unfit for public office. “I’ve worked very hard for my constituents,” he said. “I don’t believe that I did anything that violates any law or any rule.”
Weiner’s wife, Huma Abedin, a long-time aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, did not appear at the press conference. When asked about her whereabouts, Weiner simply replied, “She’s not here,” but said they have no plans to get a divorce. “We have been through a great deal together and we will weather this,” he said. “I love her very much.”
Why would Huna want a divorce now? I'm sure she's quite familiar with how political show marriages work. She'll wait and see whether hubby can salvage anything of his political career.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse$5 says Weiner's testicles now reside in a mason jar on the Weiner residence fire place mantel.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThere's a punctuation problem with this quote:
“I don’t believe that I did anything that violates any law or any rule.”
I think that law and rule need to be either "law" and "rule" or capitalized or italicized or set off in some way to indicate the limits, conditions, qualifications, exceptions and contingencies to the words "law" and "rule" which Rep. Weiner is asking us to understand. I guess that should be Rep. Weiner "is" asking us to understand. I guess.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWhat's amazing to me is that he's STILL lying.
Does anyone, can anyone believe that photo was only meant as a "joke" ?
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse“I don’t believe that I did anything that violates any law or any rule.”
That depends on the law in NY and in the states where the women he contacted lived, as well as federal law.
A 15-year-old high school girl in Ohio was charged with a felony for allegedly taking nude pictures of herself and using her cell phone to transmit the images to her classmates.
I suspect that what Weiner meant was "I'm sure that nobody is going to change an important guy like me with anything".
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseHis behavior might not violate any laws or rules, but what about the unspoken decency rule? What about acting like a 46 year old instead of a 21 year old frat boy?
I have no doubt that his district will quickly forgive and forget - voters are too forgiving that way. But doesn't this demonstrate how politics is a liberal's religion? Even when humiliated in this way, they still, still! think they are uniquely qualified to tell me and you how to live our lives.
That's what disgusts me about Weiner and politicians like him. Their own personal, non-public behavior is only slightly more moral than a East Side p*mp, but they take to the airwaves in an air of superiority, smarter and better than their lowly constituents, who, if it weren't for them, would be crawling on all fours and eating grass.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseMight or might not be against the law, DEFINITELY against the rules of the House. If he was willing to repeatedly go on national TV and lie through his teeth to avoid embarassment, how hard would it be for ANYONE, tea-party?, Chi-coms?,mafia?, girl scouts? half the cheerleading squad from PS109? to blackmail this guy? He's a low life with no compass but since he's a Democrat, he'll survive.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuseman o man o man o man would I like to be a fly on the wall in Hillary Clinton's office!
Wonder what kind of advice she is giving Huma? 8-O
Do you think there will ever be a political spouse who simply dumps her husband (and it's always the husband innit?), rather than do the "Stand By Your Man" thing that Hillary once famously said that she would never do (right before she changed her mind?)
Elizabeth Edwards stuck by her scumbag for almost 3 years after his cheating got in the papers (and for 18 months after he admitted he lied.)
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI am now doing exactly what I told RiotLibrarian what I would. I am imagining the look on the faces of all Wiener's defenders.
Care to join the conversation now, defenders? You were all over it before.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseBTW Monica, you just saw what would have happened to you without the blue dress. You'll never understand it but you probably owe Linda Tripp your life! Remember how the White House called you a deranged stalker? Dems have NO limits to what they'll do for power!
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse"But doesn't this demonstrate how politics is a liberal's religion? Even when humiliated in this way, they still, still! think they are uniquely qualified to tell me and you how to live our lives."
I didn't realize that David Vitter, John Ensign, Larry Craig, and Newt Gingrich were liberals.
Human failings are non-partisan, and any attempt to make them "liberal" or "conservative" are laughable.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseSame thing I said to Steve on another post: you don't want to go blow by blow on which side has more scandals. The right can call out the left more times on such things in the Kennedy family alone. In fact, I think Ted by himself had three times as many as the men you just named.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseCOMBINED!!!!!
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abusedonz, you missed my point (intentionally, I'm sure). Ensign, Gingrich, Craig, Hutcherson, Lee and others resigned when caught. As a general rule, liberals' automatically reaction is to cling to power, instead of having the decency to vacate their position.
Do you want to nit-pick names? That's a losing move for a liberal. And I'm not putting the GOP on a pedestal, either. I'm simply referring to the liberals' quest and thirst for power overrides common decency in too many cases.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseLets ask Diaper Dave Vitter if Weiner should resign.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWhere are the pics, bub?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWeiner's lying is truly breathtaking in its brazen and unashamed mendacity. Haven't see anything that sociopathic since they heyday of Bill Clinton.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI don't blame Weiner for not resigning. It's incredibly difficult to find a job during the Obama economy even if you're not a lying, lewd, perverted person.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseAnyone with an ounce of sense knows that had Weiner not tripped himself up, his amoral behavior and the evidence to prove it might have ended up in foreign enemies' hands, and could have been used to blackmail him very easily. That he's a twisted man with maturity issues is a given, but as a sitting congressman who votes on defense issues and whose peccadilloes could have been exploited by nefarious forces is what frightens me. At this point, only he and his wife have to live with his flaws. God forbid the rest of the country won't have to. Thank you, Andrew Breitbart.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse"Weiner Comes Clean"
You just had to go there, didn't you.
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