one down dozens to go
Weiner to Resign Over Scandal This Afternoon
Thursday, 16 Jun 2011 09:45 AMBy Martin Gould
More ways to share... Mixx Stumbled LinkedIn Vine Buzzflash Reddit Delicious Newstrust Technocrati Share: More . . . A A | Email Us | Print | Forward Article TweetTweetEmbattled Congressman Anthony Weiner agreed to bow to the inevitable on Thursday and finally give up the House seat he has held for 12 years.
He told friends and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi that he would resign today, and he scheduled a news conference for 2 p.m. Eastern time.
The 46-year-old New York Democrat had been holding on to his seat while his wife, Huma Abedin, an aide to Hillary Clinton, was abroad with the Secretary of State. She returned this week.
Pressure on Weiner has been growing since the scandal first broke on May 27 when he accidentally posted a lewd picture of himself on Twitter.
He reached his decision, The New York Times reports, after “long discussions” with his wife, whom he married less than a year ago.
Leading Democrats initially said it was up to him whether he should resign, but as the scandal has grown they changed their position with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and whip Steny Hoyer both calling on him to step down. President Barack Obama also said that if he was in Weiner’s position he would go.
Earlier today Weiner's staff appeared to be packing up the congressman's office. NBC's Alex Moe reports that two staff members and two interns left the office with their belongings, turned off the lights and locked the door.
Republicans, initially led by House leader Eric Cantor and later joined by Speaker John Boehner, also called on him to resign.
His decision to step down came on the day that leading Democrats were scheduled to meet to decide whether to strip him of committee assignments. The House Ethics Committee also had opened an investigation, which will end if he goes.
What became known as “Weinergate” started with a picture of a bulging pair of gray boxer briefs. The Democratic congressman had meant to send it to a 21-year-old journalism student from Seattle in a private message but mistyped and it went out to all 45,000 of his Twitter followers.
For 10 days, he lied, saying his account had been hacked before confessing to sexting with six different women at a tearful June 6 press conference. They included a porn star who claimed he had asked her to lie and had offered her public relations help.
He was further embarrassed when an X-rated picture of his genitals, which he had sent one of the women, was leaked on to the Internet and again when semi-nude pictures he had taken of himself in the House gym emerged.
At the weekend, Weiner asked for a leave of absence from the House to enter rehab but things continued to get worse for Weiner when it was revealed that he had also been sending private messages to a 17-year-old in Delaware. There has been no suggestion that those messages were of a sexual nature.
Read more on Newsmax.com: Weiner to Resign Over Scandal This Afternoon
Important: Do You Support Pres. Obama's Re-Election? Vote Here Now!
AI
