Congressman Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) is no stranger to controversy, as he is known for his willingness to chew out colleagues, constituents, and media figures. However, a scandal involving lewd pictures and online sexual relationships with young women may prove to be too much for him to handle. It began when a single lewd photo of Congressman Weiner — showing a man’s bulging pants — was sent from his Twitter account to a Seattle college student, Gennette Nicole Cordova, a move that Weiner called “a circumstance where someone committed a prank on the Internet.” The Congressman insisted that he did not send the picture, claiming his Twitter account was hacked. When asked to confirm if the photograph was indeed of him, Weiner replied, “I can’t say with certitude.”
Cordova released a statement regarding the obscene tweet, wherein she denied engaging in an online sexual relationship with the Congressman. In her tweet she also blasted the media for its harsh reporting of the scandal, asserting, “This is teaching me an invaluable lesson about the importance of journalistic ethics and standards.”
Unfortunately for the Congressman, however, the scandal did not end there. Andrew Breitbart’s website BigGovernment.com (photo, above left) claimed that a second woman has emerged alluding to an “online, consensual relationship [with Weiner] involving the mutual exchange of intimate photographs.”
“A new woman has come forward with what she claims are photographs, chats, and emails with Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.),” wrote Breitbart. “These appear to undermine severely Rep. Weiner’s explanations that he was the victim of a ‘prank’ or a ‘hank.’”
BigGovernment.com published the photographs, some of which include Weiner holding a piece of paper with the word “me” written on it. According to Breitbart’s website, the photo was sent by Weiner in order to prove to the woman that it was indeed of him. A second photograph showed Weiner sitting with two cats in the background, which was emailed to the woman from [email protected] with the subject line, “Me and the pussys.” A third photograph came from a Yahoo email address and was sent on May 20. There were apparently other photos sent as well, which were too explicit to show.
Andrew Breitbart has not revealed the identity of the second woman.
Gawker.com concluded, however, “Even if he doesn’t have anything more, we are left with the fact that Weiner was emailing terrible sex-related visual puns to a woman who wasn’t his wife.”
Additionally, an ABC News official reported that the network interviewed a woman who says that she received the same photos from Weiner that were posted on BigGovernment.com. Likewise, Radar Online reported that a woman who had volunteered as a Democratic campaign worker was involved in “a sexting” exchange with Congressman Weiner last month through his Facebook account. She claimed, “I have more than 200 messages from him and they’re explicit in nature.” Another woman, identified as Lisa Weiss, a 40-year-old blackjack dealer in Las Vegas, says she engaged in phone sex with Weiner on his government phone.
According to Weiss, she attempted to contact Weiner in the wake of the scandal to let him know she would keep their relationship a secret. When he didn’t return her calls, however, she changed her mind. “He was a dog and didn’t return my messages. I discovered that Anthony is a bad man…and a liar.”
The growing scandal forced Representative Weiner to host a highly anticipated conference, but just before he took the stage, reporters encouraged Andrew Breitbart to step on stage and field questions, which he did. During the conference, Breitbart discussed how he had obtained the photographs and joked, “I’ve seen a lot of Congressman Weiner’s body. He’s in very good shape.”
To watch the video footage of Breitbart’s surprise appearance at the podium, click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIJRyJkQXyc
More importantly, the conference proved to be the opportunity for Weiner to admit guilt in the scandal. He confessed that the lewd photographs were indeed his, that he voluntarily sent them from his personal accounts, and that he engaged in questionable relationships with the females. He added that during the last three years, he had engaged in at least six elicit online relationships.
“At the end of the day, I lied because I was embarrassed,” said Weiner. “I did not want to get caught.”
While Weiner’s wife did not appear on stage, the Congressman asserts that they will stay together. “This was a dumb thing to do, a destructive thing to do,” he acknowledged.
The Blaze writes of the confession:
Legally, I don‘t think there’s any wrongdoing on Weiner’s part, but today’s admission does explain why federal authorities were not brought in to investigate the alleged “hacking.” The only criminal charges that could come out of this would be if Weiner sent pornographic images to a minor. He insists, to the best of his knowledge, all of the recipients were of legal age.
Weiner asserts, however, “I never violated the rules of the House.” And though he claims that he is regretful, he declared, “I am not resigning.”
Meanwhile, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi addressed the scandal in a statement released yesterday evening:
I am deeply disappointed and saddened about this situation; for Anthony’s wife, Huma, his family, his staff and his constituents.
I am calling for an Ethics Committee investigation to determine whether any official resources were used or any other violation of House rules occurred.
Not surprisingly, one of Weiner’s online contacts, Meagan Broussard, a 26-year old single mother from Texas, has already taken the opportunity to speak out on the relationship. ABC News explains:
Broussard said she wanted to come forward now out of concerns for her own image as an aspiring nurse, and that of her 3-year-old daughter, should her identity be leaked online. More than a dozen photos sent by Broussard to [email protected] and a second account she believed was Weiner’s were obtained and licensed from her by ABC News.
“I have my own life, my own things where I’m from and I just wanted to go ahead with them. I thought I could just be private about it, but there’s no reason for me to hide,” she said. “I didn’t do anything wrong. I don’t know him. I’m just putting my story out there before anyone else tries to.”
Broussard claims that she never met the Congressman in person and admits to frequently engaging in "sexting" with numerous men. She also contends that she was uncomfortable about her relationship with Weiner. ABC News reports:
…During one Facebook chat conversation, Broussard said she voiced uneasiness with the electronic relationship, to which she says Weiner replied, “[Y]ou are not stalking me….I am stalking you.”
In an appearance on Fox News’ Sean Hannity Show, Broussard said that when Weiner began sending her the photos, she thought to herself, “This is something that’s regular; he’s done this all the time, he’s comfortable.”
As the scandal continues to unfold, further information has been revealed indicating that Weiner had a relationship with porn star Gina Lee as well, and even coached her on how to lie to the press regarding their interaction.
““The key is to have a short, thought out statement that tackles the top line questions and then refer people back to it,” Weiner supposedly e-mailed Lee on June 1, according to TMZ. “Have a couple of iterations of: ‘This is silly. Like so many others, I follow Rep. Weiner on Twitter. I don’t know him and have never met him. He briefly followed me and sent me a dm saying thank you for the follow. That’s it.’”
