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On June 6, Breitbart posted a cropped, shirtless picture Weiner had sent to a second woman on the Internet<ref name="half-naked"/><ref name="conservative website"/> and said Weiner had sent more pictures of himself, including at least one that was sexually graphic.<ref name=autogenerated2/>
On June 6, Breitbart posted a cropped, shirtless picture Weiner had sent to a second woman on the Internet<ref name="half-naked"/><ref name="conservative website"/> and said Weiner had sent more pictures of himself, including at least one that was sexually graphic.<ref name=autogenerated2/>


On June 8, 2011, Breitbart showed radio hosts [[Opie and Anthony]] a photograph of what he claimed to be Weiner's nude genitalia. One of the cameras in the room caught the cell phone's display, and the hosts subsequently leaked the photo by publishing it on Twitter without Breitbart's approval or permission.<ref name="by opie"/><ref name="gretabr"/><ref name="bgbrant"/> In response to this incident, Weiner's spokesperson issued the following statement: "As Representative Weiner said on Monday when he took responsibility for his actions, he has sent explicit photos."<ref name="democrats push"/> On June 15, [[Ginger Lee]], one of the women Weiner had exchanged emails with, told a press conference that when she requested advice from Weiner on how to respond to the media, he had advised her on June 2 that if they both stayed quiet the scandal would die down.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/15/us-usa-politics-weiner-pornstar-idUSTRE75E3N820110615|title=Porn star says Representative Weiner asked her to lie|publisher=reuters.com|accessdate=June 16, 2011}}</ref>
On June 8, 2011, Breitbart showed radio hosts [[Opie and Anthony]] a photograph of what he claimed to be Weiner's nude genitalia. One of the cameras in the room caught the cell phone's display, and the hosts subsequently leaked the photo by publishing it on Twitter without Breitbart's approval or permission.<ref name="by opie"/><ref name="gretabr"/><ref name="bgbrant"/> In response to this incident, Weiner's spokesperson issued the following statement: "As Representative Weiner said on Monday when he took responsibility for his actions, he has sent explicit photos."<ref name="democrats push"/> On June 12, the celebrity news website [[TMZ.com]] released 11&nbsp;photos of Weiner taking pictures of himself at the gym in the [[Rayburn House Office Building]]. The pictures were sent to one woman and some of the pictures include Weiner grabbing his [[crotch]] while only covering himself with a towel.<ref>{{citeweb|last=Earle|first=Geoff|coauthors=Josh Margolin & Bob Fredericks|url=http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/brooklyn/weiner_trapped_gym_rat_fQgQvnOm8vo65NdfnZBFeO|title=Debbie Wasserman Schultz has rocky DNC start|publisher=''[[New York Post]]''|date=2011-06-13|accessdate=2011-06-17}}</ref> On June 15, [[Ginger Lee]], one of the women Weiner had exchanged emails with, told a press conference that when she requested advice from Weiner on how to respond to the media, he had advised her on June 2 that if they both stayed quiet the scandal would die down.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/15/us-usa-politics-weiner-pornstar-idUSTRE75E3N820110615|title=Porn star says Representative Weiner asked her to lie|publisher=reuters.com|accessdate=June 16, 2011}}</ref>


==Political and constituent reaction==
==Political and constituent reaction==

Revision as of 20:13, 17 June 2011

The Anthony Weiner sexting scandal,[1][2][3] also dubbed Weinergate,[4][5] began when married Democratic U.S. Congressman Anthony Weiner used the social media website Twitter to send a sexually suggestive picture of his boxer brief–clad erect penis[6][7][8][9] to a 21-year-old Washington State woman.[10][11][12] After several days of denying he had posted the image and saying his account had been "hacked", he admitted to having sent sexually explicit photos and messages to about six women over a three-year period, both before and during his marriage. He denied ever having met, or having had a physical relationship with, any of the women.[13]

On June 16, 2011, Weiner announced his resignation from Congress.[14]

Initial media reports and Weiner's denial

Using his Twitter account, Weiner sent a link to a photograph on yfrog of his erect penis clad in gray boxer briefs[15][16] to a 21-year-old female college student in Bellingham, Washington, who was following him on the social media website.[17] Though the image was quickly removed from Weiner's Twitter account, it was leaked to conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart who published it on the BigGovernment website the following day.[18]

On June 1, he gave a series of interviews in which he denied sending the photo and suggested that someone, perhaps a political opponent, "hacked" into his Twitter account and published the photo.[19] Weiner also said he could not say "with certitude" that the photo was not of him. He suggested that the image might be doctored, saying, "maybe it did start being a photo of mine and now looks something different or maybe it is from another account".[20][21][22] He did not ask the FBI or U.S. Capitol Police to investigate the incident[23] but said he had retained a private security firm to look into this matter because he felt it was a "prank", not a crime.[24]

Admission

On June 6, 2011, Weiner held a press conference in New York at which he admitted he had lied to conceal what really happened and confirmed he had sent the photo to the woman in question. He also said he had been "engaged in several inappropriate conversations conducted over Twitter, Facebook, email and occasionally on the phone" and had exchanged "messages and photos of an explicit nature with about six women over the last three years". He added he had never met or had a physical relationship with any of them. He said he was "deeply ashamed" of his "terrible judgment and actions", which he called "very dumb."[25]

Answering questions, he said he had the continuing support of his wife Huma Abedin, a long-time aide to Hillary Clinton whom he had married in July 2010 in a ceremony officiated by Bill Clinton, and did not intend to resign his congressional seat.[26] Prior to his marriage, Weiner was known for his "bachelor exploits with some of New York’s most eligible women," detailed in a 2011 Moment Magazine profile of the Congressman.[27] Following the revelations of his inappropriate communications, his reportedly emotional apology to the former president was referred to in the press as highly ironic.[28] Asked about an allegation that he had engaged in phone sex with a a woman in Nevada, Weiner neither confirmed nor denied the statement, saying that though he did not want to impinge the privacy of any of the women, neither would he contradict any of their statements.[25] On June 6, it was reported that a 26-year-old single mother from Texas had shared flirtatious photographs with Weiner, including receiving a photo of his exposed private parts.[29] At his press conference, Weiner admitted that he had exchanged sexting messages with the woman.[29][25] ABC News also reported the identity of another of Weiner's social media contacts, who had exchanged e-mails with Weiner and had received sexually explicit photograph of him in May 2011.[30][31]

Other photos

On June 6, Breitbart posted a cropped, shirtless picture Weiner had sent to a second woman on the Internet[32][33] and said Weiner had sent more pictures of himself, including at least one that was sexually graphic.[31]

On June 8, 2011, Breitbart showed radio hosts Opie and Anthony a photograph of what he claimed to be Weiner's nude genitalia. One of the cameras in the room caught the cell phone's display, and the hosts subsequently leaked the photo by publishing it on Twitter without Breitbart's approval or permission.[34][35][36] In response to this incident, Weiner's spokesperson issued the following statement: "As Representative Weiner said on Monday when he took responsibility for his actions, he has sent explicit photos."[37] On June 12, the celebrity news website TMZ.com released 11 photos of Weiner taking pictures of himself at the gym in the Rayburn House Office Building. The pictures were sent to one woman and some of the pictures include Weiner grabbing his crotch while only covering himself with a towel.[38] On June 15, Ginger Lee, one of the women Weiner had exchanged emails with, told a press conference that when she requested advice from Weiner on how to respond to the media, he had advised her on June 2 that if they both stayed quiet the scandal would die down.[39]

Political and constituent reaction

On the afternoon of June 6, 2011, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi called for an investigation by the House Ethics Committee to determine "whether any official resources were used or any other violation of House rules occurred".[40] A number of Democratic and Republican congressmen called for Weiner's resignation.[41] On June 7, Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus called for him to resign, and challenged Pelosi to suggest the same. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R, VA) said he should resign, opining: "The last thing we need is to be immersed in discussion about Congressman Weiner and his Twitter activities".[42] House Democrats who called for him to resign on June 8 included Representatives Allyson Schwartz (PA), Mike Ross (AR), Mike Michaud (ME), Niki Tsongas (MA), Larry Kissell (NC) and Joe Donnelly (IN).[43] On June 11, Pelosi called for Weiner's resignation.[44] Weiner requested and was granted a short leave of absence from the House to obtain professional treatment of an unspecified nature.[45]

Two June 6 surveys of New York City adult residents provided conflicting results. A TV station NY1 and Marist College poll indicated that 51% believed Weiner should remain in Congress, 30% thought he should step down, and 18% were unsure.[46] A WABC-TV/SurveyUSA automated survey found the city divided, with 46 percent who thought he should resign and 41 percent who thought he should stay in office.[47][48] On June 9, a NY1-Marist Poll showed that 56% of registered voters in Weiner's Congressional District wanted him to stay in Congress, and 33% thought he should resign, with 12% uncertain.[49] 73% said he acted unethically, but not illegally.[49]

On June 13, White House spokesman Jay Carney said "The president feels... this is a distraction, as Congressman Weiner has said himself, his behavior was inappropriate; dishonesty was inappropriate."[50] President Obama said in an interview later that day that if he were Weiner, he would resign.[51]

Resignation

On June 16, Weiner resigned his seat in Congress. He made the announcement at a news conference in Brooklyn, at the same location where he announced his first campaign for New York City Council in 1992.[52][53]

See also

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References

  1. ^ Canning, Andrea; Hopper, Jessica (June 6, 2011). "Rep. Anthony Weiner's Sexting Scandal: Why Did He Do It?". ABC News. Retrieved June 17, 2011.
  2. ^ Morales, Mark (June 7, 2011). "Anthony Weiner's sexting scandal gets big thumbs down in Queens, Brooklyn". New York Daily News. Retrieved June 17, 2011.
  3. ^ "Will Rep. Weiner's career survive the sexting scandal? – American Morning – CNN.com Blogs". Amfix.blogs.cnn.com. June 8, 2011. Retrieved June 17, 2011.
  4. ^ "William Bradley: Weinergate's Lasting Impact: The First Big Social Media Political Sex Scandal". Huffington post. Retrieved June 17, 2011.
  5. ^ Alfarone, Debra (June 7, 2011). "The Women of Weinergate: Anthony Weiner's Sexting Mates". The Chicago Tribune. Retrieved June 17, 2011.
  6. ^ Kelly, Jack (June 5, 2011). "Weiner's troubling tweet". The Pittsburg Post-Gazette. a photo of an erection barely covered by a man's underwear
  7. ^ "LulzSec, #weinergate and #ghettospellingbee: Cheezburger's top memes of the week – What's Trending". CBS News. June 3, 2011. Archived from the original on June 9, 2011. {{cite news}}: Cite uses deprecated parameter |authors= (help)
  8. ^ "Unanswered questions in Anthony Weiner's hack story". Nypost.com. June 5, 2011. Retrieved June 10, 2011.
  9. ^ Senior, Jennifer. "Anthony Weiner's Big Ego – Daily Intel". Nymag.com. Retrieved June 10, 2011.
  10. ^ Jim Bruner (June 1, 2011). "Bellingham student embroiled in Rep. Weiner Twitter scandal". The Seattle Times.
  11. ^ "Unanswered questions in Anthony Weiner's hack story". Ny post. Retrieved June 8, 2011.
  12. ^ Nia-Malika Henderson (June 7, 2011). "Huma Abedin, Rep. Anthony Weiner's unflappable wife". The Washington Post.
  13. ^ "Weiner apologizes for lying, 'terrible mistakes,' refuses to resign". CNN. Retrieved June 8, 2011.
  14. ^ "Weiner to Resign from Congress". Foxnews.com. April 7, 2010. Retrieved June 17, 2011.
  15. ^ . The New York Post. June 5, 2011 http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/brooklyn/few_holes_in_skeevy_skivvy_story_nUf66IOYmqgN5SCW3Ck23N#ixzz1ORNdvnit. Retrieved June 17, 2011. {{cite web}}: |url= missing title (help)
  16. ^ New Yorker Magazine "a photo of his erect penis, concealed by briefs" Anthony Weiner’s Big Ego 6/2/11
  17. ^ Andrew Malcolm (June 3, 2011). "Weinergate: Whose crotch was it and when did he know it?". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 4, 2011.
    Chris Taylor (June 3, 2011). "9 things Weinergate tells us about Twitter". CNN. Retrieved June 4, 2011.
    Maggie Haberman (June 3, 2011). "Rudy Giuliani wades into Weinergate". POLITICO. Retrieved June 4, 2011.
    Fenton, Reuven; MacIntosh, Jeane (June 3, 2011). "Lewd-pic recipient worn out by Weiner scandal". New York Post. Retrieved June 6, 2011.
    "Anthony Weiner cancels Wisconsin speech to Democrats". Reuters. June 3, 2011. Retrieved June 4, 2011.
    "Rep. Anthony Weiner Refuses to Discuss Lewd Photo". The Wall Street Journal. June 1, 2011. Retrieved June 4, 2011. {{cite news}}: |first= missing |last= (help)
  18. ^ Chideya, Farai. "Semper Fi Media", National Public Radio, September 14, 2007. Accessed 2011-06-10. "The other person on the panel was Andrew Breitbart, who runs Breitbart.com, a news aggregator. That basically means that he culls what he considers the best of the news and puts it on one site. As it turns out, it's a profitable business. He's also a conservative author/blogger. Very smart and VERY vocal."
  19. ^ "Rep. Anthony Weiner's Emotional Apology". ABC News. June 6, 2011. Retrieved June 6, 2011. Weiner's spokesman originally confirmed Weiner's statement, saying that the Twitter "accounts were obviously hacked." See "Rep. Weiner: I did not send Twitter crotch pic". CBS News/Associated Press. May 29, 2011.
  20. ^ Epstein, Jennifer (June 2, 2011). "Eric Cantor says Anthony Weiner should 'come clean'". Politico. Retrieved June 3, 2011.
  21. ^ "'Maybe it started out being a photo of mine': Weinergate continues as Congressman admits Twitter photo could have been one of his that was 'taken out of context'". Daily Mail. Retrieved June 2, 2011.
  22. ^ June 2, 2011 (June 2, 2011). "Congressman Weiner: The Blitzer Interview pt 1 » Ai Politics – Against Ideology". Aipolitics.me. Retrieved June 10, 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  23. ^ "Probe could give Weiner more headaches: expert". CBS. June 2, 2011. Retrieved June 2, 2011.
    "Police could figure out Weiner guilt or innocence". Associated Press. June 3, 2011. Retrieved June 3, 2011.
  24. ^ "Weiner 'can't say with certitude' that lewd photo isn't of him". MSNBC. Retrieved June 2, 2011.
  25. ^ a b c "Full transcript of Weiner's news conference". New York Post. June 6, 2011. Archived from the original on June 8, 2011.
  26. ^ Huma Khan (June 6, 2011). "Weiner Admits Internet Affairs, Says He Will Not Resign".
  27. ^ Daphna Berman (May/June 2011). "Live from NY, it's Anthony Weiner". {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  28. ^ Chris Rovzar (June 8, 2011). "The Clintons are 'Deeply Unhappy' in Anthony Weiner".
  29. ^ a b Hartenstein, Meena (June 6, 2011). "Rep. Anthony Weiner's sexting partners Meagan Broussard, Lisa Weiss out themselves, describe affairs". New York Daily News.
  30. ^ Daly, Corbett B. (June 6, 2011). "Conservative website posts private pictures of Anthony Weiner". CBS News.
  31. ^ a b Epstein, Jennifer (June 6, 2011). "Report: Shirtless Anthony Weiner photo sent". Politico.
  32. ^ Michael A. Memoli and James Oliphant (June 6, 2011). "New half-naked photos: Rep. Weiner calls a news conference". Los Angeles Times.
  33. ^ intimate pictures from the Congressman from a BlackBerry in May 2011, Daly, Corbett B. (June 6, 2011). "Conservative website posts private pictures of Anthony Weiner". CBS News.
  34. ^ "Anthony Weiner Penis Photo Released By Opie And Anthony". Huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved June 10, 2011.
  35. ^ Breitbart interview on On the Record with Greta van Susteren, FoxNews channel, June 8, 2011.
  36. ^ Breitbart's statement, including Anthony's statement, on BigGovernment.com Retrieved 2011-06-09.
  37. ^ Devlin Barrett (June 8, 2011). "Democrats Push Weiner to Go". The Wall Street Journal.
  38. ^ Earle, Geoff (June 13, 2011). "Debbie Wasserman Schultz has rocky DNC start". New York Post. Retrieved June 17, 2011. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  39. ^ "Porn star says Representative Weiner asked her to lie". reuters.com. Retrieved June 16, 2011.
  40. ^ Memoli, Michael A (June 6, 2011). "Nancy Pelosi calls for Ethics Committee to investigate Rep. Anthony Weiner". Los Angeles Times.
  41. ^ Jonathan Allen – "John Boehner stays silent on Weiner scandal" – Politico – June 7, 2011. Retrieved June 8, 2011.
  42. ^ Devlin Barrett, Patrick O'Connor -"Republicans Call for Weiner to Resign" The Wall Street Journal – June 8, 2011 – Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Retrieved June 8, 2011.
  43. ^ Hernandez, Raymond "House Democrats Step Up Calls for Weiner to Quit" (June 8, 2011) The New York Times Retrieved June 8, 2011.
  44. ^ "Weiner Enters 'Treatment Center' As Pelosi, Top Dems Urge Him to Quit". The New York Magazine. Retrieved June 11, 2011.
  45. ^ "Anthony Weiner To Seek Treatment". The Huffington Post. June 11, 2011. Retrieved June 12, 2011.
  46. ^ Muskal, Michael. "NY1-Marist Poll: Weiner should not quit Congress – but mayor? Forget about it". latimes.com. Retrieved June 8, 2011.
  47. ^ Blumenthal, Mark. "Antony Weiner Polls:NYC Split On Resignation, Against Mayoral Run". huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved June 8, 2011.
  48. ^ "Poll gauges Weiner's constituents". YNN. 2011-6-9. Retrieved June 10, 2011. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  49. ^ a b Lisi, Clemente. "Poll shows that majority of voters in Weiner's district want him to stay". NY POST. Retrieved June 10, 2011.
  50. ^ "White House: Weiner scandal is a 'distraction'". CNN. June 13, 2011. Retrieved June 13, 2011.
  51. ^ President Obama comments on Weiner Situation "Obama On Anthony Weiner: If I Were Him I'd Resign". huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved June 13, 2011. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  52. ^ "New York Rep. Anthony Weiner resigns" – June 16, 2011 – MSNBC. Retrieved June 16, 2011.
  53. ^ "Transcript of Weiner Announcing Resignation from Congress". NBC New York. June 16, 2011.

External links

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