Top Stories -   

1
Huma Abedin, aide to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, heads to a meeting at the Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Thursday, June 9, 2011. Abedin is married to Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y. (AP / Susan Walsh) `U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y., reacts during a news conference in New York, Monday, June 6, 2011. (AP / Richard Drew)

Weiner abides despite new photo, baby on the way

Viewer

CTV News Video

CTV News Channel: Steven Farnsworth, expert
A professor at George Mason University says had embattled U.S. congressman Anthony Weiner confessed to having a problem early on and taken responsibility, this scandal would have come and gone. Instead he lied and colleagues who stood up for him are calling for his resignation.
CTV News Channel: Rich Masters, partner
A parter at Qorvis Communications says U.S. congressman Anthony Weiner made every public relations mistake a politician can make in response to his sexually-charged photo scandal.

A A |  Email ThisEmail  | PrintComments (14) Facebook   

Huma Abedin, aide to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, heads to a meeting at the Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Thursday, June 9, 2011. Abedin is married to Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y. (AP / Susan Walsh) `U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y., reacts during a news conference in New York, Monday, June 6, 2011. (AP / Richard Drew)

Photos

Huma Abedin, aide to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, heads to a meeting at the Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Thursday, June 9, 2011. Abedin is married to Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y. (AP / Susan Walsh)

View Larger Image

Date: Thu. Jun. 9 2011 6:24 AM ET

WASHINGTON — Scandal-scarred Rep. Anthony Weiner is clinging to his perch in Congress despite new efforts to pry him away and a pair of developments that might inspire others in his position to give up the fight:

A newly released X-rated photo that Weiner purportedly took of himself turned up on the Internet.

And his wife of less than a year, Huma Abedin, is pregnant.

The baby on the way complicated an already ominous forecast for the 46-year-old congressman, who admitted on Monday that he had Tweeted sexually charged photos and messages to six women he did not know, then lied about it to his wife, his family and his constituents. Throughout the week, Weiner has refused to resign.

His fellow Democrats from the White House on down have left little doubt they want him to reconsider -- and fast.

"Having the respect of your constituents is fundamental for a member of Congress," Pennsylvania Rep. Allyson Schwartz said in a statement, becoming the first congressional Democrat to make her wishes public.

"In light of Anthony Weiner's offensive behavior online," she added, "he should resign."

There was no sign of that happening, even as new developments made clear that Weiner's self-immolation already has cost him much: His credibility, his dignity, the confidence of his colleagues, his privacy and more. As Weiner made calls to save whatever support he had left, there were new revelations.

A photo showing a man's genitals was published Wednesday by a website after conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart showed it to the hosts of Sirius XM radio's "Opie & Anthony Show." In a statement, Weiner's spokeswoman pointed back to the Monday news conference, in which Weiner said he had sent explicit photos of himself over the Internet.

Officials also confirmed that Huma Abedin, Weiner's wife and a top aide to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, is about three months pregnant. Weiner said at the news conference that the couple did not intend to split over the scandal. Abedin departed Wednesday with Clinton on an official trip to the Mideast and Africa.

Weiner, meanwhile, embarked on an apology tour by phone with colleagues spread across the country this week during the House's monthly break. One lawmaker said that in a phone conversation during the day, Weiner indicated he hopes to ride out the furor and remain in Congress. The lawmaker spoke on condition of anonymity, saying it was a private conversation.

But back in Washington, it was hard to find much sympathy for Weiner, who until the scandal was considered a rising star in Democratic politics. Interviews with Democratic senators on the subject produced a wide array of responses, from frosty stares to polite "no comments."

It was clear that Weiner's behavior put many of the women in the party in especially uncomfortable spots and firmly among the lawmakers who wish he would go away. But only Schwartz, a member of the leadership, said so outright. "Of course" Weiner's troubles complicate the party's efforts ahead of the 2012 elections, said the head of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Sen. Patty Murray, before escaping into an elevator.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said, "I just view it with great surprise and dismay. That's all I can say." Feinstein and Murray were first elected to the Senate in 1992, the so-called Year of the Women that was a watershed in Democratic political history.

The party's leader in the House, Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California, has called for an ethics committee investigation to see whether Weiner's actions violated any House rules.

But she has not called for his resignation. And the party's new chairwoman, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, declined to respond directly on Tuesday when the Republican chairman, Reince Priebus, urged them to say whether they believe Weiner should step down.

The Democratic National Committee has adamantly refused to comment, while a spokesman in Wasserman Schultz's congressional office has said only that she supports Pelosi's call for an ethics investigation.

By contrast, the former Democratic Party chairman, Tim Kaine, has urged Weiner to quit. Kaine is running for the Senate in Virginia.

Comments are now closed for this story

Lynn
said

@URU "...EVERYONE is doing it..." ???? NO ONE I know is doing it. I know hundreds of decent, humble, normal people.The Weiner, The Sperminator, Strauss-Kahn, Silvio Berlusconi, shall I go on? What do we see in common here? Aging males with hugely disproportionately inflated egos... and less self-control than my teenagers.


Carl
said

Very well said, Prof. Pye Chartt.


Kevin G. McDonald
said

His wife and Hillary now have a lot in common -- philandering husbands, each of whom could have been blackmailed by people but who selfishly insisted on staying in office. Porn star to Rep. Weiner: "I'd like you to vote on this bill that is important to me or I will release the other photos the media does not know about..."Not likely but plausible and so he must resign.


Prof. Pye Chartt
said

A lack of respect for the high public office that he holds. A lack of respect for the constituents that placed him in said office. A lack of respect for his wife and soon-to-be mother of his child. (Ironically, like her boss, Hillary Clinton, who foolishly stood by "Happy Pants Bill," Ms. Abedin seems to be able to suck it up for questionable reasons.) A blatant and unabashed liar who only came clean when his back was against the wall. Mr. Weiner is a shamelessly deluded, ego-driven piece of political garbage unworthy of government employment. His last name is the rotten cherry on top.


DCI
said

Maybe Weiner and Arnold should get a place together.. make a sitcom. LOL


URU
said

What people do after work hours is their personal thing. Let him be a person who enjoys what EVERYONE is already doing on all those social media outlets available to them. We don't go into Harper's bedroom after hours and see what happens there. Let people alone as long as they are NOT breaking the law or hurting anyone.


peter in mb
said

If Weiner was a republican there would have been a witch hunt and he would have been burned at the stake. But since he is a democrat he will conger up some fake tiers, say he is sorry and play the victim card and all will be forgiven.


just my two bits
said

@ Gregg "Why is this on a respectable news site?" 'cause you opened it and read it. If you bought the paper then the Headline was a success! It's a business MAN!


Pugfire
said

All of which goes to show that this man, like Clinton and several others recently are simply humans.There are good humans and not so good humans.There are normal humans and not so normal humans.There are decent humans and then there are perverts and sickos.So WHY do we treat these people "in general" with reverence and deference? They are just humans like the rest of us!!Let's stop treating them like "gods" and as being better than us.


Gerald
said

Drop kick the jack ass, take the baby and the cash and run Huma. No true love there .


Ryan
said

My dad used to say "God gave man a brain and God gave man a p#n#s...but only enough blood to run one at time"


GUTSHOT!! in Thunder Bay
said

The Opie and Anthony show is the best entertainment available these days. As for Weiner, I dont know why he refuses to resign.. but it has to be coming fast. Leave it to the democrats to continue to show their sleazyness.


chel in the Peg
said

Weiner's Twitter antics are fairly benign in the scheme of things, but his blatant lies are not. Even more disturbing is that he accused Breitbart of hacking his Twitter account. That's low, even for a politician. He's done.


Gregg
said

Why is this supermarket checkout tabloid crap on a respectable Candian news site?


Share with your social Network:

Facebook DIGG Newsvine Delicious Twitter StumbeUpon Reddit Yahoo! Buzz

 

Advertisement

Contest

Today's Top Stories

Labour Minister Lisa Raitt appears on CTV's Power Play on Monday, May 28, 2012.

Federal government orders end to CP Rail strike

More   51 Comments 51    11 Video(s) 11

Dominic and Abby Maryk were found in Mexico four years after allegedly being abducted by their father.

Extradition sought in Winnipeg missing children case

More   4 Comments 4    3 Video(s) 3

Protesters opposing Quebec student tuition fee hikes demonstrate in Montreal, Sunday, May 27, 2012. (Graham Hughes / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

Quebec, students resume talks on tuition hikes

More   26 Comments 26    1 Video(s) 1