NYC Dems tap state lawmaker to run for Weiner seat (AP)

NEW YORK – Democratic leaders have chosen a state lawmaker from Queens to replace Rep. Anthony Weiner, who resigned his seat in New York's 9th Congressional District last month after a sexting scandal.

Assemblyman David Weprin, 55, was expected to be formally nominated Friday by leaders of the Queens and Brooklyn Democratic parties, an adviser to Weprin said Thursday. The adviser spoke on condition of anonymity because the nomination had not been announced.

Weprin will be heavily favored to win the special election for the seat Sept. 13. While Republicans are expected to announce a nominee soon, no Republican has ever won the seat and the national party was not expected to invest significant resources in the contest.

Weprin was elected to the Assembly in 2010 after serving in the City Council for eight years. He ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination for city comptroller in 2009.

Weiner stepped down in the middle of his seventh term after admitting he had sent sexually suggestive texts and photos to women he met on Twitter and other social networking sites. He remained popular in the district until the end, with polls showing a majority of residents did not believe he needed to resign.

New York is set to lose two House seats next year, based on the results of the 2010 census.

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Democrat fundraising site still accepting Weiner donations (Daily Caller)

C.J. Ciaramella C.j. Ciaramella – Fri Jun 24, 12:18 am ET

Anthony Weiner may be gone, but you can still donate to the erstwhile congressman’s re-election campaign, if you’re kinky like that.

ActBlue, an online clearing house for Democrat fundraising, still has active donation sites for Weiner, and his official Web site still has a contribution page, where fans can support Weiner, “Fighter, Reformer, New Yorker.”

So far, Weiner’s ActBlue page has raised $146,372 for the congressman’s non-existent re-election campaign. How much of this was raised after Weiner’s Twitter indiscretions came to light isn’t clear, but at least some of it was.

An ActBlue page called “Breitbart Has Won NOTHING: Donations for Weiner” has raised a fearsome $35 from two contributors.

“In the beginning, I reacted solely because that dishonest slime Andrew Breitbart was maliciously attacking yet another liberal,” the page’s creator writes. “That’s STILL what pisses me off – Breitbart thinks this was a ‘victory’ and all the chatter about being ’shocked’ and ‘disappointed’ in Weiner only fuels Breitbart.”

So go ahead and donate, never-say-die Democrats. Maybe Weiner will send you a thank you message on Twitter.

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Will Dems give back their Weiner money? (Daily Caller)

Several Democrats who have received campaign contributions from former Congressman Anthony Weiner have refused to return the donations despite increased pressure in light of the New York Democrat’s resignation on Thursday.

According to a Republican operative, the Democratic representatives who have kept money from Weiner are numerous, and include New York’s Tim Bishop ($10,000), Bill Owens ($4,000), Carolyn McCarthy ($1,000) and Brian Higgins ($4,000), Virginia’s Gerry Connolly ($1,000), Colorado’s Ed Perlmutter ($1,000), Pennsylvania’s Tim Holden ($2,000) and Mark Critz ($1,000), Georgia’s John Barrow ($6,000), Michigan’s Gary Peters ($1,000), New Jersey’s Rush Holt ($1,000), Missouri’s Russ Carnahan ($1,000) and Oregon’s ($1,000) Kurt Schrader.

As early as mid-Weinergate, the National Republican Congressional Committee launched a campaign against Democrats who had accepted funding from the disgraced representative, urging them to donate the money to charity or find a way to return it.

As part of the campaign, the NRCC sent press releases to the districts of each congressman who had received money from Weiner urging constituents to support the rejection of the funds.

In a release sent to Barrow’s district, NRCC Communications Director Paul Lindsay stated that “Congressman Weiner’s behavior is so unbecoming for a Member of Congress that it should have been a very easy decision for John Barrow to return or donate the money he has received from his disgraced colleague.”

“Instead, Barrow continues to pocket his embattled ally’s cash and essentially pretend that Weiner’s behavior is not a problem,” the statement said. (OUT: Rep. Weiner resigns from Congress)

While the pressure has reached some of the recipients of Weiner’s funds — Democratic congressmen who have returned the money include Connecticut’s Joey Courtney and Jim Himes, Minnesota’s Tim Walz, Ohio’s Betty Sutton, Iowa’s Dave Loebsack, Indiana’s Joe Donnelly and Illinois’ Bill Foster — the majority of recipients have refused to dispose of the now-tainted contributions.

Bishop, for example, Weiner’s fellow New York Democrat, received an impressive $10,000 donation from the scandal-embroiled former congressman. Despite calls for Bishop to return the money, however, his press secretary Oliver Longwell said in an email to TheDC that Bishop is unlikely to do so unless the House Ethics Committee were to declare the funds ill-gotten or obtained through impropriety.

“Bishop returned donations from a colleague in the past when the Ethics Committee determined that there were improprieties in that Member’s fundraising,” Longwell added. “Should that be found to be the case with Mr. Weiner, Bishop will return the funds.”

Spokespeople for other representatives did not respond to The DC’s requests for comment.

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Defiant no longer, Weiner resigns in sex scandal (AP)

By KAREN ZRAICK and ANDREW MIGA, Associated Press Karen Zraick And Andrew Miga, Associated Press – Thu Jun 16, 7:19 pm ET

NEW YORK – Defiant and combative no longer, New York Rep. Anthony Weiner soberly announced his resignation from Congress on Thursday, bowing to the furor caused by his sexually charged online dalliances with a former porn actress and other women.

Democratic Party leaders, concerned that Weiner could weigh the party down in the 2012 elections, welcomed the announcement after days spent trying to coax, push and finally coerce the wayward 46-year-old into quitting. Known as brash, liberal and ambitious, Weiner had run for mayor of New York in 2005 and had been expected to do so again. He was in his seventh term in Congress.

At an appearance in Brooklyn that drew hecklers as well as supporters, Weiner apologized "for the personal mistakes I have made and the embarrassment I have caused," particularly to his wife, Huma Abedin.

Pregnant with the couple's first child, she was absent as she had been 10 days ago when Weiner first admitted sending inappropriate messages and photos to women online — after earlier denying emphatically he had done so.

In his brief farewell appearance, Weiner said he initially hoped the controversy would fade but then realized "the distraction that I have created has made that impossible."

That conclusion echoed party officials who had become worried that the intense public focus on Weiner — and the Republican political rhetoric sure to follow — would complicate their campaign efforts in 2012.

"Congressman Weiner exercised poor judgment in his actions and poor judgment in his reaction to the revelations," House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said in a statement released moments after he spoke. "Today, he made the right judgment in resigning."

Weiner made his announcement at the same senior citizen center in Brooklyn where he announced his candidacy for the New York city council in 1992.

He declined to answer questions, leaving unaddressed whether he envisioned his resignation as the end of a once-promising political career — or merely a painful pause of uncertain duration.

"Now I'll be looking for other ways to contribute my talents so that we live up to that most New York and American of ideals," he said.

Nor did he explain his presence in New York, several days after issuing a statement that said he was seeking treatment. Other Democrats said he had left the city to do so.

He had succeeded his mentor, Sen. Chuck Schumer, who vacated the seat to run for the Senate. The senator, one of a few prominent Democratic leaders who did not call for Weiner's resignation, issued a statement saying the congressman "has served his community, city and country well for over two decades."

Weiner's departure marks the end of a bizarre period born of the New Yorker's use of social media such as Twitter and Facebook.

His problems began on May 28 when a website run by conservative commentator Andrew Breitbart posted a lewd photograph of an underwear-clad crotch and said it had been sent from Weiner's Twitter account to a Seattle woman.

And as the scandalous chapter neared its conclusion, a former pornography actress who exchanged emails and messages over Twitter with him said Wednesday at a news conference he had asked her to lie about their interactions.

Ginger Lee said she and Weiner exchanged about 100 emails between March and June after Lee posted a supportive statement about the congressman on her blog. He then contacted her on Twitter, Lee said. They mostly discussed politics, but he would often turn the conversation to sex, she said.

"`I have wardrobe demands, too. I need to highlight my package,'" Weiner wrote Lee, in an email read aloud at the news conference by Lee's attorney.

Weiner's initial reaction after the first photo became public more than two weeks ago was to lie, and he did so repeatedly, saying his Twitter account had been hacked.

But he pointedly did not report the incident to law enforcement — a step that could have opened him to charges of far more serious wrongdoing.

Nor were his public denials persuasive, especially when he told one interviewer he could not "say with certitude" that he wasn't the faceless man in the underwear photo.

His eventual confession triggered a tabloid-style frenzy in print and online that only grew more pronounced a few days later when an X-rated photo surfaced on a website.

After initially calling for a House ethics investigation, Pelosi ramped up the pressure on Saturday when she joined with Israel and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, leader of the Democratic National Committee, in calling on Weiner to step down.

President Barack Obama added to the pressure two days later, saying if he were in Weiner's situation, he would resign. Once Weiner did so, Obama told ABC's "Good Morning America" that "I wish Rep. Weiner and his lovely wife well. This obviously has been a tough incident for him but I'm confident that they'll refocus and he'll refocus and they'll end up being able to bounce back."

On Wednesday, Democrats let it be known that the party's leadership in the House would be meeting within 24 hours to consider sanctions against Weiner, including possibly stripping him of his committee assignment.

Officials said Weiner informed Pelosi and Rep. Steve Israel of New York, the head of the party campaign committee, of his plans to quit as they attended a White House picnic on Wednesday evening.

Several officials have said in recent days that Weiner was reluctant to make any decision about his career without speaking with his wife, a top aide to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who had been overseas since shortly after the scandal broke. The trip ended Tuesday night.

Weiner's outspoken, in-your-face style cheered liberal supporters and angered conservatives. He even irritated some party leaders in 2009 when he led the charge for a government-run health care system long after the White House had made it clear that Obama was opposed.

Weiner's district includes parts of Queens and Brooklyn. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has the authority to call a special election to fill the seat once the congressman submits his resignation.

____

Andrew Miga reported from Washington; Associated Press writers Beth Fouhy and Ula Ilnytzky contributed from New York.

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How the Dems toppled Weiner (The Newsroom)

Anthony Weiner's resignation did not happen quickly, easily, or without sustained and unprecedented pressure from a trio of Washington's most powerful Democrats telling the lawmaker that his career in the House was over.

In a phone call with Nancy Pelosi last Friday, in which the minority leader told Weiner that he had to quit, the embattled Brooklyn politician revealed the depths of his denial, telling Pelosi that a poll showed 56 percent of his constituents wanted him to stay. She continued to press her case, according to a top aide. "Consider those rose petals to let you go graciously," Pelosi pleaded.

For House Democrats, that call came at the end of an excruciating week that began with Weiner staging a tearful press conference to admit that he had sent lewd photos of himself to women online. Democratic leaders watched in disbelief as he confessed not only his bizarre online relationships, but also that he had lied to his House colleagues in a desperate attempt to cover his tracks.

At the time, the leaders were angry about being deceived, but they still believed that Weiner might weather the scandal that he had unleashed.

But by Wednesday, after a steady stream of porn-star stories, sordid photographs, and sickening details about Weiner's years of online exploits, Democrats wanted him gone.

"It was just the drip, drip, drip," said a top Democratic adviser. "The decision was made on Wednesday that he had to go and that he until Saturday to do it himself."

Over the next three painful days, top aides say Pelosi, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Steve Israel, and Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz repeatedly implored Weiner to step down.  With an ethics committee investigation already under way and the cringe-inducing news that Weiner had repeatedly texted a 17-year-old girl, they told the famously stubborn Weiner that he had to go.

Gallery: Possible Jobs for Weiner

By Saturday, Weiner again refused to resign and told Pelosi that he would take a leave of absence from Congress instead.  For the Democratic leader, it was the last straw.  Wasserman Schultz, the first woman to lead the DNC, had made up her mind the night before that she would publicly call for Weiner to relinquish his seat.

"The behavior he has exhibited is indefensible and Representative Weiner's continued service in Congress is untenable," Wasserman Schultz said in a blistering statement that day.

Pelosi followed: "I urge Congressman Weiner to seek that help without the pressures of being a member of Congress."

With Wasserman Schultz and Pelosi on the record, members of Congress returned to Washington the following Monday knowing that their Democratic leadership, including the president, would not support Weiner if he tried to remain.  Anyone who defended him would be acting without the party's blessing.

No member of Congress came to Weiner's defense on Monday. Instead, several told The Daily Beast that while they would not help him, they did not feel comfortable pushing further for his resignation until Weiner's wife, Huma Abedin, returned to the country after an overseas trip with her boss, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

By early Wednesday morning, Abedin had returned, but Weiner sent no signals to Washington that he was ready to relent.  After a story appeared in Politico that Democrats were calling a meeting to strip him of his committee assignments and essentially excise him from his party, Weiner called Pelosi and Israel, who were both at a White House picnic for members of Congress, to say, finally, that he would leave the House.

"While some were prepared to forgive him for the X-rated photos that he emailed, none could forget the lies that he had told them. "

Weiner's Democratic colleagues in the House, clearly relieved to see the episode sputter to an end, described the scandal as a human tragedy that an unusually talented man had inflicted entirely upon himself.

And while some were prepared to forgive him for the X-rated photos that he emailed, none could forget the lies that he had told them.

"The lesson is, tell the truth. What would have happened if he didn't lie?" says Rep. Bill Pascrell, a Democrat from New Jersey.  "If he had told us, 'Hey guys, I did some real stupid things,' we would have said, 'What did you do? Yeah, that's pretty stupid.'  But somehow he thought that this would all pass by and we would see the sun set and the sun rise the next morning.  Ain't gonna happen."

Eliot Engel, a fellow New York Democrat and friend of Weiner who spoke with him throughout the scandal, says that by lying to his fellow House members, Weiner had sealed his own fate.

"If you look at history, it was always the coverup that was more damaging than whatever someone may have done," Engel says.  "I think it certainly would have been easier for him to stay [had he not lied]. It would have been a possibility."

As badly wounded as Weiner appeared Thursday, neither Pascrell, Engel, nor a half dozen other Democrats interviewed by The Daily Beast said they believe that Weiner's mistakes are fatal to his career.

With nearly $5 million in his campaign account and no apparent legal action in the works, colleagues say Weiner could still mount a run for mayor of New York or try his hand at punditry.

"Eliot Spitzer is now on TV," says Engel, referring to the former New York governor and his CNN program. "I never put anything past Anthony… I think he'll land on his feet."

But Pascrell says Weiner has more pressing issues to take care of before plotting his next move in politics or television.

"He's got to be caught up in the idea of making amends," Pascrell said.  "And if he's not, then he's more stupid than the things that he just did."

Like The Daily Beast on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for updates all day long.

Patricia Murphy is a writer in Washington, D.C., where she covers Congress and politics.

For inquiries, please contact The Daily Beast at editorial@thedailybeast.com.

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AP source: House Dems to meet about Weiner case (AP)

WASHINGTON – House Democratic leaders are planning to meet Thursday to consider the next step in handling the scandal embroiling Rep. Anthony Weiner.

Weiner is resisting calls to resign. He has acknowledged sending sexually explicit messages and suggestive photos of himself to various women and then lying about it. The New York congressman has taken a two-week leave from the House and is reported to be in treatment at an undisclosed location.

A House aide described the leadership meeting set for Thursday on condition of anonymity because officials had not authorized a public discussion of their plans.

House Democratic leaders could decide to strip Weiner of his committee assignments and could take other actions to punish him.

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Weiner Resignation Up to Constituents, Not Democratic Party (ContributorNetwork)

COMMENTARY | After a week of denials followed by a tearful news conference admission that he sent lewd pictures over twitter to a woman in Seattle, Rep. Weiner is not resigning nor his constituents wants him to. He is and has been the front and center of the liberal cause, defending it, pushing it and exposing the GOP agenda the way he should.

He is better known for his passionate speeches in the floor of the house and his television appearances where he is not afraid to present the issues the way the democratic base wants to hear it, that is why he is one of a kind and shouldn't resign.

The congressman has been a rising star and is married to a long time Hillary Clinton aide, Huma Abedin. He is passionate in the causes he supports, which included the health care act and the recently passed bill for 9/11 first responders. He is a voice to many on left who felt that the president had compromised too much and under achieved his signature Health Care Act, the Financial reform Act, and extended the Bush tax cuts to the rich.

Thus, his resignation, if it ever arrives, will deprive the Democratic base someone who did not abandon the liberal cause, and energizes them to coalesce against the Republicans whom they feel too much was ceded to.

New pictures emerged Sunday and were posted on the TMZ gossip news website. These pictures, which appear to have been taken in the House of Representatives gymnasium, could be harmful and might bring more pressure for him to resign. AFP reported Sunday that Democrats stepped up their call for him to resign in light of the new photos that emerged, which might serve as a proof that he used Congressional resources to send lewd pictures online.

Rep. Weiner announced Saturday he was taking a short leave of absence to seek treatment. The announcement came after the emergence of yet another text messages he sent to a 17-year-old girl. Police in New Castle, Del., confirmed that they interviewed the teenager and deemed no harm was done. Parents of the teenager expressed concern that the congressman sent private messages to their daughter.

"It seems to me extraordinarily difficult that he can proceed to represent his constituents in an effective way given the circumstances this bizarre behavior has led to" the number two House Democratic leader Hoyer told CBS's "Face the Nation" program this morning. Democratic leaders jumped on the band wagon to call for his resignation at the end of the week.

It remains to be seen if Rep. Weiner will be able to hold on to his office and his aspirations to become the next mayor of New York. A lot will also depend on how his constituents' opinion shifts in the coming days. If his constituents want him to serve that is what he should do and not crack under the pressure. It is up to the people of the 9th congressional district of New York to make the call for him to resign if they choose so, and not the leaders of the Democratic Party.

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Weiner Refusal to Resign Distracts Democrats (ContributorNetwork)

COMMENTARY | The public distractions of New York Congressman Anthony Weiner are hurting the Democrat brand. What else could turn new Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz from the cautious language she used when the scandal first broke?

The official DNC version is now clear from Wasserman's comments on Sunday's edition of "Meet the Press." After calling Weiner's photo tweeting indulgences a "personal matter" two weeks ago, Wasserman Schultz was blunt: "We have made clear that he (Weiner) needs to resign. He needs to focus on getting his own personal issues in order, focus on his family and do the right thing for his constituents."

The complete life plan for Weiner, compliments of the DNC. First, Weiner must resign. Second, Weiner must receive treatment for his "personal issues." Thirdly, the congressman should "do the right thing for his constituents."

Adding to the weight of opinion of the DNC chair was the strong condemnation of President Barack Obama in an interview with NBC's Ann Curry.

"Obviously, what he did was highly inappropriate. He's embarrassed himself -- he's embarrassed his wife and his family. If it was me, I'd resign," said the president.

Not only did top Democrats lay out a life plan for Weiner, the president's condemnations on NBC conjured the political equivalent of the "perp walk," that part of criminal procedure in which the accused is paraded before the television cameras.

What else could official Democrats do now but point the way out? The question continues to be a large distraction for Democrats as the president faces issues like the debt ceiling, jobs and unemployment, Middle East instability, and his own reelection campaign, to name just a few.

Yet, in every statement that comes from the growing list of Democrats who are urging Weiner to resign, there is a mild sort of disclaimer added on.

"Ultimately there's going to be a decision for him and his constituents," said President Obama.

In other words, Weiner could continue to brazen it out, go to some sort of therapy wherein he faces his personal issues, and then declare himself cured and ready once more to serve his constituents.

From the human side, that would be acceptable to some people. On the political side, it's dangerous to the Democrat's re-election plans. Democrats may call for Weiner's resignation but they must also prepare for the possibility that he could stay.

Weiner's constituency is a small but highly committed coalition of left-liberal and blue-collar New Yorkers who are angry at the Democrats' official line. This faction takes the psychological rather than moral view that Weiner's problems stem from relatively unimportant personality issues which can be remediated.

Weiner's official supporters may be dwindling, but there is anger among some loyalists, who can be described more as tribal than political.

Weiner is one of the city's progeny. He spent his toddler years in a controversial Queens housing project called Rochdale Village Mitchell-Lama, was raised in Brooklyn, educated in the public schools, and ultimately became the protege of New York's better known Congressman Chuck Schumer.

Yet, nowhere is winning in the rat race held in higher esteem than in New York City. New York Democrats want badly to win. It is inevitable that Weiner will end up "under the bus," along with other fallen competitors.

Anthony Ventre is a freelance writer who has written for several weekly and daily newspapers, for Demand Studios, and for AOL Online. He is a frequent Yahoo contributor, concentrating in news and financial writing.

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Anthony Weiner says he will take leave of absence, seek ‘treatment’ as scandal grows (The Ticket)

Just hours after three leading Democrats called on him to resign, Rep. Anthony Weiner announced he will take a leave of absence from Congress and enter a treatment program.

Saturday began with a major blow to Weiner's chances for survival, as  House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Democratic National Committee chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Rep. Steve Israel, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, all issued statements urging Weiner to leave Congress.

Shortly after, Weiner's office announced that the embattled New York Democrat had decided to enter a treatment program, saying he "needs this time to get healthy and make the best possible decision" about his future.

"Congressman Weiner departed this morning to seek professional treatment to focus on becoming a better husband and healthier person," Weiner's office announced. "In light of that, he will request a short leave of absence from the House of Representatives so that he can get evaluated and map out a course of treatment to make himself well."

It's unclear what type of treatment Weiner is seeking, but Democrats hinted it's not enough to overcome the scandal and urged him to resign.

"It is with great disappointment that I call on Rep. Anthony Weiner to resign," Wasserman Schultz's statement read. "The behavior he has exhibited is indefensible and [his] continued service in Congress is untenable.  This sordid affair has become an unacceptable distraction for Rep. Weiner, his family, his constituents and the House--and for the good of all, he should step aside and address those things that should be most important--his and his family's well-being."

The developments came a day after it was revealed Delaware police questioned a 17-year-old girl about her Twitter exchanges with the embattled lawmaker. Weiner insisted late Friday his dealings with the girl were "neither explicit nor indecent"—a statement the girl's family backed up in an interview with the New York Times. But apparently the report was the final straw for Weiner's Democratic colleagues, who say they can no longer defend the disgraced congressman.

Pelosi, who initiated an House ethics investigation into Weiner's activities earlier this week, had refused as late as yesterday to call for her colleague's resignation. But she, too, reversed course Saturday.

"Congressman Weiner has the love of his family, the confidence of his constituents, and the recognition that he needs help," Pelosi said. "I urge Congressman Weiner to seek that help without the pressures of being a Member of Congress."

Israel, a fellow New York Democrat, also called his for colleague to resign, saying Weiner's "inappropriate behavior has become an insurmountable distraction to the House and our work for the American people."

The decision of all three Democratic leaders to go public with their resignation calls simultaneously is a strong hint that back-channel efforts among party officials to convince Weiner to leave Congress on his own have failed.

Weiner has repeatedly insisted he won't leave Congress, citing the support of his constituents and his wife, Huma Abedin. On Monday, the New York Democrat admitted he'd lied about risqué online relationships with six women he had met on Facebook and Twitter.

(Photo of Weiner: David Karp/AP)

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Democrats hoping Rep. Weiner will quit on his own (AP)

By ANDREW MIGA and LARRY MARGASAK, Associated Press Andrew Miga And Larry Margasak, Associated Press – Tue Jun 14, 9:18 pm ET

WASHINGTON – House Democrats are counting on growing pressure from Rep. Anthony Weiner's colleagues, a suggestion from the president and the return of Weiner's pregnant wife from an overseas trip to persuade him to resign over a sexting scandal in which he sent lewd photos of himself and messages to several women.

The House's top Republican, Speaker John Boehner, joined the chorus of Democrats calling for the New York Democrat to quit. House Democrats went behind closed doors for their regular party meeting, but they decided against taking action against Weiner in hopes that he'll resign soon.

A fellow member of Weiner's New York Democratic delegation, Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, said before the meeting, "Hopefully, we are hearing he might resign in a couple of days."

When she emerged later, she added: "He's waiting for his wife to come home. That's what we're hearing from his friends."

Weiner's wife, State Department official Huma Abedin, is due back from an overseas trip early Wednesday with her boss, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. Weiner, meanwhile, has sought treatment at an undisclosed location and has been granted a two-week leave of absence from Congress.

The House Democratic leader, Nancy Pelosi, made the suggestion again after the meeting, saying she wanted to make sure nobody missed her earlier resignation call while members were on a weeklong recess. Pelosi said she concluded that "with the love of his family, the confidence of his constituents and the need for help ... Congressman Weiner should resign from the Congress."

Rep. Sander Levin, D-Mich., said: "I think we should send a strong message to him that he should resign, and let's see what happens. The more of us who say it, the more telling it will be."

But even as top Democrats tried to pressure Weiner into resigning, Sen. Chuck Schumer, New York's senior senator and the Senate's No. 3 Democrat, has not taken a stand on whether the seven-term congressman, a longtime friend, should resign.

Asked Tuesday about whether he would support whatever Weiner's decides about his political future — even if he decides to stay — Schumer focused his comments on the personal side of Weiner's plight.

"As I said this weekend, those of us who have been friends with Anthony Weiner for a very long time feel his wrongful behavior is distressing, saddening and heartbreaking," Schumer told reporters. "It's clear he needs professional help. That's what he sought. And that's all I'm going to say."

Schumer, Weiner's political mentor, gave Weiner his first job on Capitol Hill when Schumer was a congressman.

Boehner had been content to let Democrats wrestle with the embarrassing scandal, but when asked Tuesday whether Weiner should resign, responded: "Yes."

Rep. Rob Andrews, D-N.J., said after the Democratic meeting that 95 percent of it concerned energy prices. Andrews said there was no discussion of stripping Weiner of his assignment on the Energy and Commerce Committee, a possibility Pelosi had mentioned Monday night.

President Barack Obama spoke bluntly about Weiner in an interview that aired Tuesday.

"I can tell you that if it was me, I would resign," Obama told NBC's "Today" show. In a rare foray into a congressman's ethical conduct, Obama said Weiner's actions were "highly inappropriate."

"I think he's embarrassed himself," the president said. "He's acknowledged that. He's embarrassed his wife and his family. Ultimately, there's going to be a decision for him and his constituents. I can tell you that, if it was me, I would resign."

The cascade of raunchy photos and other revelations about the 46-year-old married congressman has been a distraction for Democrats seeking an edge as they look ahead to the 2012 elections. Besides Pelosi, several other Democrats have called for Weiner to quit, including party chairwoman Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla.

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Porn actress: Weiner asked me to lie about talks (AP)

NEW YORK – A former porn actress who said she exchanged emails and messages over Twitter with New York Rep. Anthony Weiner said Wednesday that he asked her to lie about their online communications.

Ginger Lee said she and Weiner exchanged about 100 emails between March and June, beginning after Lee posted a supportive statement about the congressman on her blog. She said they mostly discussed politics, but he would often turn the conversation to sex.

"'I have wardrobe demands too. I need to highlight my package,'" Weiner wrote Lee, in an email read aloud at the news conference by Lee's attorney, Gloria Allred.

Weiner acknowledged last week that he had sent lewd photos and texts to women after a photo of his crotch was posted on Twitter. In an interview two weeks ago, he acknowledged that he had exchanged messages with Lee but didn't elaborate.

Lee said she did not send sexually suggestive messages to Weiner.

"Anytime that he would take our communications in a sexual direction, I did not reciprocate," she said.

Weiner sent Lee an email after the photo of his crotch was sent out on his Twitter account, and "he asked me to lie" about their contact, she said.

Lee said she put out a three-sentence statement on the matter at his request. She said she then went into hiding and on June 2, he called her and told her to avoid press.

She said she was coming forward now to tell the truth and to deny reports that she was in an online sexual relationship with him.

Allred is a Los Angeles attorney who has represented figures in high-profile sex scandals, including a woman who said she was a girlfriend of Tiger Woods and a former child actress who said she had an affair with former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

A Weiner spokeswoman did not immediately return a request for comment. Weiner has taken a two-week leave from the House, in treatment for an undisclosed disorder at an undisclosed location.

House Democratic colleagues are looking for him to step down this week amid a growing chorus for him to resign. Even President Barack Obama has suggested he should leave.

Adding to the drama, Weiner's pregnant wife, Huma Abedin, returned Wednesday from a trip to Africa with her boss, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

A fellow member of Weiner's New York Democratic delegation, Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, said she's heard from Weiner's friends that the congressman was waiting for his wife to come home before making any decisions about his political future. McCarthy also cited talk among Weiner's friends about the possibility he could resign this week.

House Democrats huddled behind closed doors Tuesday for their regular party meeting, but they decided against taking action against Weiner in hopes that he'll resign soon.

The House Democratic leader, Nancy Pelosi, reiterated her call for Weiner to quit, saying after the meeting that she wanted to make sure nobody missed her earlier resignation call while members were on a weeklong recess.

Rep. Sander Levin, D-Mich., said: "I think we should send a strong message to him that he should resign, and let's see what happens. The more of us who say it, the more telling it will be."

House Speaker John Boehner, a Republican, had been content to let Democrats wrestle with the embarrassing scandal, but when asked Tuesday whether Weiner should resign, he responded, "Yes."

The furor over sexually suggestive photos and other revelations about the 46-year-old congressman has been a distraction for Democrats seeking momentum as they gear up for the 2012 elections. Besides Pelosi, several other Democrats have called for Weiner to quit, including the party chairwoman, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla.

___

Associated Press writer Andrew Miga in Washington contributed to this report.

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Pelosi Calls on Anthony Weiner to Resign (The Atlantic Wire)

The top Democratic leaders, including House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, have called on Rep. Anthony Weiner to resign in the midst of his sex scandal. Pelosi and the chairs of the Democratic National Committee, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Steve Israel, released statements within minutes of each other Saturday, Politico reports.

Related: Pelosi Calls for Weinergate Investigation

“Congressman Weiner has the love of his family, the confidence of his constituents, and the recognition that he needs help,” Pelosi said. “I urge Congressman Weiner to seek that help without the pressures of being a Member of Congress.” Israel said, “Anthony’s inappropriate behavior has become an insurmountable distraction to the House and our work for the American people. With a heavy heart, I call on Anthony to resign.” Finally, Wasserman Schultz, surrogate for President Obama in her role as DNC chairman, said “the behavior he has exhibited is indefensible and Representative Weiner’s continued service in Congress is untenable.”

Related: Will Weiner Resign? Half of New Yorkers Hope So

Meanwhile, Rep. Weiner has admitted to sending direct twitter messages to a 17-year-old girl, but denied that anything was inappropriate. According to the New York Post, he said, "Nothing explicit. Nothing indecent. Absolutely nothing inappropriate." The direct messages in question have yet to be released. This is what we know so far.

The girl's mother, whose name is being withheld, told The Post Wednesday that Weiner sent nothing obscene — and sent only two brief messages to her daughter about seeing him during an April school trip to the Capitol.

The mom did say her daughter wrote in one message, "I'm in love with you," but explained it away with, "She's 17."

However, Politico reports that in one message, Weiner described himself as being like Superman, saying, “I came back strong. Large. Tights and cape. …” It was not clear what the reference was about. Nonetheless, this new investigation, and the possibility of more, may have been the final straw for the leading Democrats. According to Politico, their joint statement adds "tremendous pressure to the New York Democrat to abandon his position that he will remain in office."

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More Top-Ranking Democrats Call for Weiner to Step Down (ContributorNetwork)

If the Anthony Weiner Twitter photo scandal has taught the public anything, it is that politicians can sometimes be as reckless as professional sports heroes and celebrities when it comes to the use of modern technology. It has also reinforced the maxim that once something has gone to the Internet, it is there forever. And it is with that last note of neverending-ness that members of Congressman Weiner's own party have come to view with a sense of impending and mounting horror -- and Republicans are seeing as an opportunity.

Bad enough that Rep. Weiner's exchanges with at least six women surfaced as part of an admission to lying about a Twitter photo he had sent to a 22-year-old college student in Washington. It was bad enough when it was discovered that he had had racy conversations with a known porn star. And the news got a little worse when it was reported that his wife of less than a year, Huma Abedin, was with child. And then there was an explicit photo of Weiner as well...

But Weiner allowed that he had made mistakes, admitted to the sexting and he inappropriate conversations, and noted that some of those social networking relationships had occurred before he was married. But, he said, he had done nothing wrong with regard to his official position as a New York Congressman. He said he would not resign.

But that was before the story took what might be considered a more unsavory turn for the worse. Congressman Weiner, according to Fox News, had also become the focus of an investigation into Twitter exchanges between himself and a 17-year-old Delaware female. Although the teen told police she and the legislator had had no inappropriate contact and Rep. Weiner issued a statement admitting to five exchanges where nothing "explicit nor indecent" was relayed, the investigation remains open.

Democrats understandably want the matter to disappear. With potential presidential candidates like Newt Gingrich verbally torpedoing Republican legislation (telling NBC's "Meet The Press" that Rep. Paul Ryan's Medicare provisions in the House-passed 2012 budget was "radical" and "social engineering") and making embarrassing gaffes (Sarah Palin went awry with a history lesson on Paul Revere), Democrats were happy with some distraction from the disastrous news filtering in about joblessness and the sluggish economy. But Rep. Wiener's Twitter photo and the subsequent scandal erased all that.

It also erased any feelings of moral superiority Democrats might have been feeling since the news that the case of Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., where the senator's two-year extramarital affair with a campaign staffer led to suspicions of other violations of trust, had been referred to the Justice Department. Also erased: moral superiority over the fall of married Rep. Chris Lee, R-N.Y., after the publication of a photo he sent a woman contacted from Craigslist's "Women Looking For Men" forum.

While many Republicans, such as Republican National Committee chairman Reince Preibus and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, have called for Weiner's resignation, their basic stance has been to register moral outrage and let the story run its course. Why? Because the longer Weinergate dominates the political discourse, the longer Republicans have to gain distance from the embarrassments, the undermining comments and gaffes, and the situations that have hurt their standing and ability to move their agenda forward. It can also be seen as a potential opportunity for Republicans to recoup the recent surprising loss of New York's 26th District, especially if the Weiner eventually steps down.

But the distracting respite for Republicans might be nearing an end. Most of the Democratic Party leadership are now calling for Rep. Weiner's resignation. House Minority leader Nancy Pelosi, who had previously called for an ethics investigation into Weiner's scandal and said that his resignation was up to him and his constituents, said Saturday, according to the New York Times, that she now believes that Weiner should step down. She joined Democratic National Committee chairman Tim Kaine and Democratic National Party chairwoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz in calling for his resignation.

And the investigation into the 17-year-old Delaware girl just might be the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back.

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Democratic leaders warned Weiner about calls for resignation (Daily Caller)

Following criticism that Democratic party leaders had waited too long to call for a resignation from New York Rep. Anthony Weiner, Roll Call reports that the statements from yesterday came after days of behind-the-scenes attempt to persuade Weiner to step down.

According to Roll Call, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi first thought Weiner needed to resign after his Monday press conference (during which he came clean after a period of lying and question-dodging) went awry. Weiner had called Pelosi just prior to taking the stage to field questions from reporters, and she told him he needed to tell the truth before they could determine the next step.

After days of applied pressure, party leaders individually called Weiner on Saturday morning to give him one final chance to step down before the party would go into attack mode. He refused.

Weiner did propose a leave of absence, during which he would seek “professional help,” but Pelosi told him that wouldn’t be good enough. Weiner also hinted at a possible resignation after the leave, but that wouldn’t have been satisfactory to top Democrats either.

(Wasserman Schultz, Pelosi call on Weiner to resign)

By the time news broke that Weiner had been communicating online with a female high school student from Delaware, the decision to send out party leaders to call for resignation was “already made,” a Democratic aide told Roll Call.

Though Weiner hasn’t responded to the statements yesterday from Pelosi, DNC chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chairman Steve Israel, he hasn’t shown any indication that he plans to resign.

Roll Call also reports that Weiner isn’t an easy Member to push out of office. He’s done nothing illegal or explicitly against House rules (though an ethics investigation has been called for). And he isn’t dependent on the party for campaign money; he has his own large network of donors.

Read more stories from The Daily Caller

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Gym Rat: Weiner exercises photographic indiscretion at the gym too

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Weiner Scandal Brings Unity and Strength to Democrats (ContributorNetwork)

COMMENTARY | As someone who worked for years in and around the political community, I have found myself following the trials and tribulations that have come from the scandal that Rep. Anthony Weiner is stuck in the middle of. Some commentators may think the issues caused by this scandal are hurting the Democrats, but I have to disagree. I think the Democrats are showing unity and strength in how they are distancing themselves from Weiner and calling for his resignation.

As this scandal began to progress and grow, I fully expected to hear Democratic leaders try to get out of questions about the issue. I expected to hear Democrats saying "This is a very trying time for Anthony and his family, and I would hope that the media would give them the space that they need to deal with this issue." I was surprised with what ended up happening, though.

At first, Democrats began to distance themselves from their embattled partner in Congress. When Rep. Nancy Pelosi came out and asked for Weiner's resignation I just about hit the floor. President Barack Obama's recent comments about how he would resign if he was in Weiner's position cemented in my mind that the Democrats were unifying and making power moves at the right time.

You might remember that most Democrats were trying to support President Bill Clinton during his scandal with Monica Lewinsky. They unified to try to make sure the impeachment process did not go through. Any Democrats in Congress that did not join hand-in-hand with the rest of the party were ostracized. At this time, though, Weiner is the one being ostracized for what he did.

Right now, the Democrats are attempting to show they know what Weiner did was wrong, and that they believe that his position as a leader is forfeit. By pressing him to resign, the Democrats are showing they should not hold any responsibility or weight for what he did, and the scandal that has ensued. This is the best move going into such an important election year. Everyone knows that this scandal will come up during the election process, but the Democrats can stand behind the fact that they did what they could to make Weiner pay for what he did.

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DNC Chair Lands Double Standard Smackdown on RNC Chair Over Weiner (ContributorNetwork)

Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus found out quickly Sunday on NBC's "Meet The Press" that Democratic National Committee chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz was nobody to underestimate, even in a case of defending actions made regarding the scandal of Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y., whose ongoing Twitter photo and sext message scandal has caused great consternation within his own political party. Priebus also discovered that making statements in an ideological fight should be made when one's remarks are defensible.

David Gregory, host of "Meet The Press," asked Wasserman Schultz why she called for Weiner's resignation Saturday, a move that was echoed by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. She noted she had given the besieged congressman time to "do the right thing, make a decision, reach the conclusion that he needed to step back, and step down on his own." She added that, since he had not done so by Saturday, she felt the need to "weigh in."

Priebus went on the attack, stating it was a "question of leadership" and that Weiner had turned Washington "and this country into a three-ring circus." He added for good measure, "We've got leadership and a Democratic Party that are defending a guy that deserves no defense."

Wasserman Schultz immediately went on the offensive, refusing to grant Priebus his assumed moral high ground. Stating Priebus' statement couldn't pass the "straight-face test," pointing out that it came "from a chair of a party none of whose leaders called for Senator Vitter, who actually broke the law, to resign, who is still serving (in) office."

Sen. David Vitter, R-La., was involved in a scandal in 2007 where he solicited a prostitute.

But the DNC chairwoman wasn't done. She spoke about Sen. John Ensign, who resigned in May, and his two-year affair with a campaign staffer that made national headlines. The matter has become part of a Justice Department investigation as well. "You never called for his resignation, so it's a double standard and it's unacceptable," she observed.

When Gregory asked the RNC chairman for a response, he said he was not "defending these men" and quickly changed the subject to President Barack Obama and the economy.

The Weiner scandal began when a blogger Andrew Breitbart posted a racy Twitter photo of a man in bulging underwear and alleged the image to be that of the married congressman. After a week of denials, Weiner announced he had lied and that not only was the photo of him, he had sent the photo. He also admitted to sexual conversations with women outside his marriage but nothing illegal -- and that he would not be resigning. Pelosi immediately called for an ethics committee investigation (characterized by Priebus as an attempt to try to save Weiner's job).

But it was the surfacing of an explicit photo of Weiner and an investigation into the private messages sent a Delaware teen that pushed the Democratic leadership into forcefully calling for Weiner's resignation. Several Republicans, Democrats and former DNC chairman Tim Kaine had called for his resignation earlier in the week. Kaine stated that Weiner's lies were "unforgivable."

Weiner announced plans to go into a psychological treatment facility Saturday, according to the Atlantic Wire, and said he would take a leave of absence from his congressional duties. It is as yet uncertain if he plans to heed the call of his Party leader, Wasserman Schultz, and resign.

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Key House Democrat urges Anthony Weiner to resign (The Ticket)

Anthony Weiner's political future looks increasingly in doubt.

Two more Democrats—Sen. Mark Pryor of Arkansas and Rep. Allyson Schwartz of Pennsylvania—called on the embattled New York Democrat to resign.

Schwartz is notable because she's a top official at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, where she oversees candidate recruitment for House Democrats. She's the first member of the House Democratic leadership to call on Weiner to resign.

"Having the respect of your constituents is fundamental for a member of Congress," Schwartz said in a statement to Politico's Jonathan Allen. "In light of Anthony Weiner's offensive behavior online, he should resign."

Her comments came as yet another explicit photo that Weiner allegedly sent to one of his online paramours was posted online.

As The Ticket previously reported, former Democratic National Committee chairman Tim Kaine, who is running for Senate in Virginia, was the first member o the party to publicly urge Weiner to step down.

So far, the New York congressman has remained silent—though he's reportedly making apologetic calls to his fellow Dems in hopes of surviving the scandal.

(Photo of Weiner: Andrew Burton/Getty Images)

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Democrats, Donors, Clintons: Everyone's Mad at Weiner (The Atlantic Wire)

After Rep. Anthony Weiner apologized for his digital indiscretions, she demanded, "How can you explain that somebody can be so smart but so stupid?" The outraged woman on the phone call was not Weiner's wife, but Rep. Nydia Velázquez, a fellow New York Democrat. Her reaction reflected the shock and anger many of Weiner's Democratic colleagues felt as the congressman spent the day after his humiliating press conference apologizing to them, The New York Times' Michael Barbaro and David W. Chen report. Some House Democrats worry that more embarrassing revelations are still to come. If Weiner stays in his seat, he will do it without many allies, as his donors, colleagues, and even the Clintons are mad at him.

While Republicans have called on Weiner to quit, so far most Democrats have not done so explicitly. But they're not defending him either: When asked whether Weiner should resign, Velázquez responded by saying, "The most important thing in this business is credibility." Likewise, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said, "I wish there was some way I can defend him, but I can't." Bill Clinton, who is close to Weiner's wife, an aide to Hillary Clinton, is "deeply unhappy" with Weiner's behavior, the Times reports. The Hill's Mike Lillis reports that House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is especially annoyed, having promised in 2006 to "drain the swamp" following several embarrassing scandals, including Mark Foley's dirty instant messages to congressional pages. And Weiner doesn't have many allies to talk down angry colleagues: A former aide to House Democratic leaders told Lillis, "There was no Anthony Weiner base."

More worrisome for Weiner: some Democrats have talked to former city councilman Eric Gioia to see if he'd be interested in launching a primary campaign against Weiner. Gioia is open to the idea. Though the 2012 election is a ways off, the House ethics investigation into Weiner's conduct could last several months, keeping the memory of the scandal fresh for any opponent to capitalize on.

Weiner's campaign donors are furious because Weiner assured them that the underwear Twitter photo that started it all was the product of a "vast right-wing conspiracy." He assured them "Everything is going to be fine." One donor said, "I'm just hoping this doesn't get worse."

Still, Weiner hasn't budged. When surprised by reporters Tuesday night, Weiner again insisted he's not going to quit.

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Can Weiner politically survive #Weinergate? (Daily Caller)

The question on everyone’s mind in Washington right now is whether or not Rep. Anthony Weiner, New York Democrat, can politically survive the #Weinergate scandal. Many are speculating he’ll resign, and the Democratic Party’s leadership, including House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and DNC chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz haven’t been out front defending him.

Conservative publisher Andrew Breitbart said he thinks Weiner’s future is already foretold. “I think that last week the absence of his natural supporters from his side foretells what is going to happen next,” Breitbart told The Daily Caller. “I don’t think there’s a lot of support for him right now. What value he brought to the table right now has evaded as he can no longer serve his purpose due to his toxicity.”

Breitbart published much more evidence damning Weiner on Monday, and when TheDC asked if he had more, he said, “Oh yes.”

“I don’t have a definitive answer [as to specifically what’s next],” Breitbart said. “I’m going to meet with this woman [the anonymous woman who sent him photos and emails from Weiner] right now in person and we will decide how she wants to proceed.”

(#Weinergate: More come forward with lewd Weiner communications)

Breitbart hinted that he thinks Weiner’s political future looks grim at best.

“I believe that the elders of the Democratic Party will make a utilitarian decision [on whether to keep Weiner or not] based on whether or not he has any future as a warrior on behalf of the leftist cause,” he told TheDC. “I think that this decision was foretold when the party elders chose not to stand by him last week when his peril.”

Rep. Weiner has planned a press conference to address the ongoing scandal today at 4pm EST. This is a breaking news update. This story will continue to be updated.

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Key Democrat Calls on Weiner to Quit (The Atlantic Wire)

Democratic Rep. Allyson Schwartz called on Anthony Weiner to quit Congress Wednesday, saying "having the respect of your constituents is fundamental for a member of Congress. In light of Anthony Weiner's offensive behavior online, he should resign." Schwartz has an important recruitment position with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, so her statement "is widely regarded as a sign that the party leadership has decided it's time for Weiner to leave the House," The Washington Post's Chris Cillizza writes. Two other Democratic lawmakers, Sen. Mark Pryor and Rep. Mike Michaud, have said Weiner should go, as has former Democratic National Committee chair Tim Kaine. Weiner says he's staying put because he hasn't broken any laws.

Democrats want the story to go away, but it will be difficult to get rid of him with out a full House vote to expel him. Yet even as Weiner is refusing to walk away from his seat, some of his staffers are looking for other jobs, Politico's Jonathan Allen reports. Some liberal websites are coming to the New Yorker's defense, like ActBlue, which says it's seen an increase in $40 donations for Weiner. But one pro-Weiner page on the site, titled "Breitbart Has Won NOTHING: Donations for Weiner," has pulled in a single $25 contribution.

One more reason Weiner is struggling is that he hasn't made many allies. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg told the New York Post's Cindy Adams, "Notice, nobody's defended Anthony. Like Spitzer, he had no friends."

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