News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Tues. June 7, 2011: A U.S. congressman who adamantly defended a lewd photo that appeared of Twitter last week as a hacking of his account, on Monday did an about face – admitting to the media and his constituents that it was his weiner after all.
New York Congressman, Rep. Anthony Weiner, tearfully admitted at a news conference that the underwear-clad erection sent to a college age woman via Twitter was indeed his, and he sent it. The seven-term married congressman also admitted that he had sent multiple inappropriate messages to multiple women.
The surprise admission came after he repeatedly lied about the Tweet last week, even angrily calling a CNN producer a “jackass.”
“The picture was of me, and I sent it,” Weiner admitted Monday. “I am deeply ashamed.”
He called the action “a very dumb thing to do,” “a hugely regrettable mistake” and “destructive.”
Still he insisted he would not resign.
“I don’t believe I did anything that violates any law or any rule,” said Weiner, who also said he didn’t think he had used any government resources to send the messages, specifying that he used his personal BlackBerry for the interactions. “I don’t see anything I did that violated any rules of the House. I don’t see anything that violated my oath of office to uphold the Constitution.”
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, (D-Calif.), who he said had urged him to tell the whole truth, called on the House ethics committee to conduct an investigation into his case.
Weiner, 46, is married to Huma Abedin, a close aide of Hillary Rodham Clinton’s.
