Hothead Anthony Weiner's Meltdown at Brooklyn Bakery

One of these days Anthony Weiner will be long forgotten, but for the moment he keeps laying down the drama.

Video is here, "Anthony Weiner, NYC Mayor Candidate FIGHT, Jewish Heckler, calls him " JackASS " - FULL/ transcript." Also, "Anthony Weiner Discusses His Confrontation With Voter."

And at the New York Times, "Weiner vs. Heckler in a Brooklyn Bakery":

Just when Anthony D. Weiner seemed to be fading from public view — his poll numbers sagging, his entourage of supporters dwindling — he walked into a bakery in Brooklyn.

Mr. Weiner, a Democratic candidate for mayor, was nibbling on a cheese danish during a campaign stop on Wednesday when a man began hurling insults in his direction. The man said Mr. Weiner was a “scumbag” and went after Mr. Weiner’s wife, Huma Abedin, saying Mr. Weiner was “married to an Arab.” Several times, he called Mr. Weiner “disgusting” for sending lewd pictures to women online.

Mr. Weiner, still chewing, turned irate.

“You’re a perfect person?” he said, pointing his finger in the man’s face. “What rabbi taught you that you’re my judge?”

The man interjected. “You’re a bad example for the people,” he said. “Your behavior’s deviant.”

He advised Mr. Weiner to “stay out of the public, go home and get a job.”

Mr. Weiner, however, would not let up...

And so it goes...

More at the Other McCain, "Your Behavior Is Deviant,’ Jewish Voter Tells Disgraced Anthony Weiner."

Representative Anthony Weiner Twitter Underwear Scandal! — UPDATED!

The Twitter timeline looks pretty incriminating, via Joe Brooks.

And at Big Government, "Weinergate: Congressman Claims “Facebook Hacked” As Lewd Photo Hits Twitter" (via Memeorandum).

That's gotta be the most idiotic stunt ever, the more so for a Member of Congress.

Commentary at Sister Toldjah, "Did Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) mistakenly Tweet a photo of his … um …", and Doug Ross, "Anthony's Weiner Makes Underwhelming Twitter Debut":

Anthony's Weiner needs to resign from Congress immediately. It's the ethical thing to do. He won't, of course, because he's a shameless, power-hungry, Marxist hack like his mentor Chuck Schumer. He won't resign because it would be the ethical thing to do.

Weiner's Twitter feed is here.

Added: Don Surber has more:

Victim or Bret Favre wannabe?

Either way, the photo was hardly impressive.

And Lee Stranahan rounds up additional tweets from Representative Weiner: "Rep. Anthony Weiner Selectively Edits Himself."

UPDATE: Robert Stacy McCain has a beautiful roundup with updates: "Weiner’s Wiener? UPDATE: Who Is ‘Gennette Nicole’? UPDATE: Questions Piling Up" And Doug Ross has an epic post, "Photos: Anthony Weiner's Self-Proclaimed Girlfriend is a 21-Year Old Coed, only 25 Years Younger Than the Married Congressman." Also, Dan Riehl at Big Government, "Weinergate: Why Would Rep Weiner Care What Time It Was In Seattle?"

And lamestream outlets aren't reporting, although Weiner's wiener's fit for the tabloids. At New York Post, "Undies in a twist over 'Weiner wiener': Twitter pic a hack job, he says."

Anthony Weiner Investigation Forthcoming?

I'm not sure if the latest developments are all that significant. Anthony Weiner's probably safe for now, unless somebody with real power puts the pressure on for an investigation. A wonderfully clear and concise case for investigation is offered by Jack Ford, in his interview with the lovely Erica Hill at CBS News: "Jack Ford Speaks to Erica Hill." And a report from Nancy Cordes also at CBS hits on the key inconsistencies in Rep. Weiner's denials: "Anthony Weiner Avoids Denying Racy Pic Is of Him." That said, this tweet from Katie Couric powerfully condenses the abject failure of the mainstream press to take seriously dirtbag Democratic scandals. And that's just Couric. MSNBC's the left's institutional channel, and Weiner got yesterday's softball interview of the day with Rachel Maddow. NewsBusters has an analysis of the interview, with some video highlights: "Maddow Gets Weiner to Admit That Pickle in Twitter Pic Could Be His." Maddow's queries are nearly all open-ended and she specifically avoids asking the key question: Why hasn't Weiner gone to the authorities?

Weiner is completely at ease with Maddow, of course. Contrast that with Bret Baier's interview yesterday, where the issue of contacting the FBI nearly burst a couple of Weiner's vessels. So, we've hit the wall on this story unless new evidence emerges or the pressure builds on Weiner to really come clean. If Weiner's innocent, why is he acting so guilty? And from the Wall Street Jounal, "Police could figure out Weiner guilt or innocence":

NEW YORK — There's one way Rep. Anthony Weiner could show that he didn't send a salacious photo to a female college student from his Twitter account: Ask law enforcement to investigate.

The New York congressman has so far declined to ask for an investigation into the photo, saying it's not a worthy use of government resources. The U.S. Capitol Police said it would not launch an investigation unless requested.

In asking a private security firm to investigate instead, Weiner won't be able to prove his innocence by obtaining logs from Twitter showing where his account was accessed from. Twitter says it requires a subpoena or court order to hand over such information. A subpoena or court order would have to be initiated by police or the FBI, not private detectives.

The scandal, which erupted last weekend, has been fueled by Weiner's initial refusal to answer questions about it. Although he started explaining his side Wednesday in a series of media interviews, some of his answers were perplexing.

Weiner was clear about one thing: He says he didn't send the picture, which was addressed to one of his Twitter followers, identified by news outlets as Genette Cordova.

If he didn't send it, that points to someone else using his account at Twitter or at yFrog, the photo-sharing site that stored the picture, according to conservative website BigGovernment.com, which first reported on the tweet.

Sites such as Twitter usually keep logs of which Internet addresses are used to access an account, sort of like an online guestbook. It doesn't contain names, but these numerical Internet Protocol, or IP, addresses identify computers and phones.

That's really it. The rest is just partisan baloney at this point ...

RELATED: At The Other McCain, "#WeinerGate: Who Is @PatriotUSA76? @AndrewBreitbart Wants to Know."

Homosexuals Love Weiner!

Anthony Weiner came out for some gay pride love at the foreskin festival over the weekend.

At New York Magazine, "Anthony Weiner’s ‘Gay’ Pants Are the Talk of the Town." And the New York Post, "Anthony Weiner in bid for gay vote as Christine Quinn wins major endorsement."

A cock-waving adulterer? He should have the homosexual vote locked down!

More at Twitchy, "Outside Stonewall, Anthony Weiner photographed wearing pants."

New Anthony Weiner Sexting Allegations

As seen on Twitter yesterday, from Wayne Allyn Root:

I hear Anthony Weiner has a post-scandal problem. Word has it that he's back to his old ways. Sounds like Mayoral campaign has big problem.
— Wayne Allyn Root (@WayneRoot) July 23, 2013

Weiner Sex Scandal II. It will all be going public within hours. No one recovers from two sex scandals. Web site claims to have solid proof.
— Wayne Allyn Root (@WayneRoot) July 23, 2013

And at BuzzFeed, "No Comment From Weiner Camp On New Alleged Sex Chats."

Following the links there takes us to The Dirty, "EXCLUSIVE: Anthony Weiner Is A Sexual Predator Luring His Victims." But the site's not loading, due to heavy traffic, I'm sure. But check National Review, "A New Weiner Sex Scandal Brewing?" (via Memeorandum).

And at New York Magazine, "Anthony Weiner, or ‘Carlos Danger,’ Accused of Having Even More Cybersex After Scandal."

Okay, the Dirty's loading now. See, "EXCLUSIVE: Anthony Weiner SEX Messages Post Scandal With Another Woman, Not Huma Abedin, and "EXCLUSIVE: Anthony Weiner Is A Sexual Predator Luring His Victims."

Progressive Bloggers Are Anthony Weiner’s Biggest Defenders

At Politico, "Anthony Weiner’s defenders: Bloggers on the left":

Defenders of embattled Rep. Anthony Weiner are increasingly hard to find, but one place where he still has vocal allies is the liberal blogosphere.

On the web, some left-leaning writers are strenuously arguing that the Democrat should ride out the scandal and live to fight another day as a key liberal attack dog on the national scene ...

More at the link, but check out some of the examples:

Matt Yglesias, a blogger for Think Progress, wrote Tuesday that the Weiner scandal hasn’t changed his view of the positive congressman who, he noted, has been in politics for nearly three decades, since starting out as an intern in the office of then-Rep. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).

“The idea that we should regard this extensive record in the career to which Weiner has dedicated his entire adult life as somehow fake, and his after hours twittering as revealing his ‘real’ character just doesn’t make a ton of sense,” Yglesias said in a post that discussed Weiner’s admissions but not the fact that he lied about being hacked for more than a week.

Meanwhile, Andrew Sullivan, whose views can be tough to characterize as left or right, wrote soon after the press conference ended that he saw “little reason” for Weiner to resign. Maintaining online relationships with women who knew Weiner’s identity was “unwise, inappropriate, stupid,” Sullivan said. But, “[f]or a human being, it remains well within the bounds of, well, human.”

But with Weiner admitting his lies, Sullivan said, “[i]t would take a particularly pitiless person to pile on some more.”

Feminist writer Amanda Marcotte said Wednesday on one of The Nation’s blogs that while Weiner’s behavior might be relevant if she were considering whether to date him, it doesn’t impact his ability to serve in Congress. Stories about Weiner, she wrote, “should be relegated to the realm of ‘gossip,’ covered perhaps by the Gawker, and not ‘news’ and certainly not ‘scandal worth resigning over.’”

And he’s needed in Congress, Marcotte said.

“Weiner’s role right now is to be a bulldog for the left, to holler things that our overly cautious president is afraid to whisper. You need bulldogs, but some of the traits that come along with being a bulldog — carelessness and narcissism come to mind — work against you in a marriage,” she wrote. “I’m not ready to sacrifice people playing necessary roles just to make sure everyone’s as nice a husband as Barack Obama appears to be. And it’s definitely not our job to decide for Huma Abedin what kind of consequences her husband should face for betraying her.”

Marcotte isn’t alone in her view that Weiner should ride out the storm.

Keep reading. Joan Walsh is also mentioned. And recall that Walsh, in her recent essay, said that was she'd had enough (and wouldn't take about it if things changed) after some progressives suggested that if Huma was cool with it, then Weiner should stay in Congress.

Image Credit: American Glob, "Daily KOS: Weiner’s Press Conference Was FAKE!!"

Anthony Weiner Transcripts: Lurid Sex Talk Revealed

At New York Post, "Weiner's exchanges between teacher, teen revealed" (via Memeorandum).

Weinergate took a lurid new direction with the disclosure yesterday that Rep. Anthony Weiner invited a "hot sexy baby" to an X-rated date via the Skype network, which provides text, talk and video chats.

Racy new e-mails -- sent just a month ago -- detail exchanges between Weiner and Traci Nobles, the 34-year-old Georgia teacher and cheerleading coach who has surfaced as his fifth sexting partner.

"i cant stop thinking about you. I'm touching myself as we speak. i want you inside of me. i need to see you mr. congressman. please don't disappoint me!" Nobles wrote on May 5, according to Radar Online.

Weiner, who had corresponded with the woman since August, replied the next day: "Please understand i am a very important man. I'm always busy but i promise i will make time for you soon! Don't the pictures I send keep you satisfied?"

The following day Weiner suggested they take it to another level:

"So i will make sure to keep some time open so we can have a cyber session via skype. Does that make my hot sexy baby happy?"

Hours after the e-mails were unearthed, Delaware cops descended on the home of a 17-year-old high school junior to ask her about online communications she had with Weiner.

The transcript is here.

And Zombie takes note that during the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal in 1998, MoveOn.org was created with the goal of "censuring and moving on" from the scandal. Well MoveOn was taken, so Zombie suggests SitOn.org:

Progressive American women! We need Anthony Weiner in top condition to help forge a progressive solution to our nation’s problems. And the only way he can concentrate is if he satisfies his strong sexual desires. So we encourage you all to sit on his raging erection whenever you get the chance.

To encourage this patriotic behavior, we now announce the formation of SitOn.org, a political “action” committee to help Rep. Weiner get some action.

How can you help? Sit on it!

Zombie says guys can help out too:

And if you’re a man, or don’t have a Facebook or Twitter account, then you do your part by placing these banners on your blog to encourage other attractive young progressives to sit on his “weiner”.

Indeed, progressives are already blogging about how much they love Anthony Weiner, like New York blogger Carl Salonen, who likes 'em "Young and Hung."

#Weinergate! — Rep. Anthony Weiner Retains Legal Counsel!

At The Other McCain: "BREAKING: Weiner Lawyers Up!"

And linked there is Politico, "Anthony Weiner hires attorney in Twitter incident" (via Memeorandum):

New York Rep. Anthony Weiner has retained an attorney to advise him “what civil or criminal actions should be taken” after a lewd picture was sent from his Twitter account.

Weiner, who has represented part of New York City since 1998, says online hacking led to a close-up shot of a man’s underwear being sent from his official Twitter account Saturday night.

Dave Arnold, a spokesman for Weiner, said the Congressman’s staff is “loathe to treat” this incident as more than a prank “but we are relying on professional advice.”

“At a time when the GOP is playing games with the debt limit, a member of the Supreme Court is refusing to recuse himself from matters he has a financial interest in, and middle class incomes are stagnant, many want to change the subject,” Weiner said in a statement emailed to POLITICO by his office. “I don’t. This was a prank, and a silly one. I’m focused on my work.”

Weiner’s office did not answer specific questions about the photograph, whether he has contacted authorities or the Seattle woman who received the photograph. He has said that his Facebook was hacked and if his Twitter had the same password, that too could be vulnerable.

Also, check the #Weinergate hashtag on Twitter, where the essential coverage has been developing.

Image Credit: The People's Cube.

ADDED: At Daily Caller, "Weiner spokesman: ‘We’ve retained counsel to explore’ possible ‘civil or criminal actions’."

More: Mediaite has video from Weiner's CNN interview today: "CNN First To Track Down Rep. Anthony Weiner For TV Comment On Twitter Scandal." And Dana Bash's report at CNN, "Liberal congressman involved in Twitter controversy over lewd photo."

Tony Weiner's Tweetin' Heart!

Aaron Worthing's unimpressed with Jon Stewart's Anthony Weiner coverage: "Jon Stewart on Weiner: My Friend is Innocent Because He is Not That Well Hung." Video's at the link. And you gotta admit that's something else. Weiner's definitely in Stewart's wheelhouse. And that's not all. The folks at the New York Post are working up a storm on this. Not only are they digging some dirt on Weiner's 'tweet-hearts', but they're killin' the dude at the editorial page. See, "Weiner's tweet-hearts: Babes revealed amid his cranky non-denial on pic," and "The Weiner weirdness: unanswered questions in Anthony Weiner photo flap":

What a creep.

As The Post reports today, it turns out that Twitter, for the recently married Rep. Anthony Weiner, is a cool place to meet girls.

Which may well explain why he was following the Twitter account of a winsome 21-year-old community-college student from Seattle, Gennette Cordova, who last weekend received a lewd photo apparently originating from the congressman's own Twitter feed.
And maybe why, during an extraordinarily contentious Washington press briefing yesterday, Weiner repeatedly refused to answer any questions on the incident.

Weiner initially claimed he was the victim of a hacker -- and then tried to dismiss the whole thing as a harmless "prank."

But by Monday night, the lawmaker had lawyered up -- saying he might pursue "civil or criminal" avenues, although he still hasn't called the cops and yesterday refused to say why.

That's strange: Identity theft involving ordinary people, let alone a congressman, is a serious crime.

So why the reticence to go after someone he says hacked into his accounts, and thus to clear his name as the candidate field forms for the 2013 mayoral race?

Does he hope that the story will just fade away? Not likely.

And still more at the link. The Post indicates that it's about far more than who Congressman Weiner's following on Twitter (not insignificant in itself, of course), but what his handling of the scandal reveals about his fitness to serve --- especially as mayor of New York City.

RELATED: Via Dan Collins, "Hard On Weiner?" Dan's looking to move on to some breast blogging! And well yeah, I'm, a little hung up on the Weiner story, but you gotta go for the SEO when the action's, er, hot. See AoSHQ on that as well, "No Seriously We're Going To Put Up Other News, But, Just This."

Weiner Truthers

You may have noticed that Ron Brynaert, one of Patterico's Kimberlin stalkers, was in large part motivated by the Anthony Weiner scandal. Sure, progressives no doubt got screwed on that one, but it's literally insane to dismiss WeinerGate as a manufactured conspiracy to bring down a Democrat congressman. But these people so criminal it's f-king crazy, so it's no surprise.

See Buzz Feed, "Meet the Weiner Truthers":

New York congressman Anthony Weiner resigned in disgrace a full year ago, admitting to having sent lewd photos to female fans of his on Twitter.

But for one corner of the Internet, Weinergate is very much not over. A group of liberal bloggers believe that Anthony Weiner was blackmailed by Andrew Breitbart into a false confession, and are carrying out a lonely Twitter crusade to spread their theory — in spite of the fact that Weiner himself has never claimed this to be the case.

In a post on the blog Cannonfire, the blog's proprietor Joseph Cannon describes the "weird subculture of bloggers" that sprung up around Weinergate.

Cannon was a more vocal proponent of the theory when the story broke, but "Their obsession with that scandal soon went way beyond Weiner, and perhaps even beyond conventional left-right politics," he writes. "A very personal twilight war broke out."

A major locus of modern Weiner trutherism is BreitbartUnmasked.com, a site "dedicated to unmasking the underbelly of Andrew Breitbart and his crew of rogues, criminals, wannabe journalists, various right wing extremists and the religious intolerant," per its "About Us" section. Breitbart Unmasked features a large GIF of Breitbart's face morphing into a mask, and lists the name of everyone in Breitbartworld, from editors of Breitbart.com to people only tangentially related.

One of its related Twitter accounts, @OccupyRebellion, regularly tweets about Weinergate and the alleged conspiracies therein.

Continue reading.

One of the outlandish claims at Patterico's post was that Patterico's wife --- who is also an L.A. County ADA --- was one of the accusers against Anthony Weiner, that she was one of the women on Twitter who claimed Weiner sent explicit pictures. That's the kind of criminal crackpot sh*t you see with these people. Crazy, but genuinely diabolical and calculating as well. (And note that these freak conspiracies in no way absolve these assholes of their crimes. Kimberlin and his criminal allies are out to destroy political enemies, first and foremost. So don't let BuzzFeed's "truther" meme minimize the significance of what's happening. Charles Manson was criminally deranged, but he's still serving a life sentence without any practical chance of parole.)

RELATED: From Robert Stacy McCain, "Kimberlin v. Walker Hearing Scheduled: 8:30 a.m. Tuesday in Rockville, Maryland" (via Memeorandum).

Dan Collins is on it too, "Bombshell: Kimberlin Peace Order Hearing Against Aaron Walker Scheduled for Tuesday, 5/29."

Anthony Weiner Comes Clean! — UPDATE! MSNBC Interview Added (VIDEO)!!

Not quite, although the congressman's agreed to media sit-downs. I'm watching MSNBC right now. And at Politico, "Rep. Anthony Weiner 'can’t say with certitude' photo isn't him":

"I was a victim of a prank ..."

Rep. Anthony Weiner says he “can’t say with certitude” that the photo of a man’s crotch sent using his Twitter account isn’t of him.

“I didn’t send that picture out,” Weiner says.

“That’s not a picture of you?” he is asked by NBC News.

Weiner responds: “You know, I can’t say with certitude.”

The New York lawmaker continued to claim that his Twitter account was hacked.

Developing ...

12:15 PDT: The Other McCain reports: "Oh, My: In NBC Interview Weiner Won’t Deny Authenticity of Lewd Photo."

And basically the same story at CBS News.

I'm waiting for Rep. Weiner to sit down with Bret Baier at Fox News. This is gonna be killer!

12:45 PDT: Emily Miller tweets this photo:

Still waiting for further interviews. CNN says they have a sit-down with Weiner coming right up ...

1:10 PDT: Okay, here's the clip from MSNBC:

Anthony Weiner's Political Obituary

I have a snarky post already scheduled for Midnight, but the hits keep coming for Representative Anthony Weiner. And since I've been on this, well, here goes some more ... Robert Stacy McCain has the latest: "Finally, Weiner Calls the Police!" Actually, it turns out that Marcia Kramer of CBS News (New York) tried to get an interview with Weiner and he called the cops. So, yeah, this is the big development I was talking about this afternoon. And not only that, I like this headline, at CSM, "Anthony Weiner: Were his dreams of being mayor just Twittered away?":

It's clear Anthony Weiner wants to be mayor of New York. Just as clear, say analysts, is that 'Weinergate' will arm his political rivals for years to come, and isn't likely to 'just go away.'

Also at AoSHQ, "Hey, I Don't Want To Cast No Aspersions Or Nothin', But Anthony Weiner May Be Lying."

Also, see how long this holds up, at NYT, "Some Question a Congressman’s Uncertainty, but Others Take It in Stride."

Anthony Weiner Lewd Photos at House Members' Gym!

I linked Robert Stacy McCain already, but this bears noting. The House Gym is a government facility, and the release of new photos reveals another Anthony Weiner lie. See the Queens Courier:

After admitting his actions were inappropriate, Congressmember Anthony Weiner now faces an ethics committee investigation and mounting pressure to step down.

Nancy Pelosi, the House of Representatives Democratic leader, called for an investigation to determine whether any House rules were violated.

The first rule in the House’s code of conduct states a member “shall behave at all times in a manner that shall reflect creditably on the House.”

During Monday’s statement, the congressmember said no government resources – phones, computers, email – were used and no laws were violated – but that may not be enough to save his seat.

No, not enough at all. Because Weiner implicates government by taking it to the House gym.

The photos are at TMZ, "Anthony Weiner at the House Members' Gym." Also at Politico, "More Anthony Weiner photos surface online" (via Memeorandum).

Anthony Weiner Google Traffic

It's a pretty big story. I noted previously my personal dislike for Anthony Weiner (still more to come on that), but mostly I'm not one to let a traffic opportunity go to waste. And if you think that's shameless, you should see Robert Stacy McCain, "All the Weiner You Can Handle: Why MSM Can’t Ignore This Scandal Now."

RELATED: An indication of how bad this is for the Democrats is how frantic are the efforts to debunk the story. The progressive blog Cannon Fire's getting some play on Memeorandum right now, but check Red State for the debunking of the debunking. Indeed, idiot progressives are further making the case for a formal investigation: "Case Closed? Leftblog Claims Definitive Proof Weiner Was Framed." Also, at Founding Bloggers, "BREAKING WEINERGATE UPDATE: Lefty Blogger Exposes Massive yFrog-Twitter Vulnerability! Weiner Might Not Have Sent The Wiener" (via Instapundit).

Also, at Christian Science Monitor, "Twitter scandal: a mess for Anthony Weiner, a lesson for Congress":

Rep. Anthony Weiner has been unable to put questions about a lewd picture on his Twitter account behind him. The rest of Congress might become more wary of Twitter.

Ya think?

Democrats Erupt With Fury at Anthony Weiner's Return

Well, I'm just all shaken up about this.

At NYT, "For Democrats, Anthony Weiner Makes an Unwelcome Return":

Dems acknowledge ppl helped Weiner in various ways out of respect for his wife. Now call him variations of "sick" https://t.co/MWu3kL5bnk

— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) October 30, 2016

Carolyn B. Maloney, a congresswoman from the Upper East Side, was riding in a taxi on Friday when she heard the news: Emails discovered in an investigation into Anthony D. Weiner’s sexting had revived the F.B.I.’s interest in the case of Hillary Clinton’s private server.

“I said: ‘Oh, no, not this, not happening now,’” she said.

And then Ms. Maloney’s thoughts turned to Mr. Weiner. “I can’t stand him — even before this,” Ms. Maloney said.

On the West Coast, John L. Burton, the chairman of the California Democratic Party, informed of Mr. Weiner’s inadvertent intrusion into the election on Friday evening, let loose an emphatic expletive.

“We’re still talking about that guy during a presidential election?” Mr. Burton fumed, using a profane seven-letter word instead of “guy.”

Weiner — the name became almost a curse word among senior Democrats over the past two days, as the disgraced congressman unexpectedly surfaced in the final stretch of the presidential contest. The news resurrected memories of previous Weiner scandals.

“He is like a recurring nightmare,” said the Rev. Al Sharpton. “It’s like one of those ‘Damien’ movies — it’s like every time you think he’s dead, he keeps coming again.”

The fury that many leading Democrats feel toward Mr. Weiner had been building for years. His sexting habits embarrassed them. His attempted political comeback in 2013 disgusted them.

But their high regard for his now-estranged wife, Huma Abedin, always kept them from going public. On Friday that was over.

Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers and an influential Clinton supporter, said she had long held her tongue out of “enormous respect and love” for Ms. Abedin.

But Ms. Weingarten said Mr. Weiner’s treatment of women demanded forceful censure.

“I don’t care who it is, no one should be a sexual predator,” Ms. Weingarten said. “I think we all have to take a stand about that, and I think what’s happening now is that people are.”

Mr. Weiner, who lost his seat in Congress and his mayoral hopes after repeated episodes in which he sent lewd messages to women, is now under federal investigation for allegedly sending sexual messages to a 15-year-old girl in North Carolina. In that inquiry, the F.B.I. this month seized a laptop that contained thousands of messages belonging to Ms. Abedin, a top aide to Mrs. Clinton.

The F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, told Congress on Friday that investigators will now review those messages for possible relevance to the Clinton inquiry, news that rattled the Clinton campaign and stung her supporters.

For some, the development touched off more worry than anger: former President Bill Clinton, who learned of the news en route to his last event of the day, in Pennsylvania, fretted that it would draw hostile attention to Ms. Abedin, according to a person familiar with his thinking.

Around the country, former aides to Mr. Weiner, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, traded emails and texts throughout the weekend, fuming at the “collateral damage” inflicted by their onetime boss....

Keep reading.

For Anthony Weiner, Twitter Has Double Edge

At New York Times, "Congressman, Sharp Voice on Twitter, Finds It Can Cut 2 Ways":

For nine months, Representative Anthony D. Weiner has been tweaking others via Twitter, poking fun at Sarah Palin, John A. Boehner and especially Michele Bachmann as he offers his 46,000-plus followers an unusually candid window into the thoughts, activities and edgy humor of a politically ambitious congressman.

Mr. Weiner always knew that his sharp tongue, combined with his frequent use of Twitter, had a potential risk. But over the weekend, Twitter trouble found Mr. Weiner in an unexpected way.

A sexually suggestive photograph of a man from the waist down, in nothing but underwear, was sent from Mr. Weiner’s Twitter-related photo-sharing account to a woman in Seattle. Mr. Weiner dismissed the picture, saying his account had been hacked and writing on Saturday in a Twitter message (of course): “Tivo shot. FB hacked. Is my blender gonna attack me next?” He told Politico, “The wiener gags never get old, I guess,” and his office issued a statement on Sunday saying, “Anthony’s accounts were obviously hacked.”

The recipient of the photo, a college student who follows Mr. Weiner on Twitter, told The Daily News that someone had been harassing her online for weeks and that “I assumed that the tweet and the picture were their latest attempts at defaming the congressman and harassing his supporters.”

Twitter would not discuss the episode, saying, “We don’t comment on individual user accounts, for privacy reasons.”

Mr. Weiner’s spokesman, Dave Arnold, said on Monday, “We’ve retained counsel to explore the proper next steps and to advise us on what civil or criminal actions should be taken. This was a prank. We are loath to treat it as more, but we are relying on professional advice.”

The episode was quickly dubbed Weinergate, and proved a cautionary moment for Mr. Weiner, who has embraced Twitter as an outlet for his feisty, in-your-face and occasionally off-color personality.

More at the link. The Times discusses Weiner's ambitions and abrasive personality. The report suggests that his tweets are "sometimes juvenile." Beyond that, though, the Times concludes with a breezy "this too shall pass" kind of tone, actually ending with Rep. Weiner's own jokes about the scandal. To be expected, I guess.

Anyway, at top, the photo's from the New York Daily News. Commenting on it at The Other McCain, Darleen Click argued:

... scroll down ... to see a picture of Weiner and bride out for a Sunday stroll hand-in-hand coincidentally.

Good lord, if that doesn't say something (how many press conferences of men with their stoic wives beside them do we endure?) ... I am more convinced than ever there was no "hacking".

Well, not only was there no "hacking," but Weiner and his office are referring to the episode as a "prank," not as a "hack." Big Government has the significance, "Weinergate Shift: From ‘Hack’ to ‘Prank’":

These statements, plus the fact that there is no indication yet that Weiner has reported the alleged hack to authorities, suggest a new possibility: the offensive tweet may not have been a “hack,” but perhaps an inside job by someone with access to Weiner’s social networking accounts.

It is fairly standard practice in congressional offices and on congressional campaigns for multiple staffers to have access to the politician’s social networking accounts.

There's still more at that post, but the conclusion is unfounded, IMHO. The Times makes no mention of, nor makes even the slightest alllusion to, the notion that Representative Weiner allows staffers to use his Twitter feed nor his yfrog image hosting application. Indeed, the report states that "his Twitter personality is all him," and that "Twitter is now part of his “morning constitutional, with The New York Times, the tabloids, my e-mail,” and he takes postings from his followers seriously, often making adjustments and trying new things at their urging."

That hardly sounds like someone who made spare keys for all his "trusted" aides. The conservative blogosphere has pretty much shown exactly what happened. Weiner (apparently) tried to send a direct message to Gennette Nicole Cordova, the Washington state college student who has confirmed most of the facts of the story, while omitting any discussion of some key issues. The story continues to play on Memeorandum. By the tone of the Times' piece, most in the MSM are yawning, and doing obligatory write-ups to head off anti-media outrage in the 'sphere. Meanwhile, Andrew Breitbart's taken to Big Government to dismiss progressive allegations that Weiner was "Breitbarted": "WeinerGate: We Are Simply Reporting the Facts."

We'll see how it goes from here. Tomorrow's a regular news day and some "real" journalists might decide there's still more to this story to be revealed.

Until then ...

Democrats Push Weiner to Resign

At WSJ, "Weiner Faces More Calls to Resign":

Prominent Democrats began calling for Rep. Anthony Weiner to resign as a new, more graphic image surfaced Wednesday to propel the sexting scandal engulfing the New York Democrat.

Separately, Huma Abedin, Mr. Weiner's wife, is in the early stages of a pregnancy, according to a New York Democrat who spoke on condition of anonymity. Ms. Abedin is a senior aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and left with her Wednesday on a trip to north Africa. A State Department spokesman had no comment.

A person close to Mr. Weiner said he still is determined to hold onto the seat he first won in 1998. But Democratic aides said that if he continues to resist calls to resign, the situation could reach a boiling point Monday when House members return to Washington.

The controversy has become a national embarrassment for Democratic leaders, who have come under fire from Republicans for not moving more aggressively to demand Mr. Weiner's departure. Senior Democratic leadership aides expect more colleagues to come forward in the next few days to call on Mr. Weiner to resign.

I should be surprised that Weiner still refuses to resign (I'm not), but read the whole thing. The congressman's office issued a statement whereby "tacitly" admitting that the picture is Weiner's. At some point I suspect I'll feel bad for the guy, but not yet. Right now I feel bad for his wife. I have all along. She looks absolutely beautiful. How could Anthony Weiner treat her so horribly?And now the baby on the way? Almost Greek tragedy territory. Although I hope not, for that would mean someone's going to die.

RELATED: A huge roundup at The Other McCain, "Weiner’s Secret Desire ... UPDATED: ‘X-Rated’ Photo Emerges; Weiner’s Wife Is Pregnant; More Democrats Now Calling for Resignation."

Anthony Weiner Scandal Now Links Porn Star Ginger Lee — And #WeinerGate Victim Gennette Cordova Speaks Out!

This calls for a fresh post. I expected to update from my my post linking Datech Guy, but this story is too big now. Upon getting home from another trip to Vans Skatepark, I headed over to William Jacobson's and he asks, "Have the facts about Weiner's tweet been exposed yet?" That's one of those questions in which you respond with a question, like, "Are you sitting down?"

Seriously.

I checked Dan Riehl on Twitter, and he links to The Prudence Paine Papers, who has a bombshell: "Porn Star Says Weiner Sent Her a Private Message." Check the link. That's gone viral big time. And lots more at Memeorandum as well, for example, at New York Daily News, "Statement from Gennette Cordova, student who was sent lewd Twitter photo from Rep. Weiner's account":

I am a 21-year-old college student from Seattle. I have never met Congressman Weiner, though I am a fan. I go to school in Bellingham where I spend all of my time; I've never been to New York or to DC. The point I am trying to make is that, contrary to the impression that I apparently gave from my tweet, I am not his girlfriend. Nor am I the wife, girlfriend or mistress of Barack Obama, Ray Allen or Cristiano Ronaldo, despite the fact that I have made similar assertions about them via Twitter.

There have never been any inappropriate exchanges between Anthony Weiner and myself, including the tweet/picture in question, which had apparently been deleted before it reached me. I cannot answer the questions that I do not have the answers to. I am not sure whether or not this letter will alleviate any future harassment. I also do not have a clear understanding as to how or why exactly I am involved in this fiasco. I do know that my life has been seriously impacted by speculation and faulty allegations. My reputation has been called into question by those who lack the character to report the facts.

Well, I doubt that's going to be helpful. Epic idiot Tommy Christopher responds at Mediaite, "Alleged Recipient Of Alleged Rep. Weiner Photo Gennette Nicole Issues Statement." This is pathetic:

Since the story broke, a pile of circumstantial evidence and rampant speculation,throughout the blogosphere, have all but decimated the presumption of innocence due the Congressman, while details that could be exculpatory have been largely ignored or dismissed.

Some conservative blogs, which I will not link to, have taken to dissecting the tweets of underage girls who followed Rep. Weiner, without redacting their user information (as we did), and without mentioning that these girls were being harassed by the Twitter user who first, and last, noticed Weiner’s tweet in real time. These girls deserve to be left alone, not drawn into a controversy in which they are not even direct parties.

Right.

Also, at CBS News, "Rep. Weiner: I did not send Twitter crotch pic." And Washington Post, "Rep. Weiner says lewd Twitter photo was sent by hacker."

Now at NYT, "Congressman Says Hacker Sent Lewd Photo Using His Name."

Added (10:25 PDT): At Ace of Spades, "One Coin In The Fountain: Jonah Goldberg Breaks Establishment Embargo On WeinerGate."

Kaboom! Anthony Weiner Scandal Explodes!

I was wrong last night. When I posted on the New York Times's Weiner twitter story I thought perhaps the scandal was peaking. Maybe it was just me, although, yeah, we had the long holiday weekend and establishment D.C. is back to work. But still, Weinergate has taken off exponentially on the web. If People Magazine's on the case, no doubt reports of a congressman's bulging underwear have some, er, longevity. See, "Did Rep. Anthony Weiner Tweet a Lewd Photo to a Woman?" Well, to answer, Weiner denies it, but his story's been changing and most folks on the right are having none of it. See Cold Fury: "Of COURSE he’s lying." Plus, Aaron Worthing and Lee Stranahan, at Patterico's, have some great reporting, for example, here, here, here (hilariously), and here.

And check out Andrew Breitbart's interview on CNN:

Be sure to listen through to Jeffrey Toobin's ridiculous comments about how Breitbart's statements are "outrageous" and that, "look, this is a lighthearted story ... and everybody knows that on the Internet stuff happens ..." And get this: "Look, Twitter is not a very secure environment ... sometimes the information is unreliable ... it doesn't even come from the people it appears to come from ..."

Right. My god, that's almost a criminal. Any wonder everyday Americans get so angry at the pompous cable talking heads who don't know shit, frankly? Well, it's not all bad. See also Liberty Chick, at Big Journalism, "Blame Breitbart!: Salon.com Editor Joan Walsh Lies and Bullies on Weinergate."

So, yeah, I was wrong about this story peaking. Coverage continues to build, at ABC News, for example, "Rep. Anthony Weiner Gets Combative With Reporters About Lewd Twitter Photo."

And of course, keep up on things at Big Government.

Added: Don't miss Michelle's essay, "Weighing in on Weiner." (Fit is hitting the shan.)

Also, at Hot Air, Weiner has a heated exchange with CNN's Dana Bash!

Anthony Weiner Can't Deny That Lewd Twitter Photo is Him

The Los Angeles Times sums up yesterday's news, "Rep. Weiner says he didn't tweet lewd photo":

Reporting from Washington— Rep. Anthony Weiner continued Wednesday to try to extricate himself from allegations that he sent a college student a lewd photo over Twitter, though the congressman's explanations did little to contain the sordid drama.

Weiner, a brash Democrat from New York who is considered a rising star in his party, maintained that his personal Twitter account had been hacked, but in television interviews he would not say for certain whether the crotch-level photo of a man dressed only in underwear was or was not him.

Weiner denied sending the photo to a 21-year-old female student in Seattle, an incident that became public over the Memorial Day weekend after conservative bloggers circulated the Twitter message.

He said that he had retained a private security firm to look into the matter, but would not call in the Capitol police or the FBI.

"I just don't think it rises to that level," Weiner told CNN's Wolf Blitzer. But "I know for a fact that my account was hacked. It happens hundreds of thousands of times every single day."

More at the link.

I blogged this all day on Wednesday, and perhaps the story's peaked (although I said the same thing previously).

RELATED: Also at LAT, "Anthony Weiner: No photographic memory of his underwear drawer." And from New York Times, "Lawmaker Denies Sending Suggestive Photo but Doesn’t Rule Out It’s of Him."