Reports: U.S. Rep. Weiner tells friends he is resigning

2011-06-16 20:49:33 GMT+7 (ICT)

NEW YORK (BNO NEWS) -- U.S. Representative Anthony Weiner on Thursday told friends that he plans to resign from Congress amid a growing scandal over his online contacts with women, the New York Times reported.

According to the newspaper, Weiner came to the conclusion that he could no longer serve after having long discussions with his wife, Huma Abedin, who is pregnant and recently returned home on Tuesday after traveling abroad with her boss, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Weiner, who has been the U.S. Representative for New York's 9th district since January 1999, has been involved in a scandal known as Weinergate since he accidentally posted a sexually suggestive picture on the social networking website Twitter. The Congressman had meant to send it privately to a 21-year-old woman, but accidentally sent it to all of his followers on Twitter.

The politician, who was previously considering a run for Mayor of New York City, has admitted to exchanging sexually explicit messages and photographs with at least six women over a three-year period, both before and during his marriage with Abedin.

On Tuesday, U.S. President Barack Obama weighed in on the scandal and said he would choose to resign if he was Weiner. "I can tell you that if it was me, I would resign. Because public service is exactly that, it's a service to the public," Obama told NBC News. Other Democratic and Republican figures have also called on Weiner to resign.

Weiner is expected to announce his resignation at some point on Thursday.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-06-16

Bummer. I liked Weiner. He was very entertaining when he would argue with the nut jobs at Faux News. I real crusader for the left.

What a Weiner.