By TimesLedger staff
U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-Forest Hills) has told friends he will resign following a scandal involving lewd self-portraits and racy messages he sent to women who were following him on Twitter and Facebook, according to AP, leaving behind him almost 13 years of service as a congressman representing parts of Queens and Brooklyn.
Weiner, who announced last week he was seeking treatment and would take a two-year leave of absence from his post, has not made a public appearance in several days. His wife, Huma Abedin, returned Tuesday from a trip to the Middle East with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, her longtime boss. He had told friends he would not make a decision about his future until he consulted at length with his wife, who is three months' pregnant.
Weiner has scheduled a news conference at 2 p.m. Thursday.
The congressman initially said the vulgar photographs were sent by a hacker. He further stated he could not say “with certitude” the pictures were of not him.
At a June 6 news conference in Manhattan, an emotionally distraught Weiner admitted he lied about the pictures, acknowledging the photos were of him and he had sent them to six different women. Following the mea culpa, more salacious pictures surfaced of Weiner.
Members of his own Democratic Party, including House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), have called for Weiner’s resignation. President Barack Obama said this week that if he was in a similar position, he would resign.
The Associated Press reported several sources confirmed he would resign.
