A bizarre scandal, one that could only have happened in the social-media era, has apparently come to an end, as Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) announced on Thursday that he will resign from the House of Representatives.
"I'm here today to again apologize for the personal mistakes I have made and the embarrassment I have caused. I made this apology to my neighbors and constituents, but I make it in particular to my wife, Huma," Weiner said at senior center in Brooklyn, where he launched his political career with a run for City Council.
I had hoped to be able to continue the work that my constituents elected me to do," Weiner said. "Unfortunately the distraction that I have created has made that impossible, so today I am announcing my resignation from Congress.
At least one person cheered when Weiner announced his resignation. The press conference carried a strange and distracted ambiance, as Weiner talked over repeated outbursts from a heckler, who yelled out such questions as, "Were you fully erect?" and "Are you at least seven inches?" before members of the press corps shouted him down. One reporter yelled out, "He's not with us, get him out of here."
Weiner's scandal began on May 26, when Andrew Breitbart's Big Government blog posted the initial lewd photo, tweeted from Weiner's account to Gennette Nicole Cordova, a student in Washington state. Weiner then misled the public and the media for about a week, saying in multiple interviews that his Twitter account had been hacked, and that he had not sent the photo. Weiner finally admitted to tweeting the photo, and to keeping up flirtations with several women, at a surreal press conference last Monday.