Anthony Weiner: Hackers posted lewd photos on Twitter

[Paslode]

Couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

Lewd photo was hack, Weiner says
By: Jonathan Allen and Ben Smith
May 28, 2011 10:19 PM EDT

Rep. Anthony Weiner says social networking identity hacking is to blame for the lewd material that a conservative news website reported was sent from his Twitter and yfrog handles to an unidentified woman in Seattle.

The New York Democrat told POLITICO he thought it “obvious” that his account had been taken over, and he tweeted that his Facebook account had been hacked with the abbreviation “FB hacked.”

A photo of a man’s bulging gray boxer-brief underwear was posted to Weiner’s account with yfrog — an online image-sharing site — on Saturday night, according to biggovernment.com, which is run by Andrew Breitbart. The photograph is from the waist down, and shows no face.

“The weiner gags never get old, I guess, ” the veteran lawmaker emailed a POLITICO reporter in response on Saturday.

“This evening a photo surfaced on Congressman Weiner’s yfrog account and in his verified Twitter timeline of a man in his underwear with an erection,” Publius, the handle for the site’s editors wrote. “The photo was reportedly sent to a woman on Twitter. We’ve protected her name and her account, which was at one time verified to be active but has since been deleted after the photo in question was deleted. Coincidentally, the rest of the photos in the congressman’s alleged yfrog account were also deleted around 11 p.m. eastern.”

Biggovernment.com writes that the woman in question is a college student who lives in Seattle and notes that another Weiner tweet from Friday, about an upcoming appearance on Rachel Maddow’s MSNBC program, made reference to when the program would air in Seattle.

After the incident, Weiner continued to tweet.

“Thanks to all my new followers im drawing close to Bachmann. #ScrappyChasingCrazy,” he wrote at 6:35 p.m. Saturday, in the last posted tweet.

Weiner’s office — generally one of the most press friendly around — did not respond to a request for comment on whether he has contacted federal authorities to report the alleged cyber-attack, which could fall under laws prohibiting cyberhacking and impersonating federal officials.

Whatever the case with the Weiner incident, it’s clear that the age of electronic communication is leaving politicians with even less privacy than they had in the past.

Earlier this week in Weiner’s home state, a special election was held to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of married Republican Rep. Chris Lee, who sent a shirtless photo of himself to a woman he met on Craigslist. Previously, Sarah Palin, the former Alaska governor and 2008 vice presidential candidate, was the victim of a cyber-attacker who hacked into her e-mail account and published the contents online.

In the Palin case, the hacker was convicted on two federal charges, including gaining unauthorized access to a computer, and sentenced to a year and a day in prison.

And if true, Weiner certainly would not be the first high-profile person to have his Twitter hacked — celebrities from conservative pundit Bill O’Reilly to pop star Britney Spears have had rogue messages posted to their accounts.

Weiner, 46, was first elected to Congress in 1998 after serving six years on the New York City Council. He ran for mayor in 2005 and is seen as the presumptive frontrunner for the 2013 race.

Weiner married Huma Abedin, a top aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in 2010 at a ceremony in the garden at Oheka Castle in Huntington, Long Island.

In recent years, the quick-witted congressman has become a hero to liberal activists, particularly those who supported including a public option in last year’s overhaul of the health care system. Though he didn’t win that battle, his constant presence on cable news programs boosted his following around the country.

© 2011 Capitol News Company, LLC

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0511/55877.html

[Hacksaw]

An excellent example of Karma

[Pete]

Originally Posted by Hacksaw

An excellent example of Karma

Or slip of the finger.

Interesting that it's not yet been reported to officials for investigation. An investigation that shows he did it.

Ah, just let it ride. He's a D so it will not hurt his reelection chances.

[alelks]

I don't think this isn't going to end well for him. By claiming this someone will investigate it and what they find out is going to be VERY interesting.

[ZonieDiver]

That guy is aptly named. He is a complete dick!

[PRB]

too funny, always thought he was an ass and the way he's playing this is ample confirmation....my dog ate my homework

[Sigaba]

Source is here.

Weiner 'can't say with certitude' that lewd photo isn't of him

Rep. Anthony Weiner said Wednesday that he can’t say “with certitude” whether or not a lewd below-the-belt photo depicted his body, but he insisted that he did not tweet the picture to a 21-year old college student in Seattle, Wash.

In an interview with NBC’s Luke Russert, Weiner repeated his claim that his Twitter account was hacked and said that he has hired a private security firm to investigate the matter.

“I was the victim of a prank,” Weiner said.

Weiner sat down with NBC News a day after a testy exchange with reporters on Capitol Hill. He said Wednesday that he was “frustrated” with media coverage of the Twitter dustup but that questions about the issue are fair and reasonable.

But, he added, the controversy should be placed in context.

“This is not a national security matter. We are not making a federal case out of this and I don’t think anyone else should,” he said in explaining his decision not to pursue an independent investigation led by Capitol Police.

The New York congressman also repeated his assertion that he did not know the woman who received the photo over the weekend.

Asked why he follows less than 200 Twitter users – some who are young women unconnected to the political world – Weiner said that his selection of who to engage with on the site is “fairly random.”

He is often asked by Twitter users to “follow” him back on the network, he said, and he sometimes obliges.

“I’m not sure that there’s anything more here than just a little bit of silliness, and I'm going to try to brush it off my shoulder,” he said.

What a twitwit.

[Blitzzz (RIP)]

Weiner, is a Weiner, is a weiner. How could he be anything else...

[Box]

Maybe they should hold his retirement until he reaches an appropriate age...

[PRB]

watchin this guy squrim and twist words is true reality TV... Weinergate, most excellent deal for a swell guy.

[akv]

Anthony Weiner admits sending explicit photo; says he had multiple online relationships

By Brian Montopoli Topics Congress

Democratic Rep. Anthony Weiner of New York admitted Monday that he posted a photograph of his bulging crotch on Twitter, saying he had lied when he previously characterized the photograph as a prank but that he would not resign his seat.

"The picture was of me, and I sent it," he said.


He also said he had several "inappropriate conversations" that he described as "explicit in nature" with six other women over three years - including after he married his wife, Huma Abedin, an aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. He said he had not met any of the women. "I have made terrible mistakes that have hurt the people that I cared about the most, and I am terribly sorry," said Weiner, who held back tears as he made his comments. He added: "I am deeply ashamed of my terrible judgment and my actions."
"If you're looking for some kind of deep explanation for this, I don't have one except to say that I'm very sorry," he said. Weiner said he and his wife "have no intension of splitting up over this" and that he had not had sex outside of year-old marriage.


"I love her very much, and she loves me," he said, adding: "I am deeply sorry for the pain this has caused my wife Huma, and my family." Weiner called his wife "a remarkable woman." "She's not responsible for any of this," he said. "This was visited upon her. She's getting back to work, and I apologize to her very deeply."


Weiner said he sent the initial photograph as "part of a joke," and that he deleted it in a panic after he realized it had been sent to the public. He said his decision to lie to the public was a mistake.


"I was trying to protect my wife, I was trying to protect myself from shame, and I really regret it," he said. He said she knew about some of the online relationships before they were married.


Weiner, who before the scandal was seen as leading candidate to become the mayor of New York City, said he did not believe he had broken the law and planned to keep his job on Congress.


"I'm not resigning, and I'm going to try very hard to go back to work a better man and a better husband too," he said.


Weiner said doesn't believe he used government resources in sending the messages, and that his staff did not know he had done so.




Conservative publisher Andrew Breitbart published a series of alleged photographs of the congressman Monday that he said Weiner emailed to an unidentified young woman, including a shirtless photograph. In addition, tabloid website RadarOnline.com posted a sexually explicit Facebook exchange allegedly involving Weiner and an unidentified woman that the website claimed took place in March.


Last week, a photograph appeared in Weiner's Twitter feed showing a bulging crotch in grey underwear. Weiner said the photograph was "a prank, a hoax" but did not deny that the picture was of him. Breitbart alleges that Weiner used a personal Yahoo email account to send that same photo to another woman.



Breitbart effectively hijacked Weiner's press conference before it began, saying he was there "coincidentally" and was staying at a nearby hotel. (He was asked to take the podium by reporters present for the event after speaking to a small group in the back of the room.) He said he has "at least one more photo" of Weiner, which he describes as "x-rated," though he said in response to a question from CBS News that he does not intend to release it because he wanted to "save his family."


"I'm trying to do the decent thing and not release the photo," he added, though he suggested he could reconsider depending on Weiner's comments and actions going forward.


"I've seen a lot of the congressman's body," said Breitbart, who answered questions for about 12 minutes. "He is in very good shape."


Breitbart asked Weiner and members of the liberal blogosphere to apologize "for a blame the messenger strategy" in the wake of the release of the initial photo. Breitbart also complained that the mainstream media has repeatedly questioned his credibility over his role in edited video controversies involving Shirley Sherrod and the ACORN undercover stings.


"I'm here for some vindication," he said. Appearing exasperated, Breitbart denied he was out for any sort of revenge and seemed incredulous that his motives were being questioned.


"How is it revenge? The story played itself out in real time. There was zero pre-meditation in this," he said.


Both House Speaker John Boehner and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi denied requests for comment on Weiner's situation Monday.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_1...35-503544.html

[Guy]

I say something along the lines of; "You truly are stupid!" and I get crucified in the civilian world yet, this SOB carries on like a internet sex-freak w/pics and keeps his job?

Stay safe.

[kgoerz]

"I'm not resigning, and I'm going to try very hard to go back to work a better man and a better husband too," he said.

Must be nice to not have to take any responsibility for your actions or lying about them.

Loved the guy from Howard Stern at the press conference thou.

[Sigaba]

Ms. Abedin (whom I thought we'd discussed a few years back ) and Mr. Weiner on their wedding day <<LINK>>.

As Ms. Abedin was (and perhaps remains) a confidant of the current secretary of state, it remains to be seen how this event will impact the Democratic Party as people debate, again, as to what constitutes sex.

[Snaquebite]

Originally Posted by Sigaba

Ms. Abedin (whom I thought we'd discussed a few years back ) and Mr. Weiner on their wedding day <<LINK>>.

As Ms. Abedin was (and perhaps remains) a confidant of the current secretary of state, it remains to be seen how this event will impact the Democratic Party as people debate, again, as to what constitutes sex.

Link not working....