Democratic aides said the new calls for resignation were not part of a strategy by leadership to force Mr. Weiner out of the job, but rather individuals reacting when asked. Yet in the wake of such scandals, such pronouncements can have a cascading effect among politicians, as others see safety in chiming in.
"These things have a tendency to catch fire,'' said one senior Democratic aide.
Mr. Weiner's efforts to control the scandal have so far failed. On Wednesday, Sirius XM disc jockeys Gregg Hughes and Anthony Cumia, who use the on-air names Opie and Anthony, sent a tweet with a link to an image of a man's genitals that they said was taken from the phone of conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart. Mr. Breitbart, who reported the first details of Mr. Weiner's actions, had said he was withholding one particularly graphic photograph a woman claimed to have received from Mr. Weiner.
Mr. Breitbart, in a statement, said "a photograph resembling one that I had withheld from publication in the Weinergate saga was released without my knowledge or permission."
A statement issued by a spokeswoman for Mr. Weiner tacitly acknowledged the photo was of him. "As Representative Weiner said on Monday when he took responsibility for his actions, he has sent explicit photos. To reiterate, he has never met any of these women or had physical contact with them. As he said, he deeply regrets the pain he has caused. With the full support of his wife, he is working on righting these wrongs with his family and his colleagues," the statement said. |
