OPINION:
Rep. Anthony Weiner lost the support of his party chief when House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi announced Monday, “I am calling for an Ethics Committee investigation to determine whether any official resources were used or any other violation of House rules occurred.” Mrs. Pelosi threw Mr. Weiner under the bus just hours after the New York Democrat publicly admitted he lied about tweeting a photo of his crotch to a student. There should be no room for a man of such low character and poor judgment in Congress.
Mr. Weiner confessed to exposing himself on nearly every technological medium available. “Over the past few years, I have engaged in several inappropriate conversations conducted over Twitter, Facebook, email and occasionally on the phone with women I had met online,” he admitted. The wily eight-term congressman refuses to resign his office, claiming he didn’t break any rules or laws because he supposedly didn’t use government resources for his sexual-predator actions. Even more alarming, when asked if he sexted underage girls, the congressman equivocated, saying, “To the best of my knowledge, they were all adults.”
House Ethics Committee rules are based on the Code of Official Conduct. The first rule is that a member, “shall conduct himself at all times in a manner that shall reflect creditably on the House.” Sending sexual photos and highly charged sexual messages to strangers clearly violates this rule. Over the past week, Mr. Weiner held repeated press conferences to openly lie to cover up the mess. By Monday, his only excuse was, “I lied because I was ashamed of what I had done and didn’t want to get caught.”
Mr. Weiner has shown no regard for his constituents or the duty of his public office and is a public embarrassment. He should resign.
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