Anthony Weiner sexting scandals

Anthony Weiner is a former member of the United States House of Representatives from New York City who has been involved in multiple scandals related to sexting.

After initially denying reports that he had posted the image, he admitted that he sent a link to the photo, which was described by Pittsburgh Post-Gazette as an "erection barely covered by a man's underwear"[1] and by iPolitics as a "man-bulge in boxer briefs".

[4][5] The picture of his erect penis concealed by boxer briefs[4][1][6][5] was sent to a 21-year-old female college student from Seattle, Washington,[7] who was following his posts on the social media website.

"[12][13] He did not ask the FBI or U.S. Capitol Police to investigate the incident[14] but said he had retained a private security firm to look into this matter because he felt it was a prank, not a crime.

Two false identities of underage girls had been created by unknown parties to solicit communication with Weiner and the women he was contacting.

[16] Bloggers reported a tweet made in April by a 17-year-old Delaware girl in which she exclaimed, "Seriously talking to Representative Weiner from New York right now!

[24] After this information had been made public, Weiner held a press conference in New York and apologized, saying, "I have not been honest with myself, my family, my constituents, my friends and supporters, and the media" and that, "to be clear, the picture was of me, and I sent it.

[26] He also said he had "engaged in several inappropriate conversations conducted over Twitter, Facebook, email and occasionally on the phone" and had exchanged "messages and photos of an explicit nature with about six women over the last three years".

[29] Prior to his marriage, Weiner was known for his "bachelor exploits with some of New York's most eligible women," detailed in a 2011 Moment profile of the Congressman.

[27][32] During an appearance on Sirius XM radio on June 8, 2011, Breitbart showed hosts Opie and Anthony a photograph of what he claimed to be Weiner's nude genitalia.

[33] Breitbart stated that the photo was published without his permission, and later told KFI radio, "These people have admitted that they did this surreptitiously and illicitly and they lied in the process saying that they didn't even have a camera in the place.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R, VA) said he should resign, opining: "The last thing we need is to be immersed in discussion about Congressman Weiner and his Twitter activities.

A TV station NY1 and Marist College poll indicated that 51% believed Weiner should remain in Congress, 30% thought he should step down, and 18% were unsure.

[46] On June 9, a NY1-Marist Poll showed that 56% of registered voters in Weiner's Congressional District wanted him to stay in Congress, and 33% thought he should resign, with 12% uncertain.

[63] Following the primary election on September 10, 2013, the press reported that Sydney Leathers, the young woman at the center of the second scandal, attempted to enter Weiner's campaign party that night, without an invitation.

[65] On August 28, 2016, the New York Post reported that Weiner had engaged in sexting with another woman, including sending a picture of himself in July 2015 with his toddler son sleeping next to him.

[70] On January 31, 2017, The Wall Street Journal reported that federal prosecutors were weighing whether to bring child pornography charges against Weiner over the incident.

[71] On May 19, 2017, The New York Times reported Weiner had surrendered to the FBI that morning, and under a plea bargain he intended to plead guilty to a single charge of transferring obscene material to a minor.

[73] On September 25, 2017, Judge Denise Cote of the Southern District of New York agreed to a plea agreement sentence totaling 21 months in federal prison, three years supervised release, and for Weiner to register as a sex offender.

[77] The first scandal was used as the inspiration for part of the plot line of seasons 1–2 of the Showtime series Homeland, where a protagonist, a war hero (played by Damian Lewis), is invited to run for Congress (and subsequently gets elected) after the political career of "Congressman Dick Johnson" comes to a sudden end after his sexting pictures are publicized.

"[78] A Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episode titled "October Surprise", used the Weiner scandal as inspiration for a New York City mayoral candidate inappropriately texting with women online.