US Representative Anthony Weiner on Monday tearfully admitted having a number of inappropriate relationships with women over the Internet, saying he was deeply ashamed but would not resign. Weiner admitted to inappropriate Internet and telephone conversations with six women but said none of them developed into a physical relationship. “I’m deeply regretting what I have done and I’m not resigning,” Weiner, who had been seen as a rising star among Democrats, told a news conference while wiping away tears as he apologized for his actions and for lying in the cover-up. The New York Democrat, a leading liberal voice in the US House of Representatives, had been expected to run for mayor of New York City in 2013.
The scandal began more than a week ago when Weiner denied tweeting a photo of a man’s bulging boxer briefs to a 21-year-old female student in Washington state, insisting his account had been hacked. “I tweeted a photograph of myself that I intended as a direct message as part of a joke to a woman in Seattle,” he told reporters on Monday. “Once I realized I had posted it to Twitter, I panicked. I took it down and said that I had been hacked. I then continued to stick to that story, which was a hugely regrettable mistake,” he said. “The picture was of me, and I sent it.” Calling his actions “very dumb” and “destructive,” he stressed he did not have sex with any of the women. Weiner is married to Huma Abedin, a longtime aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The couple was married in a ceremony officiated by former President Bill Clinton.