After retaining legal counsel in a case in which a lewd photo was sent from his Twitter account to a 21 year-old female college student, New York Rep. Anthony Weiner says he will no longer answer questions about the matter. The matter has become a “distraction,” the outspoken Democrat told reporters Tuesday, and he intends to spend his time working on congressional matters and not answering questions about what has become known in furious Internet speculation as “Weinergate.”
In a performance that might please a defense attorney but would make a public relations consultant cringe, Weiner, who has said his Twitter account was “hacked” and also that he was the victim of a “prank,” one-by-one refused to answer six of the most pressing questions about the controversy:
1) Was the photo in question of Weiner himself?
2) Why hire a lawyer?
3) Why not report the matter to Capitol Police?
4) Was the account hacked, or was Weiner the victim of a prank?
5) Why was Weiner following a 21 year-old college student on Twitter?
6) Is Weiner concerned about the security of Facebook and Twitter accounts?
Near the end of the news conference, a reporter said to Weiner, “This distraction might go away if you answered some of the questions that are out there.” A pensive looking Weiner quickly responded: “I’m not convinced of that. I’m not convinced of that.”
At the moment, there is no publicly available proof either that Weiner sent the photo or that he was the victim of hackers. Weiner has expressed a desire to “move on.” But many members of Congress have Facebook and Twitter accounts, and the possibility that those accounts could be sabotaged by someone seeking to destroy a politcian’s career is troubling. For that reason alone, it seems likely that public officials, if not Anthony Weiner himself, will want to know more about what really happened in this case.
