Rep. Anthony Weiner's 'Sext' Scandal Grows

BY Alison Gendar AND Corky Siemaszko
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

Rep. Anthony Weiner's claims of being hacked were falling apart Monday amid reports that new women were coming forward to say he sent them dirty pictures and messages.

After disappearing for days, Weiner scheduled a 4 p.m. news conference Monday.

Washington's first sext scandal appeared to be threatening the future of a rising Democratic star who hoped to be elected mayor of New York.

RadarOnline reported that a woman claimed to have carried on a "longterm Facebook affair" with Weiner since earlier this year, trading sexting messages and photos. [Read: PR Pros Say Weiner Is Bungling the Twitter Sex Scandal.]

The middle-aged Nevada woman, who was not identified, claims she has 200 sexually explicit messages from Weiner and once spent a half hour talking dirty on the phone, but says she never met the man.

RadarOnline published some of a March 16 exchange in which Weiner wrote that he had a "ridiculous bulge in my shorts now. wanna see?"

She responded: "Yea! can u send a pic?"

"jeez, im rushing. let me take a quick pic," Weiner replied.

But the woman said she never got the photo because he "got cold feet."

RadarOnline did not publish any photos purporting to be of Weiner.

Conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart published a shirtless photo—apparently of Weiner, by Weiner, displaying a remarkably ripped chest—that he said the congressman mailed to another woman on May 20 using a private Yahoo email address.

Brietbart claimed to have another photo of the congressman "that is extremely graphic, and leaves nothing to the imagination."

There is nothing illegal about sexting, but only the most breath-takingly reckless politician would send dirty pictures to a stranger.

A shirtless photo led to the lightning-fast resignation of upstate Rep. Chris Lee in February, but in that case, the circumstances were different. Lee was a married, family values-pushing Republican who sent the photo to a woman he met on a dating website. Later reports said he sought out transgender prostitutes.

Weiner, a normally voluble congressman who relishes battle, went underground. He missed friendly political events Sunday and stayed out of sight Monday.

The once-prolific Twitterer briefly tried to return to the site last week but hasn't blasted out a tweet since Wednesday.

Weinergate began 10 days ago when a photograph of bulging briefs appeared in the congressman's Twitter stream, addressed to a 21-year-old Seattle college student.

Weiner claimed he was hacked, and insisted he never sent the photo, but did not deny the photo might be of him.

"I don't know what photographs are out there in the world of me," he said last week.

The newly-married politician generated a cloud of skepticism by first holding a defensive press conference, then giving vague answers to direct questions, and finally trying to laugh the controversy away with a stream of double entendres.

His friends and political allies have been slow to come to his defense.

Democratic leaders have let it be known they are annoyed that Weiner's Internet hijinks are distracting from what they believe is a winning argument about Medicare.

• Read: PR Pros Say Weiner Is Bungling the Twitter Sex Scandal.
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