WASHINGTON – Hey, Weiner – pull out!
President Obama blasted cybersex addict Anthony Weiner yesterday, saying of the married congressman, “I can tell you that if it was me, I would resign.”
Finally breaking his silence on Weinergate, Obama said, “I think he’s embarrassed himself, he’s acknowledged that, he’s embarrassed his wife and his family.
“Obviously, what he did was highly inappropriate.”
Obama further charged that the Brooklyn-Queens Democrat’s refusal to quit was hurting the country and his congressional district.
“When you get to the point where, because of various personal distractions, you can’t serve as effectively as you need to at the time when people are worrying about jobs and their mortgages and paying the bills, then you should probably step back,” Obama said in a “Today” show interview set to air today.
“Because public service is exactly that, it’s a service to the public,” Obama added. “Ultimately, there’s going to be a decision for him and his constituents.”
House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, who Saturday called for Weiner to fall on his sword, quickly demanded that Weiner heed Obama’s advice.
“I hope that with the president having spoken . . . Congressman Weiner will hear this,” she said. “We are asking him to leave.”
Obama’s no-nonsense message came as House Democrats threatened to strip Weiner of his Energy and Commerce Committee appointment — or even boot him out of the party caucus.
“I will look at all the options,” said Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), a member of the House Democratic leadership team, while walking in to a leaders meeting yesterday.
Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) also joined the chorus of Weiner’s colleagues calling for him to leave.
Weiner was granted a two-week leave of absence yesterday. In a sign of Pelosi’s attempt to distance herself from the disgraced Dem, she didn’t sign the formal request, as is the tradition. Instead, Rep. Michael Capuano (D-Mass.) submitted it, a source said.
The full House Democratic Caucus will meet to consider Weinergate today.
The House Ethics Committee began its investigation yesterday into Weiner’s tawdry behavior, officials said.
The probe will include all of his online communications to determine whether his sexting violated rules of conduct.
Complicating Weiner’s life is the impending arrival home of his pregnant wife, Huma Abedin.
She had to cut short her weeklong Africa trip with her boss, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, due to a volcano eruption that snarled air traffic over east Africa. She is expected to arrive tomorrow.
“Weiner is awaiting the arrival of his wife,” Rep. Steve Israel (D-LI) said before last night’s meeting. “He’s going to have a conversation with his wife.”
With Andy Soltis in NY and AP