‘Sexting’ lawmaker Weiner to quit

NEW YORK—US Congressman Anthony Weiner is set to resign Thursday after being embroiled for weeks in a sex scandal linked to his lewd online exchanges with women, a Democratic Party source told AFP.

Weiner scheduled a New York press conference later Thursday at which he will announce his decision to quit, US media said.

The US lawmaker, who represents parts of Brooklyn and Queens, was seen as a Democratic Party rising star and had been tipped as a possible prospect for New York mayor.

But Weiner has faced a flurry of calls from within his own Democratic Party to resign after lying about a series of online conversations with women in which he sent lewd photos, including one of him in his underwear.

After lying about his X-rated Internet liaisons for days, insisting that hackers had infiltrated his Twitter account, Weiner called a nationally televised press conference earlier this month and made a tearful admission.

The Democratic leadership in Congress has urged him to quit, but Weiner, who is married to a top aide to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, had appeared determined to stay, announcing at the weekend that he was undergoing “therapy.”

His chances for survival diminished, however, after President Barack Obama said in a television interview earlier this week that, were he in Weiner’s place, he would resign.

“I can tell you that if that was me, I would resign,” President Barack Obama told NBC’s “Today” show in a clip that aired Tuesday.

“I think he embarrassed himself. He’s acknowledged that. He’s embarrassed his wife and his family. Ultimately, there’s going to be a decision for him and his constituents. I can tell you that if it was me, I would resign.”