In his second recorded exchange with reporters on Tuesday, Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) pointedly refused to answer questions from reporters about the lewd photograph that appeared on his Twitter account this weekend. Instead, the Congressman insisted that the incident was a “prank” and a “distraction,” and said he’d made a decision to move on.
The normally media-friendly Weiner (who on Saturday reacted to the incident by telling Politico: “The weiner gags never get old, I guess”) got heated when reporters continued to ask why the matter has not been referred to law enforcement, and about his connection to the 21-year-old woman to whom the photograph was directed. Saying he is “not going to permit myself to be distracted by this issue any longer,” Weiner referred reporters to his and his office’s past statements and tried to talk about tonight’s debt limit vote.
“You can continue doing whatever you want to do,” Weiner said. “But I am not going to allow this thing to dominate what I talk about anymore.”
Watch:
Eric Lach
Eric Lach is a reporter for TPM. From 2010 to 2011, he was a news writer in charge of the website’s front page. He has previously written for The Daily, NewYorker.com, GlobalPost and other publications. He can be reached at ericl(at)talkingpointsmemo.com
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