A day after a spokeswoman for Representative Anthony D. Weiner said he was checking into a rehabilitation center, his aides on Sunday could not say what kind of treatment he was receiving or when he would be released.
Pressed on whether Mr. Weiner, a Democrat, had plans to return to work in the House once he had completed his treatment, his spokeswoman, Risa B. Heller, declined to comment beyond a statement released on Saturday saying he needed time to determine what he would do next.
Whatever Mr. Weiner’s plans are, the 24 hours since his spokeswoman said that he was requesting a short leave of absence from the House to seek treatment did little to mollify the frustration and anger of House Democratic leaders over the lewd messages and photos he admitted sending to women he met online. In fact, top Democrats in the House intensified pressure on Mr. Weiner to give up his Congressional seat on Sunday, after new embarrassing photographs surfaced showing the congressman covered only with a towel.
Appearing on “Meet the Press” on NBC, Representative Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland, the No. 2 Democrat in the House, suggested that resignation was a far preferable option to a House ethics investigation and possible charges. “All his colleagues agree that this process — a judicial process through the Ethics Committee — is going to take time,” Mr. Hoyer said. “I really don’t know that we have that time, and I would hope that Mr. Weiner would use this opportunity to reflect upon whether or not he can effectively proceed. I don’t see how he can, and I hope he would make that judgment.”
(The New York Times)
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