Anthony Weiner Press Conference: Congressman Resigns (VIDEO)

News broke on Thursday morning that Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) told his friends he is prepared to resign from Congress.

In recent weeks, the embattled congressman has resisted calls to step down from his post amid intense controversy surrounding inappropriate interactions he admitted to engaging in online and lewd photos surfacing of the congressman.

Last weekend, Democratic party leaders urged Weiner to step down. Their calls came the same day the congressman signaled he would enter treatment and take a temporary leave of absence from his job.

Just days later, President Barack Obama told NBC's Ann Curry in an interview that if he were Weiner, he would resign.

The embattled congressman planned to speak at a press conference at 2:00 p.m. ET in his New York district. Video at top of page.

Prior to news of Weiner's intention to step down, the New York lawmaker had signaled he would wait for his wife to return from a trip before determining his next step in response to calls for him to give up his seat. His wife Huma Abedin returned from traveling overseas with her boss Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Wednesday. It was recently reported that Abedin is pregnant with the pair's first child.

Below, a video clip of Weiner's remarks:

WATCH:

Rep. Anthony Weiner Resigns

Comments

[FireMarshall]

12:03 AM on 06/17/2011

Man if you're a republican and this ssheit is alright with you, then you deserve each other.

[Mamadiez]

03:57 PM on 06/16/2011

I think the heckling is uncalled for and since he wasn't going to take questions, there should have been a way for him to just quietly make his announcement. The guy recognizes the havoc he has caused for his wife and family....enough with the persecution already. He obviously has a compulsion problem and I hope he gets help and saves his personal life.

[freshie]

02:59 PM on 06/16/2011

Republicans there heckling him. I hope they go after Vitter and many others.

Something tells me a GOP scandal is looming. It usually comes right after they claim morality. It will make this phony scandal look lie the cartoon it is.

[Jenna T]

03:31 PM on 06/16/2011

Republicans ?

pffffffft

NEW YORKERS !

[freshie]

06:34 PM on 06/16/2011

Oh! I guess you're correct.

[Jerry Vasilatos]

02:52 PM on 06/16/2011

David Vitter (R-LA) remains a sitting US Senator.

[Califields]

03:41 PM on 06/16/2011

Somebody should stick a mic in his face and get a quote from him on Rep. Weiner's situation... just for kicks.

[RolandXX]

11:39 PM on 06/16/2011

Or Barney Frank's or Charlie Rangel's.

[mjcarrasquillo]

02:41 PM on 06/16/2011

Shame, such a double standard...watching Rep. Anthony Weiner's (D-Ny) pres conference & NOBODY was this disrespectful during Senator John Ensign's (R-Nv) or Senator David Vitter's (R-La) statement....and THEY BROKE FEDERAL LAWS!

[Moneypenney822]

03:35 PM on 06/16/2011

It doesn't surprise me...thats how republicans operate. They all live in glass houses!

[Anastasia Giselle]

04:33 PM on 06/16/2011

I wish I had the power to throw that rock.....

[loeska]

02:39 PM on 06/16/2011

Shape up and come back when you are ready. Maybe first find out if/why you are self-
destructing ? Sorry for sounding smug - but wish you well anyway !

[loeska]

05:05 PM on 06/16/2011

PS I prefer you to Breitbart any time .

[ComicClassroom]

02:38 PM on 06/16/2011

If I was his therapist, I would ask him: "Please tell me why, as a public figure, you thought you were above being found out and caught." This is the key question. I would probably have to push him to answer this question 10 or 20 times before he would allow himself to get to that deep, deep, deep, very buried under concrete place, and have an answer that would open the flood gates of change and self-examination for him. I am glad he resigned -- time to do some major transpersonal work, embrace his wife and baby-to-be and move on to a new career. The entire story has been diverting us from the intense problems we are facing in our country.

[Robert Nix]

02:33 PM on 06/16/2011

It could be worse. Imagine if this was about Chris Christie.

[hkurte]

02:32 PM on 06/16/2011

SORRY TO SEE WEINER RESIGN HIS CONSTITUENTS SHOULD HAVE HAD THE LAST SAY. SHAME ON PELOSI AND WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. REMEMBER EVERY DOG HAS HIS OR HER DAY.

[RolandXX]

03:06 PM on 06/16/2011

BRITEBART HACKED HIM, PLAYED A PRANK ON HIM!!! THEN HE GOT THAT GUY WHATS HIS NAME I FORGT TO STALK HIM UNTIL H MADE A MISTAKE AND PHOTOSHOPEED THAT PIC EVERYONE KNWS IT DAILY KOS PROVED IT IM A TWIG

[Melinda Smith]

03:16 PM on 06/16/2011

Shame on no one else but the man himself.

[XcessiveHeat]

02:32 PM on 06/16/2011

Great ability...without discretion...invariably meets...a tragic end.

[loeska]

05:10 PM on 06/16/2011

Fanned because I like your micro-bio - and faved your
comment, although I had to ponder a while.

[ljc]

02:32 PM on 06/16/2011

Weiner's press conference is in New York, but in DC, the area surrounding Weiner's congressional office was evacuated Thursday afternoon because of a suspicious package.

---

Yeah sure. Most likely a box of personal belongings.

[proudtobrepub]

02:38 PM on 06/16/2011

No, rumor is his wife cut it off
Lawsuits coming in right and left from underage kids. Hes sick but he is (was your best)? Really?

[Robert Nix]

03:01 PM on 06/16/2011

Liar.

[Jenna T]

02:31 PM on 06/16/2011

Weiner goes soft, pulls out.

[RolandXX]

02:31 PM on 06/16/2011

Breitbart set him up. Hacked him. Stalked him.

Slime!!!

Those fotos were doctored, everyone knows it. Daily KOS proved it.

[elyorin]

02:31 PM on 06/16/2011

Bummer. I knew it was coming, but was hoping that he would continue to be his bold self and say something along the lines of, "sorry, I'm sticking around unless my constituents vote otherwise."

As far as I'm concerned, he was a great Congressman, and had every right to lie about things that we had no business of knowing.

[proudtobrepub]

02:39 PM on 06/16/2011

Hmm-I wish he would stay. Hes added alot of votes to the right.
If your dems like him so much-put him with ODUMA in 2012. PLEASEEEEE

[Leninist]

02:41 PM on 06/16/2011

truth be told he actually wasn't this "great congressman"...keep your emotions in line and deal with reality...then again, I come from Vermont and I guess we might have different defintions of "great" politicians...I can tell you this tho: here in Vermont, home of Bernie and Peter Welsh, he would have been gone in a second just for embarrassing us...

[lindabear]

02:30 PM on 06/16/2011

Breaks my heart that he did something so stupid to himself. But I think he will do something good down the line and all those stupid people who heckled him, I hope their hateful comments come back to them.