[Updated at 5:30 p.m. ET] U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner said Monday he has sent inappropriate photos to and had inappropriate communications with about six women over the past three years - some after he was married - and says he's "very sorry."
The photos include one - sent on his Twitter account more than a week ago - that he had previously claimed was a result of a hacker's prank, the New York Democrat told reporters Monday afternoon at a New York City hotel.
He said he's made "terrible mistakes and ... hurt the people that I care about the most," but he won't step down from Congress and has no intentions of separating from his wife.
"I'm deeply regretting what I’ve done, and I’m not resigning," he said.
The women are "generally women that I met on Facebook," Weiner said. He said he never met the women in person, and has never had sex outside his marriage.
Of the photo that got the media's attention late last month - a picture of a man in underwear that was sent on Weiner's Twitter account - he said that he mistakenly tweeted it publicly. "I intended to send (the photo) as a direct message to a woman as part of a joke to a woman in Seattle," he said.
When reporters asked him about it at the time, he said that he was the victim of a hacker and a prank.
"Once I realized I had posted to Twitter, I panicked, I took it down and said that I’d been hacked," Weiner said Monday. "I then continued with that story - to stick to that story - which was a hugely regrettable mistake. This woman was unwittingly dragged into this and bears no responsibility. I'm so sorry to have disrupted her life in this way."
"To be clear, the picture was of me, and I sent it."
He added that he's "deeply sorry for the pain this has caused" to his wife, friends and constituents.
Weiner said whether he would run for re-election is "the last thing on my mind."
Share your reaction to Rep. Weiner's press conference
Earlier in the day, Weiner faced new questions after BigGovernment.com, a site run by conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart, posted a picture of a bare-chested man that it says a woman claims came from Weiner.
[Posted at 4:16 p.m. ET] U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-New York, is scheduled to address members of the news media late Monday afternoon in a New York City hotel, according to his office.
CNN will have live coverage of the address.
News of Weiner's planned address comes amid more than a week of controversy over photos that are alleged to have come from him or his Twitter account, including one released Monday by BigGovernment.com, a site run by conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart. The site has posted a picture of a bare-chested man that it says a woman claims came from Weiner.
CNN has been unable to independently confirm that the image is that of the congressman or was sent by him.
As reporters waited for Weiner to make his address Monday afternoon, Breitbart appeared at the hotel, and - apparently at the urging of reporters - took to a podium and spoke to the media, CNN's Mary Snow reported.
The latest photo emerged more than a week after a different photograph - one of a man in underwear - was sent on Weiner's Twitter account. Weiner has said that he didn't send that photo, and that he was the victim of a hacker and a prank.
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Awesome – now go after the people that leaked the name of an undercover CIA agent and the entire Middle Eastern WMD group. Let's just pretend they actually leaked a racy tweet pic so the media will finally track them down.
Note to myself – If I think I might run for political office sometime in the future, I should try not to send pictures of my private parts over the internet........
Not surprising everyone saw it coming. At least he admitted it before the republicans started an investigation to take his seat. This is unrelated to his position and shouldn't resign unless he wants to.
All the hapless, lemmings who pretended to believe Weiner and blame it on Andrew Breitbart, raise your pathetic, fascist hands...
Now you're just being nice.... CNN won't let me post what I think of them.................Disgusting.
Lib stupidity knows no bounds.
To those that keep saying he didn't lie, HE LIED ABOUT BEING HACKED YOU IDIOTS!! HE JUST ADMITTED IT!!!!!!!!!!!
Is the left really this stupid? HE LIED ABOUT BEING HACKED!
Wait a minute.... does this mean that Brietbart actually told the TRUTH? I admit, I'm shocked.
the guy looked america in the face and lied to us over somthing this petty. Who knows what else he would lie about.
typical democrat for you....Clinton fell from the same tree.
As we have seen and heard before, when a politicians mouth is moving you are hearing a lie. Don't these people have anything better to do with their life than make idiots out of themselves? He is not the first and wont be the last. I feel sorry for his lovely wife as she will have to bear the embarrassment of it all.
Hmmmm. Perhaps we should leve the poor schmuck alone? Maybe if more members of Congress got their fill of boom-boom we could finally get some work done – they could use up all that testosterone they are currently wasting arguing with each other and be able to focus their attention on jobs and the economy.
What a moron. Just say you were hacked and ignore the rest. He's a politician, he could've lied his ass off and never been caught, but he made it a big deal.
Well, just another moral, ethical, upstanding day in our nation's capitol
Really - I mean REALLY dude? Can you bring any more shame to yourself and family - more importantly our country- and then claim you are accepting responsibility? REALLY? How would you being doing that? By coming out on stage and crying and saying how sorry you are? REALLY? Try resigning - that might make it a little more believable.
He's supposed to be working for us. He has a family. How does he have time for these extracurricular activities? His priorities are certainly lacking.
Oh gawd.... REALLY? Politicians aren't exactly burning the midnight oil. They are hitting the golf courses and hanging out at the society clubs. But if your "rolling up the sleeves" fantasy works for you...
The real question is why does anybody care? This is a matter between the Congressman, his wife and whoever he was chatting with. None of it was illegal. Politicians have been doing this since the birth of this country, from Ben Franklin to Thomas Jefferson and ever since. This is not news, and should not be treated as such. War – the economy – taxes – international relations – that's news. Not that a man chatted online in his private time.
Because he lied. I don't care that he sent pictures, w/e, but he lied about it when confronted.
@ Ashley:
Wow! You're right – that is soooo newsworthy! Man plays around online and then lies about it.
This must be the first time something like this has ever happened.
Stop the presses!
Weiner lied before. Why should we believe him now? His wife should dump him. As they say, liar, liar, pants on fire.
Again, the little head taking over the big head. All these guys (GOP/DEMS) are idiots. The really sad fact is that these seem to be the kind of people who get into politics in the first place.
I knew this man was not to be trusted as soon as I saw him on FOX several times.