A timeline of Rep. Anthony Weiner's scandal, from the mistaken bulging underwear Tweet to his announcement that he is resigning from Congress.
May 27, 2011 – A photo of a man’s crotch is uploaded to Weiner’s Twitter account, directed to a user identified as 21-year-old Gennette Cordova. Weiner immediately takes the photo down, and in a subsequent tweet, claims he was hacked, joking, “Tivo shot. FB hacked. Is my blender gonna attack me next? #TheToasterIsVeryLoyal,” and “Touch Prof Moriarty. More Weiner Jokes for all my guests! #Hacked!”
May 28 to May, 29, 2011 -- The media get wind of the tweet after conservative commentator Andrew Breitbart writes about it on his website biggovernment.com. Weiner’s spokesman insisted the photo was the work of a computer hacker. The spokesman, Dave Arnold, said the Twitter episode was “a distraction” from the congressman’s “important work representing his constituents.”
May 30, 2011 – The college student tagged in the photo releases a statement to the Daily News saying she had never met Weiner, and that she knew who the alleged hacker was. Weiner’s office said they were “seeking legal action” to investigate who hacked the account – but never specified concrete action they were taking or which authorities they were reaching out to.
May 31, 2011 – Weiner’s office announces he has retained an attorney to advise him “what civil or criminal actions should be taken” over the supposed hacking. Arnold says the congressman’s staff is “loathe to treat” this incident as more than a prank “but we are relying on professional advice.” When reporters in Washington, D.C. question him about the tweet, he testily responds he will not answer any questions about the incident, saying he had already put out a statement on it. “I’m not going to allow this to be what I talk about all week,” he says. An interview with CNN turns angry when he repeatedly declined to answer whether he sent the photo and why he hasn’t contacted authorities.
June 1, 2011 – Weiner spends the day in media interviews to try to tamp down the growing rumblings over the incident but only raises more eyebrows when he evades a clear-cut question from MSNBC over whether the photo was of him. "You know, I can't say with certitude. My system was hacked. Pictures can be manipulated. Pictures can be dropped in and inserted," he said.
June 2 to June 5, 2011 – Weiner deliberately avoids public appearances, skipping out on the yearly Celebrate Israel parade he usually attends. He was also absent from Memorial Day parades the week before.
June 6, 2011 – Andrew Breitbart announces he is in possession of more incriminating photos of Weiner, and that he plans to release the least graphic ones throughout the day. Radaronline and Star publish transcripts of sexually explicit conversations that supposedly took place between Weiner and young women he met online through Facebook. Weiner remains silent throughout the day, until finally his campaign office sends an email announcing a press conference at 4 p.m.
Weiner admits the originally tweeted photo was not in fact the work of a hacker but his own. He apologizes to his family and his constituents, and admits several other inappropriate relationships in his past.
June 8, 2011 -- It is revealed that Weiner's wife, Huma Abedin, is pregnant. Weiner again vows to stay in office. Friends describe Abedin as more saddened than angry over her husband's behavior, and say she plans to try to help him, even though she believes he has a lot of work to do to redeem himself.
June 10, 2011 -- A teenage girl from Delaware is interviewed by police about online contact she had with Weiner, communications he has said were "neither explicit nor indecent.''
June 11, 2011 -- Under growing pressure to resign, Weiner announces he is entering professional treatment at an undisclosed location and requests a leave of absence from Congress. Earlier in the day, top Democratic leaders call for him to step down. "This sordid affair has become an unacceptable distraction for Representative Weiner, his family, his constituents and the House," Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the party chairwoman, says in a statement.
June 12, 2011 -- New half-naked photos of Weiner surface; they appear to have been snapped by Weiner himself in the gym for House members. The website TMZ says he sent them to at least one woman. Meanwhile, constituents face off in his district, with some rallying for him to resign and others arguing that he should stay.
June 13, 2011 -- As Congress is set to return to work, President Barack Obama tells Ann Curry in an exclusive TODAY show interview that if it were him, he'd resign. “When you get to the point where, because of various personal distractions, you can't serve as effectively as you need to, at the time when people are worrying about jobs, and their mortgages, and paying the bills — then you should probably step back,’’ Obama says.
June 14, 2011 -- House Democrats go behind closed doors for their regular party meeting, but decide against taking action on Weiner in hopes that he'll resign on his own. There is no word from Weiner or his representatives.
June 15, 2011 -- A former porn actress holds a news conference to divulge details of her online relationship with Weiner. Ginger Lee says he asked her to lie when word began leaking out about his cyber-sexual issues, and says he also pestered her with repeated emails about his "package." Meanwhile Weiner's wife returns from an overseas trip with the State Department.
June 16, 2011 -- Weiner announces his resignation, 20 days after he misfired the Twitter photo. He says the distraction of his actions has made it impossible to continue serving. He says he and his wife need to focus on healing from the damage he caused.
The following year:
July 12, 2012 -- Weiner begins an online relationship with a woman that quickly turns sexual, according to the gossip website The Dirty.
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July 18, 2012 -- People magazine runs a story, with a family photo of Weiner and his wife, where he says "I'm very happy in my present life." His wife says "Anthony has spent every day since [the scandal] trying to be the best dad and husband he can be. I'm proud to be married to him."
November 2012 -- The relationship with the woman fizzles out, she has told The Dirty.
April 10, 2013 -- The New York Times Magazine runs an extensive story with Weiner and his wife, exploring the scandal and revealing that he is considering a run for mayor.
April 22, 2013 -- Weiner is back on Twitter.
April 24, 2013 -- In an interview with NBC 4 New York, Weiner hints that all may not be known about his online affairs.
May 22, 2013 -- Weiner launches his mayoral campaign.
July 22, 2013 -- The Dirty posts a story about the woman from the previous summer. She has provided screenshots of their alleged conversations and other online evidence
July 23, 2013 -- Weiner and his wife hold a news conference to admit that his affairs continued long after he resigned from Congress, until as recently as a year earlier. She professes that she has forgiven him and believes in him.
July 25, 2013 -- Weiner is pressed by reporters for the number of relationships he carried on after resigning. "There were a few," he says. "It's not dozens and dozens," he tries again. Finally, he says "I don't believe I had any more than three." The woman from The Dirty article is identified as Sydney Leathers and speaks to "Inside Edition," claiming that Weiner was last in touch with her as recently as April, asking her to delete their chats.
July 28, 2013 -- Weiner confirms his campaign manager has quit, but vows to stay in the race amid calls from national Democrats for him to drop out.
