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I have no idea what's about to happen here, but having Breitbart come out and chew out the press 5 minutes before Weiner appears is just...surreal...
Update: OK, this is just bizarre beyond belief; did Breitbart fool everyone into thinking that this press conference was gonna be for Weiner? He got on stage at about 3:55, talked for about 15 minutes, then took off. We're looking at an empty podium at 4:16pm.
He claimed total vindication, that everything he said is true, that Weiner made up the "hacking" claim, and now claims that he's "holding back" one more extremely explicit photo in order to "save his [Weiner's] family".
This is just...strange.
Update 2: OK, after focusing on an empty podium for about 10 minutes, now the camera is covering...other cameras and other reporters milling about the room.
It cut out for a second, then came back.
Breitbart is now claiming that he took the microphone AT THE INVITATION of the press in the room. ???? WTF ???
Update x3: HOLD ON, WEINER JUST TOOK THE PODIUM...
Oy...he just gave a "full responsiblity for my actions" opener
He did send the photo as a joke
He lied about it being hacked
The woman isn't at fault
He apologizes to the woman
He did send the photo and it is of him
He apologizes to his wife, family, staff, supporters
He admits to sexting with a half-dozen women
Most of them were before he got married, some after
He hasn't met any of the women
Tearing up, deeply ashamed, etc etc.
Opening up to Q&A
NOT RESIGNING
--Personal Blackberry
--Personal computer
--Didn't use any gov't resources to his knowledge
--Cannot say for certain whether the x-rated photo claim by Breitbart is true or not
--He loves Huma very much, they are not splitting up over this
--He apologizes to Huma, his supporters, etc...and yes, he apologizes to the media in general, but he hasn't apologized to Breitbart specifically
--Nothing calculated in doing it, just a very dumb thing to do, he knew at the time that he could get busted, it was just stupid.
--Not thinking about the election next year, haven't ruled out seeing a therapist/etc, but he isn't blaming anyone else, it was his personal weakness, etc.
--Some of the relationships go back 3 years
--"It was dumb to lie 'cus it led to more lies"
--Huma has known about some of the relationships since before they were married, but didn't know until this morning about the particular photo being tweeted/sent
--Apologizes to Breitbart specifically, then to the media in general
--Told Pelosi before he came to the presser, she was pissed but said to just tell the truth
--Never met any of them personally, won't go into detail, it's the women's right to say whatever they want to say about the sexting
--Doesn't believe he did anything that violates the law or any Congressional rules
--Has never actually cheated on his wife, doesn't blame drugs, booze, anyone else, etc; it was just him doing something incredibly stupid.
--My wife is a remarkable woman, she's not responsible for any of this
--He's not resigning; it's up to his constituents, if they want to kick him out, so be it; he'll do everything he can to regain their confidence.
--To the best of his knowledge, all of the women were over 18
OK, as an aside, this is actually kind of amusing in a dark sort of way: He can't seem to get the press to grasp the concept that he's NOT blaming anyone else. Weird.
--He doesn't believe it has any impact on his ability to do his job, but understands if the voters think it does
--Huma was very unhappy/disappointed, but she also told him she loves him, she deserves better than this
--To me it was just a frivolous exchange among friends...any time you engage with ANYONE in social media you're relying on their characterizations about themselves (ie, he believes they're all of age, but who the fuck knows about ANYONE you talk to online?)
--Reiterates that he doesn't believe he's violated any House rules, laws or oath of office
OK, it's on the front page and I have to go now...feel free to follow the rest of this mess yourselves...