New York Rep. Anthony Weiner, who has spent the last two weeks trying to explain himself for his lewd Twitter photo posting, is reportedly heading to a treatment center to transform into a “better husband and healthier person.”
“Congressman Weiner departed this morning to seek professional treatment to focus on becoming a better husband and healthier person,” Weiner’s spokeswoman, Risa Heller said over the weekend. “In light of that, he will request a short leave of absence from the House of Representatives so that he can get evaluated and map out a course of treatment to make himself well.”
The New York Times reported that Heller declined to identify the facility or the type of counseling Weiner, who confessed to having explicit communications with six women he corresponded with on the Internet, would have. According to the Times, Weiner has been chatting with a therapist in New York City for the past few days. Hesser said that the Congressman was thinking about the calls from fellow politicians pushing him to resign.
This comes in the aftermath of House Minority Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz calling for Weiner’s resignation.
(Wasserman Schultz, Pelosi call on Weiner to resign)
“This sordid affair has become an unacceptable distraction for Representative Weiner, his family, his constituents and the House – and for the good of all, he should step aside and address those things that should be most important – his and his family’s well-being,” Wasserman Schultz said in a statement.
Last week, news outlets reported that Weiner had exchanged messages with a 17-year-old Delaware female.
The girl, a high school junior, received a direct message from the Congressman on April 13 after following him on April 1, sources told Fox News.
When revelations of this communication surfaced, the Congressman said through Heller that the messages were “neither explicit nor indecent.”
(Report: Police investigating Rep. Weiner’s communication with Delaware minor)
“According to Congressman Weiner, his communications with this person were neither explicit nor indecent,” Heller said.