(Updated 11:57 a.m. Tuesday) WASHINGTON – Both Connecticut representatives who received campaign contributions from Anthony Weiner, D-NY, have announced they will donate those funds to local charities.
U.S. Reps. Joe Courtney and Jim Himes will donate a total of $3,000 they received over the years from Weiner to various charities. Himes to call for Weiner to resign, saying the New York congressman’s actions surrounding photos he sent via Twitter were distracting Congress.
“While millions of Americans go without work, families throughout the country fear foreclosures, and our nation faces a fiscal crisis, we cannot afford the continued distraction of this sorry situation,” Himes said in a press release. “I hope Mr. Weiner will choose to step down so Congress can put this matter to rest and so that he can focus on his personal situation.”
Himes was joined in his call for Weiner to resign on Tuesday when Courtney said his decision to give the donation to charity, “strongly communicated my belief that it was an opportune time for him to act on his own volition and resign.”
“This saga has been overwhelming distraction from important issues for two weeks, and it is time for Mr. Weiner to put the distraction to rest,” Courtney added.
At a press conference last week, a teary Weiner admitted to sending inappropriate photos of himself and messages to women he met online. He called his actions a mistake and apologized for hurting his wife. TMZ posted those photos
over the weekend, which show the seven-term Democrat posing at the House members gym partially nude and, in one photo, just holding a towel over his crotch.
Over the weekend, top Democrats, including Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi called for Weiner’s resignation. However, Weiner, 46, says he won’t resign. Instead he has taken a short-term leave of absence.
Himes said his $2,000 from Weiner will be donated to the Yerwood Center in Stamford, and Courtney will donate his $1,000 to Hockanum Valley Community Council and St. Vincent de Paul Place.