Dems Back Weiner Ethics Probe

CNN reports:

Democratic leaders took the initiative Monday to go after one of their own, U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner, hours after he admitted to lying about posting an explicit photo on his Twitter account and carrying on inappropriate relationships with women he'd met online.

Two Democratic sources said that Weiner, in a brief telephone conversation Monday with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, made it abundantly clear that he was not going to resign. At his press conference later that day, the New York Democrat said that Pelosi was "not happy" but "also told me that she loved me and wanted us to ... pull through this."

Pelosi, D-California, who until last January was House speaker, reacted by calling for the chamber's Ethics Commission to open an investigation into the seven-term congressman "to determine whether any official resources were used or any other violation of House rules occurred."

Weiner apologizes for lying, 'terrible mistakes'

Such a probe is rare, especially when called by a member of one's own party, the Democratic sources said.

One question that is sure to be central to such an investigation is whether Weiner used congressional resources while sending -- as he admitted -- explicit photos and messages to "about six women" over a three-year period.