Breitbart: I Released Rep. Weiner Photos for 'Vindication'

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Andrew Breitbart on Rep. Weiner Scandal

Author reacts to congressman's confession, media's handling of controversy

This is a rush transcript from "Hannity," June 6, 2011. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

SEAN HANNITY, HOST: "Weinergate" took a dramatic turn earlier today, as New York Congressman Anthony Weiner came forward to say that he lied about being the victim of a Twitter hacking. Instead, the congressman admitted to engaging in several inappropriate online relationships with women around the country.

And we spoke to one of them moments ago. The full interview will air right here on "Hannity" tomorrow night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: What do you think of the pattern knowing as one of the people that is sort of a victim of it in a way?

MEAGAN BROUSSARD, RECEIVED PICTURES FROM REP. WEINER: I wouldn't say victim. But I would say, I don't know, I mean, he obviously has some issues of impulse control.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ANTHONY WEINER, D-N.Y.: Last Friday night, I Twitted a photograph of myself that I intended to send as a direct message as part of a joke to a woman in Seattle. Once I realized I posted to Twitter I panicked, I took it down and said that I had been hacked. I then continued with that story, to stick to that story which was a hugely regrettable mistake.

To be clear, the picture was of me and I sent it. I'm deeply sorry for the pain this has caused my wife Huma and our family. And my constituents, my friends, supporters and staff.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: Now, moments later, the congressman confirmed that his lewd tweet was not an isolated incident.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WEINER: For the past few years I have engaged in several inappropriate conversations conducted over Twitter, Facebook, e-mail and occasionally on the phone with women I have met online. I've exchanged messages and photos of an explicit nature with about six women over the last three years. For the most part, these communications took place before my marriage, though some have sadly took place after. To be clear, I have never met any of these women or had physical relationships at any time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: Now, Congressman Weiner says he will not be resigning but what prompted his sudden honesty? Well, it seems that my next guest may have forced the congressman hand when his website BigGovernment.com posted pictures that the congressman reportedly sent to young women from his personal e-mail address.

But the congressman, well, he only mentioned Andrew Breitbart in passing during today's big presser.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WEINER: I apologize to Andrew Breitbart. I apologize to the many other members of the media that I misled.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: Joining me now with reaction, the author of the best new brand -- sorry.

ANDREW BREITBART, AUTHOR, "RIGHTEOUS INDIGNATION": It's a cook book.

HANNITY: Exactly, cook book. "Righteous Indignation, Excuse Me While I Save the World." The man behind so much of the story is Andrew Breitbart is here. And Mr. Breitbart, it's not often that a journalist gets -- well, we have to start at the beginning. So, I'm watching Fox News today. And, you know, we got all the cameras sitting there, and they're all waiting for the congressman to come out. And all of a sudden you are holding a press conference at his podium. How did that happen?

BREITBART: First of all, I had no idea that I was live on television. I arrived in New York at a hotel, five blocks away. A reporter said I can't interview you in our set interview because of this press conference. Weiner's press conference? So, I just walked five blocks, walked into the ballroom. And a gaggle of reporters surrounded me about 40 or 50 of them and they started asking me questions. And they said, they couldn't hear me which is ironically...

HANNITY: Including Marsha Kramer who was involved in the story.

BREITBART: Right. And Marsha Kramer said, get on the stage, get on the stage. And I thought that they meant get on the stage because the microphone could, you know, make my voice louder, because I've had a cold over the last week. So, I went up there, I had no idea that I would be talking to a live audience. I only found out afterwards.

HANNITY: All right. Now, we have a small moment. All right. Here's the scenario. Anthony Weiner is supposed to be at the podium at 2:00. But then the media sees Breitbart whose website releases the photos, which we'll talk about. And he takes to the stage.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BREITBART: Well, no this is an ongoing story. This is a compelling story. But I certainly did not like that he double-downed on the "this is about Breitbart" problem. I mean, if he's going to come up here and take some form of culpability here, he was party to a campaign for 72 hours that weekend to allow for the left-wing blogosphere including the DailyKos to accuse me of being the hacker.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: All right. That's the thing, you -- it was blaming the messenger, Andrew. And so, you know, people were attacking you all over the place.

BREITBART: I need to apologize to my family right now. I mean, I really, I took away their Memorial Day weekend, last weekend, in a weekend where it has been me traveling around doing the book. I said trust me, I'll be with you, I'll be with you this weekend.

And then I was down in the desert, getting phone calls saying, they are accusing you of being the hacker. And when these ideas get out there, in the media, you have to fight back or they become the truth, even if they are not truthful.

So, to me, this mattered. I was out there trying to get to the truth of the story to vindicate myself. Because so many people in the media were trying to use this again, to try and bury me.

HANNITY: All right. Let me ask this question. Because you and I spoke last night.

BREITBART: There was nothing untoward and we did not exchange photos.

HANNITY: No, we did not. But you told me this big story is going to break. And then, you had four of the five photos, this woman who we are going to be interviewing, that we just interviewed, we are going to air it tomorrow night. You sent me three of them-- and because I didn't want the fourth one.

BREITBART: Yes. Why? You are the first person in the world that didn't want to see the other one.

HANNITY: All right. Well, let's talk.

BREITBART: By the way, I have not shown that to many people.

HANNITY: OK. So, you had the pictures because you had been in contact. You had confirmed them. You had done your research. ABC was investigating this. They corroborated the story.

BREITBART: Yes. And there was a lot of vetting going on here because even when you get a story airtight, they still attack you.

HANNITY: But the five pictures, one was the old one of the underwear that had been out there.

BREITBART: Yes.

HANNITY: The second one was, that she wanted the person that said "me."

BREITBART: Me.

HANNITY: With the wedding ring. You could see the wedding ring.

BREITBART: Right.

HANNITY: And the next picture uses --

BREITBART: The kitty cats at home.

HANNITY: With a more vernacular term for cats.

BREITBART: Yes.

HANNITY: OK. And the shirt is off in the next one.

BREITBART: Yes. That's --

HANNITY: I saw those three, four. But the other one was a naked -- go, you say it because you saw...

BREITBART: It is just -- he admitted it today. Look --

HANNITY: It was x-rated.

BREITBART: You got to trust me on this, you know, Congressman Weiner, I'm not enjoying the salacious aspect of this. And I was at that press conference. And he's not going to believe me, but I felt like crap for this man. I felt like crap for this man.

HANNITY: I felt sorry.

BREITBART: I absolutely do. And I'm torn between, you know, my desire to forgive the man for whatever private sins he had. But if I had not shown these photos today, he would have continued down a campaign --

HANNITY: Of smearing you.

BREITBART: -- of smearing me.

HANNITY: And everybody else.

BREITBART: It was about vindication. And when I sat there watching it, it was pathetic to watch that this is what this man --

HANNITY: And are you saying then that you would -- this is an explicit x-rated photo. Is that a good way to put it then?

BREITBART: It is beyond the beyond.

HANNITY: OK. And you are saying you will not release it?

BREITBART: No. I will not release it.

HANNITY: See, look, I felt the same thing. I really, you know, when you see a broken person, and you know that impact it is having on his family, et cetera. But he still should have resigned. Every Republican resigned.

BREITBART: Let me just say something, though. I know how politics works. I know how the politics personal destruction works, I know how the private detectives work. Don't go after Meagan. Don't go after the other girls and I'm paying attention, that's all I can say. Don't go after them.

HANNITY: I agree, they don't deserve it.

BREITBART: No. And that's what they do because they don't -- the reason why there's an incentive out there to go after them right now, is because the fear that others will come forward. So don't go after.

HANNITY: She was scared to death that the pictures -- that her story was going to be spun by a private eye.

BREITBART: We will know. We will know. When you start seeing the leaks, we will know. Don't go there.

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