Sources: Rep. Weiner to step down

Embattled Rep. Anthony Weiner has told associates he's planning to resign in the wake of a sexting scandal, according to sources.

The New York Times and CNN first reported the development, which came a day after more embarrassing photos and a porn actress' accusation of lying greeted Weiner's wife as she came home Wednesday from a diplomatic tour.

Huma Abedin, 35, returned to the couple's home here early Wednesday from her trip to Africa with her boss, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Weiner, on a two-week leave to seek professional treatment at an undisclosed location, had refused to quit over lewd online photos and messages that he sent to female followers over the past three years. Weiner has admitted lying to cover up his activities.

His spokeswoman Risa Heller declined to comment.

Meanwhile, the distraction of the Weiner scandal that President Barack Obama, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and several other Democrats and Republicans have lamented continued Wednesday.

Photos of Weiner wearing women's clothes as a prank while a student at SUNY Plattsburgh were published by the National Enquirer.

And former porn actress Ginger Lee held a Manhattan news conference to repeat her accusation that Weiner urged her to lie about their online exchanges. Lee was accompanied by celebrity attorney Gloria Allred of Los Angeles.

Lee, of La Vergne, Tenn., said she and Weiner exchanged about 100 emails between March and June after she posted a supportive statement about him on her blog.

They mostly discussed politics, but he would often turn the topic to sex, she said.

"I have wardrobe demands too. I need to highlight my package," Weiner wrote Lee, according to an email Allred read at the news conference.

Lee said, "Anytime that he would take our communications in a sexual direction, I did not reciprocate."

When an initial photo of Weiner in undershorts first appeared in public, Lee said she asked Weiner what to do. She said "he asked me to lie" about their contact.

Last week, reports said Weiner told Lee to lie about their exchanges.