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Mediaite’s Colby Hall On WPIX: Weinergate Photo From A Prior Relationship?

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by Tommy Christopher | 4:40 pm, June 2nd, 2011

» 42 comments

As the controversy surrounding Rep. Anthony Weiner‘s photographic Twitter scandal continues to swell, Mediaite Managing Editor Colby Hall appeared on WPIX New York’s News at Ten, with Jodi Applegate, to lend his own talking head to the proceedings. While most of the spot was devoted to placing the rampant speculation into context, Hall did make a few novel points, such as the possibility that the photograph in question was from a “prior relationship,” which would explain the Congressman’s current caginess, without the presumption of guilt that accompanies much of the current speculation.

As we’ve noted here before, rampant speculation accompanied the flood of circumstantial evidence as the scandal unfolded, but much of that speculation focused only on Rep. Weiner’s guilt. The more facts emerge, the muddier that issue gets. Rep. Weiner’s refusal to say “with certitude” that the picture wasn’t of his Member of Congress has led many to conclude that, while evidence (first reported by Mediaite) suggests he did not send the photo, he is guilty of something.

But Hall astutely points out that if someone else tweeted the photo, it could very well have been from a prior relationship, which would make Weiner guilty of nothing more than poor portraiture.

He also touches on the difference between a “hack” and a prank/hoax. Most people understand that “hack” can be a shorthand phrase for any compromise of a computer account, even one that doesn’t involve actually accessing said account. Redstate’s Caleb Howe and I investigated various claims about image-hosting site YFrog, and found that a third party could easily have uploaded and tweeted the photo, without knowing Rep. Weiner’s password, or ever even accessing his account.

We performed several tests, and found that anyone who knew Rep. Weiner’s YFrog email address (which any of his acquaintances could have obtained from a forwarded email) could have uploaded and tweeted any photo, without ever accessing, or controlling, his account.

None of this is proof of anything, of course, but if people are going to speculate about Weiner’s possible guilt, it is only fair to point out that the sword cuts both ways. The only thing we know for sure is that there’s more to this story than meets the eye, and that’s saying something, because a whole lot has met the eye.

To his credit, Colby also resisted juvenile wordsmithing antics, although his observations of Weiner’s “full-on approach” and answering of questions “head-on” illustrate the rhetorical pitfalls inherent in this story.

Here’s Colby Hall’s appearance, from WPIX New York’s News at Ten:

Anthony Weiner, Caleb Howe, Colby Hall, Jodi Applegate, redstate, WeinerGate, WPIX, WPIX News at Ten

THE REAL ROYAL KING

That all sounds very reasonable, particularly in light of some of the information about patriot76usa breaking.

Good approach, Colby.
Liberal Tormentor

OH good grief!! You libs come up with a new excuse for Little Dickie every 15 minutes. I thought he meant to send it to his wife? Or was that last hour? Your libs are embarrassing yourselves!
jddoubleu

THE REAL ROYAL KING said:
That all sounds very reasonable, particularly in light of some of the information about patriot76usa breaking.

Good approach, Colby.

instead of speculating, why dont we just get the FBI to clear things up? only you libs are the ones afraid of the investigation. why is that?
gar

Liberal Tormentor said:
Tommy, How kind of you to censor the comment criticizing Colby. I’m sure he appreciates your support!

One trick pony is getting sensitive.
But Hall astutely points out that if someone else tweeted the photo, it could very well have been from a prior relationship, which would make Weiner guilty of nothing more than poor portraiture.
Let’s get it straight. Someone from a previous relationship sent it to another one of his follower’s, (and only her).
I wonder if the person was a Yankee fan?
Liberal Tormentor

I guess these days are officially over, eh TC:

I Am Sick And Tired – Hillary Clinton

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJxmpTMGhU0
Liberal Tormentor

Gar, the FBI could easily tell where it originated from, but Little Dickie is fighting that. Why do you think that is? Isn’t defending him getting a little embarrassing at this point?
Big Eddie

The Congressman might as well change his name to Anthony Weinergate , because it will never go away .

Be interesting if someone would interview some of his staff or his friends , if any , to see what kind of guy he actually is .

Don’t know that public embarrassment is even a factor these days .
Big Eddie

Liberal Tormentor said:
Isn’t defending him getting a little embarrassing

Have not seen a single colleague defending him , on camera , at least .
Jaurez

If it was from a “prior relationship” weiner would have an easy out. It isn’t so he doesn’t. Put a fork in him cause he’s done. ;)
Liberal Tormentor

Big Eddie, I’m talking about the liberal posters and bloggers here.
JoeRemi

“As the controversy surrounding Rep. Anthony Weiner’s photographic Twitter scandal continues to swell..”

Good one, Tommy. ;-)
ninjapirate

“But Hall astutely points out that if someone else tweeted the photo, it could very well have been from a prior relationship, which would make Weiner guilty of nothing more than poor portraiture.”

The problem with you guy’s theory is that Weiner and his spokesperson repeatedly lie about the order of events… he has used the fact that he was tweeting about hockey as an alibi of sorts(don’t know why that would work)
when the fact is that there was a 3 1/2 hour gap between the lewd tweet and the previous tweet… and the tweeting about hockey came 5 minutes after the lewd tweets. It’s odd how Weiner was there to delete the tweet so quickly AND THEN tweet about a hockey game he couldn’t even watch.
gar

Liberal Tormentor said:
Gar, the FBI could easily tell where it originated from, but Little Dickie is fighting that. Why do you think that is? Isn’t defending him getting a little embarrassing at this point?

Ask Tommy, he’s given us every excuse possible. Maybe Tommy should take one for the team and say he sent it.
Big Eddie

gar said:
Ask Tommy, he’s given us every excuse possible. Maybe Tommy should take one for the team and say he sent it.

Perfect ! I bow to you , sir .
http://twitter.com/SailRabbits Magister

Briefly, my take…

The prior relationship theory would require him to have made someone mad enough to hack into his Twitter or sell the photo to another party and that’s probably a stretch. Personally, I think it’s more realistic to think that the photo may not be him; someone may have taken a candid shot at the gym; the photo could have been stolen from a Facebook hack or though he may have addressed it in one of his interviews, it could have existed in his yfrog account for his wife to look at while she’s on a business trip.

IOW: We don’t know and though all indications are that the Congressman is covering his bases with tentative language, the reality is that it could be a cropped image, it could be him, it could be someone else, but it’s not illegal to possess or distribute and we’re never going to know.

As for the downgrade from “hack” to “hoax”, the word “hack” was in the air and people started going off on national security, full scale investigations, it’s a terrorist threat, while “hoax” and “prank” means that it’s not really that important and he feels there are better things to do.

After all, what do you call it when someone “hacks” into any type of system using a password or an email workaround? The actual hackers don’t consider it hacking, nor do most people familiar with the terms, so what do you call it? Does it need a new word?
Liberal Tormentor

I’m surprised he hasn’t, Gar.
Big Eddie

Weiner just realized that now he’s got nothing to do Friday night .
Liberal Tormentor

Magister, I heard today (not sure if it’s true), that if a member of Congress suspects they’ve been hacked in any way, Congressional rules REQUIRE they report it. If he hasn’t done this, then he knows it wasn’t a hack and that in itself is an admission of guilt.

Hey TC, can you inquire if that’s an actual Congression rule? That would be an important piece to this (not really a) mystery.
Barack Must Go

Look. You need to face facts here at MEDIAite. Your little ” Nutty Buddy “, weiner boy has to go and he has to go NOW.

How about you guys take the lead in doing the ‘ right thing ‘, and call for him to step down.
Jaurez

Magister said:
Personally, I think it’s more realistic to think that the photo may not be him;

Even though he pretty much said it was him on maddow last night? Jeez.
notsofast

such as the possibility that the photograph in question was from a “prior relationship,” which would explain the Congressman’s current caginess, without the presumption of guilt that accompanies much of the current speculation.”

Assumes facts not in evidence.

Hey Colby, that photo could have been uploaded by ET. Why didn’t ya mention that?

You libs are priceless.

You are using the “ABA” defense:”Anyone but Anthony.”
notsofast

Reporter: “Congressman Weiner! I’m finishing up an article on you. Can you tell me your age?

Weiner: “ My age? Well, imagine that I gave a speech to 45,000 people…

Reporter: “Sir, I just need your age!”

Weiner: “Do YOU want to do this press conference?”

Reporter: “No”

Weiner” Well as I was saying, imagine that I gave a speech to 45,000 people and a heckler shouted out…

Reporter:” Never mind, Congressman. My deadline is in 5 hours!!”
Jaurez

I just hope the mother of the girl he sent the pic to keeps weiners feet to the fire insisting he come clean. She doesn’t sound like someone that can be bought off so easy.
notsofast

gar said:
But Hall astutely points out that if someone else tweeted the photo,

And if Grandma had balls , she would be Grandpa, son.
CRW

“Rep. Weiner’s refusal to say “with certitude” that the picture wasn’t of his Member of Congress…”

Okay, I have to hand it to you. Despite the fact that you keep trying to come up with plausible excuses for the guilty, little weasel, “Member of Congress” is the best euphemism yet, given that congress is a synonym for intercourse, and member is a synonym for penis. Bravo, for that one.
Nature Freak

I as an independent thinking Democrat don’t know what to think about Weiner anymore.
Weiner needs to come clean and tell us this was consensual adult horn doging between the two or an accident/hack. He should not resign if this is the case.
If he is sending out unrequested cox pics to women he doesn’t have a consensual romantic relationship Weiner is a creep and needs to start hanging out in DSK’s new bit chin’ bachelor pad and further learn the fine arts of creedom.

BTW, if your a guy and have a sex scandal, Weiner is not a good German surname to have, at least here. I bet Weiner now wishes he had a German name likes Schmitt or Eisen.
Big Eddie

Oh oh . I think I just got a revenge Tweet from my old girlfriend , Huma .
notsofast

Nature Freak said:
BTW, if your a guy and have a sex scandal, Weiner is not a good German surname to have

He is changing it to Schlong!
notsofast

But Hall astutely points out that if someone else tweeted the photo, it could very well have been from a prior relationship, which would make Weiner guilty of nothing more than poor portraiture.”

So the guy from Weiner’s last relationship sent Weiner a dick-shot?

Interesting!
kit9

Love Mediaie’s Colby offering up face saving explanations that have no evidence to support them. In fact, all evidence is Rep. Weiner has a habit of engaging young women who aren’t his wife. Tell me, Colby, why was Weiner texting the time in Seattle just minutes before the pic was sent to…a woman in Seattle. Also, please explain why Weiner followed so many young women-including teenagers? Are they all old girlfriends?
tatboy

It’s awful nice of the liberals in the media to help Weiner with an explanation and defence. It’s so nice when friends help each other out. I’m sure they’d do the same for a (R). *chuckle*
TheEagle

I wonder if Colby had any evidence based on real reporting to support his allegations or if he was just makin’ stuff up to get on TV.
Liberal Tormentor

Eagle, libs don’t need evidence. They’re just used to us buying whatever the liberals media throws against the wall, no questions asked.
THE REAL ROYAL KING

Nature Freak said:
I as an independent thinking Democrat don’t know what to think about Weiner anymore.Weiner needs to come clean and tell us this was consensual adult horn doging between the two or an accident/hack. He should not resign if this is the case.If he is sending out unrequested cox pics to women he doesn’t have a consensual romantic relationship Weiner is a creep and needs to start hanging out in DSK’s new bit chin’ bachelor pad and further learn the fine arts of creedom. BTW, if your a guy and have a sex scandal, Weiner is not a good German surname to have, at least here. I bet Weiner now wishes he had a German name likes Schmitt or Eisen.

Except, in German (and Yiddish), “weiner” is pronounced vine-er. The way the Honorable Gentleman spells his name is pronounced veen-er and is simply an adjective for of or pertaining to Wien (veen), the city of Vienna.
Liberal Tormentor

Honorable Gentleman

HAHAHAHAH, only to you would he be considered an honorable gentleman!
TheEagle

Liberal Tormentor said:
Eagle, libs don’t need evidence. They’re just used to us buying whatever the liberals media throws against the wall, no questions asked.

That’s true. According to a study on the last election:

“Daily consumers of MSNBC and public broadcasting (NPR and PBS) were higher (34 points and 25 points respectively) in believing that it was proven that the US Chamber of Commerce was spending money raised from foreign sources to support Republican candidates.”

But the problem is not exclusive to the left. The same study also found:

“Those who watched Fox News almost daily were significantly more likely than those who never watched it to believe that most economists estimate the stimulus caused job losses (12 points more likely), most economists have estimated the health care law will worsen the deficit (31 points), the economy is getting worse (26 points), most scientists do not agree that climate change is occurring (30 points), the stimulus legislation did not include any tax cuts (14 points), their own income taxes have gone up (14 points), the auto bailout only occurred under Obama (13 points), when TARP came up for a vote most Republicans opposed it (12 points) and that it is not clear that Obama was born in the United States (31 points). The effect was also not simply a function of partisan bias, as people who voted Democratic and watched Fox News were also more likely to have such misinformation than those who did not watch it–though by a lesser margin than those who voted Republican. ”

http://www.worldpublicopinion.org/pipa/articles/brunitedstatescanadara/671.php?nid=
Barack Must Go

Mediaite’s Colby Hall Photos From A Prior Life?

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.politicsdaily.com/media/2010/06/jd-hayworth-240bn0625101.jpg

http://a4cgr.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/jd-hayworth.jpg
ElCapitanAmerica

Tommy Christopher;

We performed several tests, and found that anyone who knew Rep. Weiner’s YFrog email address (which any of his acquaintances could have obtained from a forwarded email) could have uploaded and tweeted any photo, without ever accessing, or controlling, his account.

An attacker could have gotten the email that way, or just guessed the email which turns out the be *very* simple.

http://littlegreenfootballs.com/page/248630_yfrog_secret_email_addresses_a
Greg

Not sure if posted yet but interesting…

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/bizarre/dan-wolfe-anthony-weiner-weinergate-632095
Helix

If a guy is sending junk pics to girls, good chance he sent these to more than one of his young female “fans”. He might have lost track of which girl he sent which picture to, thus his evasiveness. Most of these girls have kept quiet so far, but it will only take one girl to kiss and tell. Ahem. When he accidentally tweets the pic globally instead of DM’ing, he tries to delete all the pics, and uses the hacking (lie) as a first round cover story, without thinking it through. Think about it. What’s the chance that the first time he sends a junk pic, he sends it global by mistake? How long was that pic on his yfrog account? If you are DM’ing girls you are playing a numbers game(playing the field) hoping one of them “bites” (no teeth we hope….), from what I have seen of male behavior.

Blaming Brietbart as the hacker villain makes sense, UNLESS you know you really sent the pics yourself. Then you change the cover story to “it’s just a prank.” And, “no need to get the police involved.” An investigation of those photos and their destinations(courtesty of yfrog’s logs) might reveal other young ladies as (willing) receipients, some of them might be of tender years. Now we are talking a nice bed next to Strauss_Kahn, in addition to a likely divorce and probably a censuring from the Ethic’s Committee. Good reason to not call the cops, if you are @RepWeiner.
writer

Maybe he’s been working out, and wanted a before and after photo.
Dem4Ever

Chunky