White House calls Weiner scandal a ‘distraction,’ but won’t say if he should resign

Two days after top Democrats called on embattled Rep. Anthony Weiner to resign, a White House spokesman refused to say whether President Obama thinks the New York lawmaker should leave Congress.

"The president feels … this is a distraction," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters Monday. "As Congressman Weiner has said himself, his behavior was inappropriate, [his] dishonesty was inappropriate. But the president is focused on his job."

Asked point blank if Weiner should resign, Carney refused to say.

"I answered that question," he said. "We think it's a distraction from the important business that this president needs to conduct, and Congress need to conduct. Beyond that, I don't have any more comment."

Carney's remarks come a day after more revealing photos of Weiner apparently taken in the House gym surfaced. On Saturday, Nancy Pelosi and other top Democrats urged Weiner to resign, but the New York Democrat has so far resisted the pressure, announcing Saturday he would enter "treatment" instead.

(Photo of Weiner: David Karp/AP)