NEW YORK CITY — Disgraced former Rep. Anthony Weiner, who was forced to resign following a sexting scandal, continues to shell out campaign cash for an office and phone service, records show.
Weiner's campaign spent nearly $40,000 over the past six months, mainly on office expenses, including more than $25,000 in rent to SL Green and hundreds more on phone service to Verizon, according to new campaign spending records filed Tuesday.
The payouts are similar to those logged during the first half of 2012, when Weiner's ramped-up spending sparked a wave of speculation about whether he might, indeed, still be considering a run for mayor.
In an email, Weiner declined to add to the speculation. "I don't have any comment on my future plans," he told DNAinfo.com New York.
He was more blunt to Crain’s New York Business, telling the publication: “you can speculate I suppose. But sometimes a cigar is just a cigar."
In addition to the office expenses, the records show Weiner also paid the website hosting service GoDaddy.com $241.92 on July 23, 2012. Crain’s noted that, a day earlier, the website “AnthonyWeiner2013.com" was updated with the service.
Weiner's other website, anthonyweiner.com, still includes “contribution” and “volunteer” sections, but hasn't been updated since May 2011.
Weiner also shelled out nearly $10,000 in legal services to Baker & Hostetler LLP, a law firm with offices across the country, where Weiner’s long-time campaign lawyer works. Calls to both its Cleveland and New York offices were not immediately returned.
He also added more than $20,000 to his 2013 campaign account through a transfer from another campaign committee.
Weiner is sitting on nearly $4.5 million in cash, which he raised for an abandoned 2009 campaign for mayor.
He can still choose to roll that money over to 2017, for the next election cycle, but would have to return the money he’s received through public matching funds, New York City Campaign Finance Board spokesman Eric Friedman said.
Weiner had been considered a front-runner for 2013 until he accidentally posted a lewd picture of himself on his Twitter account, leading to revelations that he had had inappropriate contact with at least half a dozen women online.
