Twitter post tied to student urges Weiner to quit

Posts appeared Monday on what is believed to be the Twitter account of the Seattle college-age student who received the photo of Rep. Anthony Weiner's bulging underpants in late May, saying she believes the congressman should resign.

"I personally don't think what he did is all that bad and I think the media's preoccupation with this story is a little absurd ... having said that, I think he should resign," said a posting on the page of Gennette Cordova, the student at Bellingham's Whatcom Community College.

Late Monday, those tweets no longer appeared on the Twitter profile.

Tweets earlier Monday said Cordova thinks that Weiner is a "great politician" and she doesn't believe that politicians should be "judged so heavily on their private lives (for the most part)."

"But like I said, this has become insurmountable. I don't see any other way," another tweet said.

The White House also shifted course on Weiner, calling his ongoing saga a "distraction" but stopping short of a public call for his resignation.

President Obama, in an interview to be aired Tuesday, told NBC's "Today" show, "I can tell you that if it was me, I would resign."

Last week, White House press secretary Jay Carney said that the White House would not comment on Weiner, after the lawmaker's admission that he engaged in inappropriate communication with women and then lied when lewd photos became public.

The House approved a two-week leave of absence for Weiner at the close of business Monday.

Weiner, a seven-term representative from Brooklyn, has entered a treatment center to deal with a pattern of reckless online behavior, which included sending racy photographs and salacious messages to at least six women over three years.

The House Ethics Committee on Monday began a preliminary inquiry. Ethics Committee Chairman Jo Bonner of Alabama and ranking Democrat Linda Sanchez of California could name a four-member subcommittee to conduct a more thorough investigation. That could lead to an ethics trial.

If the committee decides a member violated the rules, its options include issuing a written rebuke, recommending the House vote to censure the lawmaker or recommending expelling the member by a two-thirds majority.

Seattle Times staff reporter Queenie Wong, The Associated Press and The New York Times contributed to this report.